The US ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said on Wednesday that Bosnia was on a “dangerous path” that could break the war-scarred Balkan nation apart due to pressure from Bosnian Serb separatists.
Ms Thomas-Greenfield said Bosnia was at a “critical juncture in its post-war history”, with Bosnian Serb leader Milorad Dodik pushing for Serb troops to leave the army and create a force for their Republika Srpska region.
“The heated rhetoric must stop,” Ms Thomas-Greenfield told the UN Security Council.
“Milorad Dodik has called for the Republika Srpska’s withdrawal from the armed forces and from state-level institutions … this is a dangerous path, both for Bosnia and Herzegovina, and also for the wider western Balkan region.”
The UN council met to discuss a report from Christian Schmidt, the high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina, which said Bosnia faces the biggest “existential threat of the post-war period”.
Mr Schmidt was set to deliver his warning in person, but his appearance in the New York chamber was cancelled due to opposition from Russia, an ally of Serbia and Serb groups across the fractured Balkans.
Council members voted to extend the mandate of the Eufor peacekeeping mission in Bosnia by one year, but references to Mr Schmidt were removed from the document at Moscow’s insistence.
The report by Mr Schmidt, a senior German diplomat, said the “prospects of further division and conflict are very real” if Serb troops exit the Bosnian army and create their own force.
Such a move would be “tantamount to secession” as it would “undermine the state’s ability to function and carry out its constitutional responsibilities”, he wrote.
It would “endanger not only the peace and stability of the country and the region, but — if unanswered by the international community — could lead to the undoing” of the agreement that ended the Bosnian War in 1995.
That conflict began in 1992, when Bosnian Serbs, backed by the Yugoslav army, tried to create Serb-only territories that could join neighbouring Serbia. More than 100,000 people were killed and millions were left homeless.
Years of bloodshed between Bosniaks, who are mostly Muslim, Serbs and Croats ended with the US-backed peace deal that created two largely autonomous regions, the Republika Srpska and the Bosniak-Croat Federation.
Mr Dodik, the Bosnian Serb member of the country’s three-person presidency, has for years called for a Bosnian Serb mini-state to split and join Serbia.
His campaign has intensified in recent months, with tacit support from Russia and Serbia.
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
The biog
Name: Gul Raziq
From: Charsadda, Pakistan
Family: Wife and six children
Favourite holes at Al Ghazal: 15 and 8
Golf Handicap: 6
Childhood sport: cricket
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 240hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 390Nm at 3,000rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh122,745
On sale: now
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Burnley 0
Man City 3
Raheem Sterling 35', 49'
Ferran Torres 65'
Naga
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The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press
UAE and Russia in numbers
UAE-Russia ties stretch back 48 years
Trade between the UAE and Russia reached Dh12.5 bn in 2018
More than 3,000 Russian companies are registered in the UAE
Around 40,000 Russians live in the UAE
The number of Russian tourists travelling to the UAE will increase to 12 percent to reach 1.6 million in 2023
The Land between Two Rivers: Writing in an Age of Refugees
Tom Sleigh, Graywolf Press
Russia's Muslim Heartlands
Dominic Rubin, Oxford
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
What is Diwali?
The Hindu festival is at once a celebration of the autumn harvest and the triumph of good over evil, as outlined in the Ramayana.
According to the Sanskrit epic, penned by the sage Valmiki, Diwali marks the time that the exiled king Rama – a mortal with superhuman powers – returned home to the city of Ayodhya with his wife Sita and brother Lakshman, after vanquishing the 10-headed demon Ravana and conquering his kingdom of Lanka. The people of Ayodhya are believed to have lit thousands of earthen lamps to illuminate the city and to guide the royal family home.
In its current iteration, Diwali is celebrated with a puja to welcome the goodness of prosperity Lakshmi (an incarnation of Sita) into the home, which is decorated with diyas (oil lamps) or fairy lights and rangoli designs with coloured powder. Fireworks light up the sky in some parts of the word, and sweetmeats are made (or bought) by most households. It is customary to get new clothes stitched, and visit friends and family to exchange gifts and greetings.
The view from The National
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Book%20Details
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BIGGEST CYBER SECURITY INCIDENTS IN RECENT TIMES
SolarWinds supply chain attack: Came to light in December 2020 but had taken root for several months, compromising major tech companies, governments and its entities
Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails
Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies
Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments
