US intelligence said it has not determined that Russia has definitively decided to invade Ukraine, leaving open the possibility for de-escalation.
“The intelligence community has not made an assessment that the Russians have definitively decided to take a military course of action in Ukraine,” US National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House on Thursday.
“As things stand right now, Russia has the opportunity to come to the table as we go forward to deal with the very real concerns that we’ve put on the table.”
Still, Russia has not ruled out an invasion and has used its military build-up of more than 100,000 troops on Ukraine's border as leverage to demand that Nato not expand to other countries in the region — an ultimatum that the US and its allies have firmly rejected.
Mr Sullivan also rebuffed reports that the US is considering a Russian offer to reduce its troop presence in Eastern Europe.
However, he noted that the US is “prepared to discuss reciprocal parameters around the size and scope and frequency of military exercises” in the region.
In addition, he said that Washington is open to discussing “reciprocal limitations on the deployment of missiles as long as Russia is prepared to fulfil its end of the bargain and that there’s adequate verification".
Alternatively, the US has co-ordinated with its European allies on a sanctions package that would levy stiff economic penalties on Russia should it begin a mass military deployment into Ukraine.
“The main focus of the sanctions package that we’ve been working with Europe on have been significant financial sanctions with a start high, stay high mentality, not a graduated application of these sanctions.”
He noted that the penalties would include “export controls that go at certain fundamental strategic industries in Russia and other steps that we would take to ensure that Russia actually had to deal with the economic consequences of this invasion".
US officials have said that Germany had agreed to rescind its agreement with Russia to operationalise the Nord Stream 2 oil pipeline should Moscow invade.
US President Joe Biden has so far resisted sanctioning the pipeline at the behest of Germany despite pressure from Republicans in Congress to do so.
Mr Sullivan said that Russia could begin to de-escalate tension by “reducing the number of forces that they have deployed in aggressive postures towards Ukraine".
“There are other steps that Russia could take in respect to de-escalation that go far beyond Ukraine as well,” said Mr Sullivan. “But in terms of the proximate challenge in and around the border of Ukraine, that would be an important step.”
Instead, Russia hinted that it could make military deployments to Cuba and Venezuela during a Thursday meeting on Ukraine at the Organisation for Security Co-operation in Europe.
But Mr Sullivan played down that threat, noting that it did not come up at the Nato summit with Russia in Brussels on Wednesday.
The two sides failed to bridge the impasse at the summit and bilateral talks between US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman and Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergie Ryabkov in Geneva on Monday likewise produced little progress.
THE SPECS
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Transmission: seven-speed dual clutch
Power: 710bhp
Torque: 770Nm
Speed: 0-100km/h 2.9 seconds
Top Speed: 340km/h
Price: Dh1,000,885
On sale: now
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Company profile
Company: Verity
Date started: May 2021
Founders: Kamal Al-Samarrai, Dina Shoman and Omar Al Sharif
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Size: four team members
Stage: Intially bootstrapped but recently closed its first pre-seed round of $800,000
Investors: Wamda, VentureSouq, Beyond Capital and regional angel investors
The%20specs
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%206.5-litre%20V12%20and%20three%20electric%20motors%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C015hp%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E1%2C500Nm%20(estimate)%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eight-speed%20dual-clutch%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Early%202024%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh2%20million%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Mia Man’s tips for fermentation
- Start with a simple recipe such as yogurt or sauerkraut
- Keep your hands and kitchen tools clean. Sanitize knives, cutting boards, tongs and storage jars with boiling water before you start.
- Mold is bad: the colour pink is a sign of mold. If yogurt turns pink as it ferments, you need to discard it and start again. For kraut, if you remove the top leaves and see any sign of mold, you should discard the batch.
- Always use clean, closed, airtight lids and containers such as mason jars when fermenting yogurt and kraut. Keep the lid closed to prevent insects and contaminants from getting in.
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
