Camera footage from the top of an armoured personnel carrier shows the moment a fish jumps into the driver’s hatch as it crosses a river in Ukraine.
The vehicle, which appears to be a Russian-made BMP-1 troop carrier used in Ukrainian operations, has the capability to cross short expanses of water, a practice called “swimming” by crew members, and can do this in water up to 10 metres deep, at a speed of about 10kph.
Two unlucky fish appear startled by the nearly 20-tonne tank as it moves through the river, before one of them bounces right into the driver’s hatch. He appears unmoved by the incident and later, the video cuts to the fish being cooked in a pot.
It provided a moment of levity for the soldiers in a conflict that has caused colossal loss of life and led to massive environmental damage. Ukraine's forces are currently embarking on one of the largest military offensives of the conflict so far.
The video, posted on Twitter by an account called Citizen of Ukraine, shows the moment was even captured by a drone monitoring the river crossing.
Water obstacles are often said to be the main enemy of armoured vehicles, with very few models capable of crossing safely, even when fitted with amphibious capabilities such as snorkels.
Countless armoured vehicles on both sides in the current conflict in Ukraine have been lost trying to ford or “swim” rivers.
Some armoured vehicles, however, including German Leopard 2s and Russian-made T-72s, can “deep wade” at depths up to five metres, so that water completely covers the turret, when fitted with long enough snorkels.
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
How to get exposure to gold
Although you can buy gold easily on the Dubai markets, the problem with buying physical bars, coins or jewellery is that you then have storage, security and insurance issues.
A far easier option is to invest in a low-cost exchange traded fund (ETF) that invests in the precious metal instead, for example, ETFS Physical Gold (PHAU) and iShares Physical Gold (SGLN) both track physical gold. The VanEck Vectors Gold Miners ETF invests directly in mining companies.
Alternatively, BlackRock Gold & General seeks to achieve long-term capital growth primarily through an actively managed portfolio of gold mining, commodity and precious-metal related shares. Its largest portfolio holdings include gold miners Newcrest Mining, Barrick Gold Corp, Agnico Eagle Mines and the NewMont Goldcorp.
Brave investors could take on the added risk of buying individual gold mining stocks, many of which have performed wonderfully well lately.
London-listed Centamin is up more than 70 per cent in just three months, although in a sign of its volatility, it is down 5 per cent on two years ago. Trans-Siberian Gold, listed on London's alternative investment market (AIM) for small stocks, has seen its share price almost quadruple from 34p to 124p over the same period, but do not assume this kind of runaway growth can continue for long
However, buying individual equities like these is highly risky, as their share prices can crash just as quickly, which isn't what what you want from a supposedly safe haven.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
