I think we can all agree that it might be time to rethink the concept of a "new normal". With the steady approach of the pandemic’s second anniversary and not much clarity or certainty about when we will see its end, I think it is safe to say that the future won’t be "normal" at all.
Our jobs and daily lives have had to adapt in order to survive. But beyond survival, looking to the complex process of recovery, it is also clear that we cannot afford to go back to a traditional way of thinking and living, especially in the context of health care.
To ensure health care organisations can thrive amid turbulence requires creating a new breed of a healthcare leader to take the wheel – one who will successfully guide health care into tomorrow.
Flexibility is important, and for future leaders in the sector that will mean a desire to experiment and keep a chronically open mind. A good future leader should not be overly conservative because of the staggering rate of change we are experiencing that is leading us into the future world. Diseases, technology, and treatment methods are constantly evolving, so the ability to be highly adaptable will hold the future in good stead. The health sector's traditions and culture are important, but there is a significant danger in being fixated on old habits and the comfort of how things used to be.
It is also important to have a focused understanding of the nature of human beings and what it means to receive care from a patient’s perspective. With technology and digitalisation increasingly dominating the field of health care, the levels of human input and interaction have reduced, leading us to forget an all-important truth: that care is not just about treatment or diagnosis.
Care runs much deeper. There are emotions to it. The human touch is a fundamental part of care. If we are going to rely on technology, it should evolve to support human aspirations to care for the sick, rather than be reduced to something defined by numbers and machines. The time that we save using technology to treat patients should be channelled back into the art of caring; and a healthcare leader of tomorrow will need to understand and live out that balance.
The patient of tomorrow will not be the same as the patient of today. The likelihood is that they will be much more informed, thanks to the increasing availability of health-related information online. We are seeing a growing trend in which patients are a lot more involved in their own care. They are becoming increasingly more knowledgeable about the state of their own health, the treatments available and the specialists available to treat them.
The human touch is a fundamental part of care
But that doesn't mean they will interpret that information correctly. One important role of the healthcare system is to adapt what patients know to their specific context – to take that information and present it in a way that makes sense to the patient. Anyone can read about diseases on the internet, often developing a narrow understanding, but healthcare leaders will have a role to play in providing education to give a more in-depth, tailored understanding of diseases.
The future seems to be coming at us faster every day, but the sector overall still lags behind in its education efforts. The current focus is content-driven, but in a future world, memorising content will become redundant since everything is freely searchable on Google. While it is useful to have a reserve of knowledge in your mind, what will make our future leaders effective is creativity.
Those of us who work in health education should train the sector's professionals by designing scenarios that bring their creativity into play, with simulations that bring out critical and lateral thinking and creative and meaningful problem solving.
Another interesting school of thought which continues to be the subject of debate is understanding whether our healthcare curriculum needs to be as broad as it currently is. There are provocative questions that can and should be asked. Does the process of formal education really need to be as long as it is? Or would speciality training be more effective in meeting future needs? What about hybrid schooling, like the recent combination of medicine and engineering?
Change is slow when thinking about making adaptations to healthcare education and, looking at the global context, there are huge differences. Healthcare systems that are traditionally conservative have the same curriculum that has prevailed for decades, whereas other contexts are more open to creating adaptive programmes that are more compatible with the future we are projected to see. Where and how we meet in the middle, we have yet to see.
There is nothing "normal" about the future of health care. A good healthcare leader of tomorrow has quite the cross-cultural task ahead of them, balancing deeply entrenched tradition and thought with channelling the high energy of a significantly bright future for the healthcare sector.
West Asia rugby, season 2017/18 - Roll of Honour
Western Clubs Champions League - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Bahrain
Dubai Rugby Sevens - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Jebel Ali Dragons
West Asia Premiership - Winners: Jebel Ali Dragons; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
UAE Premiership Cup - Winners: Abu Dhabi Harlequins; Runners up: Dubai Exiles
UAE Premiership - Winners: Dubai Exiles; Runners up: Abu Dhabi Harlequins
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
Name: Peter Dicce
Title: Assistant dean of students and director of athletics
Favourite sport: soccer
Favourite team: Bayern Munich
Favourite player: Franz Beckenbauer
Favourite activity in Abu Dhabi: scuba diving in the Northern Emirates
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Race card
4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m
5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections:
4pm Zabardast
4.35pm Ibn Malik
5.10pm Space Blues
5.45pm Kimbear
6.20pm Barney Roy
6.55pm Matterhorn
7.30pm Defoe
Command%20Z
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3ESteven%20Soderbergh%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%C2%A0%3C%2Fstrong%3EMichael%20Cera%2C%20Liev%20Schreiber%2C%20Chloe%20Radcliffe%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%C2%A03%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
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)
The biog
Hobbies: Writing and running
Favourite sport: beach volleyball
Favourite holiday destinations: Turkey and Puerto Rico
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
