A collective sigh of relief was almost palpable following a recent media briefing by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It was not because its director general brought good news from the Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant on the frontline of the Russia-Ukraine war, but because trusted experts from the UN watchdog had verified what was going on and had given advice on how to avoid catastrophe.
Of course, that does not necessarily mean that the protagonists will listen. That is the UN’s central paradox and problem. In an interconnected world where our biggest challenges know no borders, the UN is our agreed forum to settle differences and enhance the collective good. But this depends on co-operation among sovereign states that are driven, above all, by national self-interests.
A few days earlier, a ship carrying 23,000 tonnes of wheat for the World Food Programme (WFP) docked in Djibouti. Although a drop in an ocean of what is needed, it is an important moment for 22 million food-stressed people in the Horn of Africa, not least because it raised hope of more shipments, thanks to a UN-brokered agreement that unblocked grain exports from Ukraine.
These examples illustrate the utility of the UN system. But the IAEA mission was only possible because two member states – Russia and Ukraine – agreed after other members pressured them. The resumption of grain exports happened only when African countries lobbied Moscow and Turkey took the lead in negotiations.
The UN facilitated these achievements, rather like a priest blessing a marriage that requires the consent of two people. It shows that the UN is only as effective as the sum of its parts.
When they pull together, the UN impacts our daily lives in myriad ways. We fly safely across national air spaces because of its International Civil Aviation Organisation. When our letters or money orders arrive in some distant part of the globe, thank the UN’s Universal Postal Union. When we use the phone or internet to connect anywhere, acknowledge the UN’s International Telecommunication Union.
Invented a new gadget that needs protection in multiple countries? Register with the World Intellectual Property Organisation. Seeking dignified livelihoods through decent work? Engage with the International Labour Organisation, the only global body that gives equal voice to governments, employers and workers. Concerned with restoring stressed ecosystems? Get inspired by the UN Environment Programme.
When they pull together, the UN impacts our daily lives in myriad ways
Setting norms and standards and establishing best practices is the UN’s most vital global service as it would be tedious and costly for every nation – especially the smaller and poorer ones – to do this.
The UN is also at the forefront of raising humanity’s aspirations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1948, is available now in 360 languages. It is the world’s most translated document. It is a yardstick to assess right and wrong and provides enduring hope and inspiration, even if we don’t live up to its powerful exhortations.
More recently, the Sustainable Development Goals, unanimously adopted by the UN in 2015, is a stirring call to eliminate poverty and protect the planet that needs the orchestration of massive resources; fortunately, we have the World Bank to do that. This is self-evidently good, even if the world is hopelessly lagging in delivering on the 2030 targets.
It is easy to scoff at the UN’s idealism, but it provides the framework for national development strategies. These efforts are trusted and respected because they are inclusive. They draw on worldwide knowledge and expertise to help all countries without threatening any of them. A good illustration is the success against the once-lethal HI, thanks to UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight Aids.
However, when the common good collides with national self-interest, the UN finds itself in the hot seat attempting to facilitate agreement while ensuring that compromises do not stray too far from the norms that it must uphold.
Inevitably, no one emerges unbruised from trying to square such contradictions. The efficacy of Cop26, for example, is being questioned by recent disaster victims in Pakistan, who are awaiting long-promised climate mitigation funds. The UN is blamed for non-delivery although it can’t create money and still relies on wealthier countries to provide it.
The Covid-19 response provides further illustration. Some blame the World Health Organisation for the huge social and economic costs of lockdowns, although its advice was much more nuanced than what some nations practised. The UN’s Global Vaccine Alliance also gets the blame for gross inequities in the sharing of life-saving vaccines, although it is producer nations that hoarded supplies. Meanwhile, arguments over intellectual property rage at the World Trade Organisation to allow patent waivers and expand manufacturing of life saving therapeutics, thereby saving more lives.
That the UN is destined to dwell permanently between a rock and a hard place is exemplified by its Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Did the previous high commissioner refuse to extend her tenure because she was worn down by abuse and blame as human rights declined and human wrongs multiplied? She can hardly be blamed that her time in office coincided with an increase in authoritarianism around the world.
The UN attracts even greater criticism for not realising its core mission on peace and security, the raison d’etre for its foundation in 1945 after the Second World War. Nearly eight decades later, the world is deadlier than it has ever been since, with two billion – a quarter of humanity – living alongside conflict. And yet, it has nearly 100,000 peacekeepers and dozens of peace envoys around the world. But how can the UN be effective if its supreme body, the Security Council, is paralysed due to seemingly unbridgeable difference between its most powerful, permanent members.
To some extent, UN agencies must shoulder blame for getting lulled by their own noble-sounding rhetoric and over-selling themselves to mobilise resources in a competitive world. The UN’s humanitarian system – including household names such as Unicef and the WFP – provides a salutary tale of constant endeavour falling short. That is because they have no influence over the causes behind accelerating humanitarian needs, even as they peddle inadequate solutions, however well-intentioned.
Meanwhile instances of corruption, fraud, misconduct and mismanagement are now being identified frequently among its agencies and programmes. This is a consequence of the UN’s outdated governance and accountability safeguards and a sense of impunity that comes out of historically granted privileges and immunities.
This undermines trust at a time when the world needs multilateralism critically. However, prospects for reform of the UN’s political arrangements, especially Security Council, are non-existent, and improvements in its oversight and control mechanisms will take a long time.
The UN has achieved much but is it now too big to succeed? While it remains indispensable in several areas, must it still do all that it is doing? After all, the world has evolved many additional capabilities over past decades. That should allow the UN to retire honourably out of certain endeavours.
It does not mean that the UN should retreat. On the contrary, it must advance to higher ground through developing the ideas and aspirations needed in our age of crisis and uncertainty. In the same way that it inspired us to repair the broken world of the 1940s. To do so, the friends of the UN must help to de-clutter its muddled mind and clear out its overflowing cupboard.
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
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How the UAE gratuity payment is calculated now
Employees leaving an organisation are entitled to an end-of-service gratuity after completing at least one year of service.
The tenure is calculated on the number of days worked and does not include lengthy leave periods, such as a sabbatical. If you have worked for a company between one and five years, you are paid 21 days of pay based on your final basic salary. After five years, however, you are entitled to 30 days of pay. The total lump sum you receive is based on the duration of your employment.
1. For those who have worked between one and five years, on a basic salary of Dh10,000 (calculation based on 30 days):
a. Dh10,000 ÷ 30 = Dh333.33. Your daily wage is Dh333.33
b. Dh333.33 x 21 = Dh7,000. So 21 days salary equates to Dh7,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service. Multiply this figure for every year of service up to five years.
2. For those who have worked more than five years
c. 333.33 x 30 = Dh10,000. So 30 days’ salary is Dh10,000 in gratuity entitlement for each year of service.
Note: The maximum figure cannot exceed two years total salary figure.
Seven tips from Emirates NBD
1. Never respond to e-mails, calls or messages asking for account, card or internet banking details
2. Never store a card PIN (personal identification number) in your mobile or in your wallet
3. Ensure online shopping websites are secure and verified before providing card details
4. Change passwords periodically as a precautionary measure
5. Never share authentication data such as passwords, card PINs and OTPs (one-time passwords) with third parties
6. Track bank notifications regarding transaction discrepancies
7. Report lost or stolen debit and credit cards immediately
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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THE DETAILS
Solo: A Star Wars Story
Director: Ron Howard
2/5
If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
The Florida Project
Director: Sean Baker
Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
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The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
The biog
Favourite colour: Brown
Favourite Movie: Resident Evil
Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices
Favourite food: Pizza
Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon
Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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Who is Mohammed Al Halbousi?
The new speaker of Iraq’s parliament Mohammed Al Halbousi is the youngest person ever to serve in the role.
The 37-year-old was born in Al Garmah in Anbar and studied civil engineering in Baghdad before going into business. His development company Al Hadeed undertook reconstruction contracts rebuilding parts of Fallujah’s infrastructure.
He entered parliament in 2014 and served as a member of the human rights and finance committees until 2017. In August last year he was appointed governor of Anbar, a role in which he has struggled to secure funding to provide services in the war-damaged province and to secure the withdrawal of Shia militias. He relinquished the post when he was sworn in as a member of parliament on September 3.
He is a member of the Al Hal Sunni-based political party and the Sunni-led Coalition of Iraqi Forces, which is Iraq’s largest Sunni alliance with 37 seats from the May 12 election.
He maintains good relations with former Prime Minister Nouri Al Maliki’s State of Law Coaliton, Hadi Al Amiri’s Badr Organisation and Iranian officials.
India squad
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma, Mayank Agarwal, K.L. Rahul, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Rishabh Pant, Shivam Dube, Kedar Jadhav, Ravindra Jadeja, Yuzvendra Chahal, Kuldeep Yadav, Deepak Chahar, Mohammed Shami, Shardul Thakur.
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
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
