As a teenager, I represented Northern Ireland at judo. Owing to my mediocre talent, my international career was brief and unremarkable. However, competing outside the relatively small world of Irish judo, I met many different fighters and learnt a few things along the way. One of these lessons sprang into my mind this week, prompted by the Paralympic Games that start on Wednesday in Paris.
At one tournament in England, the usual routine of walking on to the mat, bowing and waiting for the referee’s signal to begin was disrupted. My opponent, instead of walking on alone, was being guided by a helper to his starting position. He was visually impaired, and had a lot of home support. The only concession he received from officials was that we were allowed to take our grips before the command to begin.
It was clear quite quickly who the better fighter was. He was strong, aggressive and had good technique; after some frantic grappling, I found myself thrown to the ground and pinned. Game over. In hindsight, I shouldn’t have been so surprised or disappointed by my defeat. Judo is a tactile combat sport; the pulling and pushing allow fighters to feel which way their opponent is moving and to react accordingly. My rival’s blindness was no barrier to this.
A banal lesson to draw here would be: never underestimate an opponent. The true lesson, however, is this: disabled athletes are sportsmen and women whose will to win is no less than that of able-bodied competitors. Sadly, it’s a lesson that has taken the world some time to learn.
As nearly 4,500 athletes from 180 National Paralympic Committees – including a Refugee Paralympic Team – assemble in Paris, Paralympic sports will be beamed into homes around the world. Although times have changed since Rome hosted the first Paralympic Games in 1960, and the event’s profile is higher than ever, too many antiquated attitudes towards disabled sports live on.
Research commissioned this year by British broadcaster Channel 4 revealed that nearly 60 per cent of respondents said they watch the Paralympic Games to “see athletes overcoming their disabilities”. Less than half – 37 per cent – said they watch the games for “exciting sporting competition”. Too often, disabled athletes are described as being “inspirational”, with an overt focus on their “story” rather than their sporting prowess or career.
Society is moving closer towards appreciating disabled sports for what they are – sports
It is true that such athletes can indeed be an inspiration to other disabled people. But as four-time Paralympic medallist Don Elgin told Australian broadcaster ABC at the time of the 2016 Rio Paralympic Games, repeatedly focusing on athletes’ “courage” is “condescending because we’re too quick to put a tag on the fact that someone hasn’t got that ultimate make-up, two arms and two legs. The athletes that I’m aware of, which is a lot of athletes, they’re over that”.
Ignorance and misunderstanding have dogged disabled sports for years. In 2005, Murderball, a documentary about the tough world of wheelchair basketball, featured one player recalling with exasperation how he’d once been wished good luck for the Special Olympics, the international tournament for athletes with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
In addition, research commissioned in 2011 by Scope, a British disability charity, found that nearly one in four disabled respondents found the Paralympics patronising. Two years later, a survey led by a former Paralympic gold medallist published in Disability and Society found its participants were “particularly cynical of the portrayal and production of the games and its Paralympic athletes as they perceived that the wider population of disabled people is misrepresented”.
It is perhaps telling that in 2024, the International Paralympic Committee still feels the need to publish a guide for journalists reporting on para athletes. Among the guidance is advice to avoid “emotional wording” such as “tragic”, “afflicted” or “victim”, and to not portray para athletes as “extraordinary” or “inspirational”. This, the IPC says, overstates the achievements of para athletes, inadvertently suggesting that the original expectations were not high.
Credit where it’s due, however – these Paralympics are receiving some smarter and more effective promotion. In May, the IPC released a video ad that began with a saccharine animation of para athletes and cartoon animals that is broken with a kick from a female para taekwondo fighter. Its caption reads: “They’re not playing games.” The aforementioned Channel 4 has produced its own no-nonsense Paralympic ad, a gritty affair that depicts Paralympians taking on and overcoming forces such as gravity, friction and time.
This suggests that society is moving closer towards appreciating disabled sports for what they are – sports. Paralympians often compete with an athleticism, skill level and discipline that would match many able-bodied athletes and certainly surpass the meagre abilities of armchair pundits. That many train and compete with limited funding – or self-finance entirely – serves only to highlight their commitment.
The thousands of para athletes in Paris are not there to participate but to win
That commitment will be on show over the next 11 days, and more viewers are taking notice. The IPC says Rio 2016 reached a cumulative TV audience of 4.1 billion people in more than 150 countries; there’s no reason to think that the Paris games won’t have a similar, or even greater, impact. The fact that many athletes are documenting their journey on social media also means they can present their own narrative, rather than relying exclusively on traditional media coverage.
It’s an exciting moment, and a tonic for those of us still pining for the action offered by the Olympics earlier this summer. For my part, I’ll be following Maryam Al Dhanhani, the first Emirati woman to represent the UAE in judo at the Paralympics. Like the thousands of other athletes in the French capital, she’s not there to participate, she’s there to win. That’s a lesson we should all appreciate.
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- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
Stree
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Movies
Director: Amar Kaushik
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Shraddha Kapoor, Pankaj Tripathi, Aparshakti Khurana, Abhishek Banerjee
Rating: 3.5
Biography
Favourite book: Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance
Holiday choice: Anything Disney-related
Proudest achievement: Receiving a presidential award for foreign services.
Family: Wife and three children.
Like motto: You always get what you ask for, the universe listens.
ENGLAND SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
ARGENTINA SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Franco Armani, Agustin Marchesin, Esteban Andrada
Defenders: Juan Foyth, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Nicolas Tagliafico, Ramiro Funes Mori, Renzo Saravia, Marcos Acuna, Milton Casco
Midfielders: Leandro Paredes, Guido Rodriguez, Giovani Lo Celso, Exequiel Palacios, Roberto Pereyra, Rodrigo De Paul, Angel Di Maria
Forwards: Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala, Matias Suarez
In Search of Mary Shelley: The Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein
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Squid Game season two
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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
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RedCrow Intelligence Company Profile
Started: 2016
Founders: Hussein Nasser Eddin, Laila Akel, Tayeb Akel
Based: Ramallah, Palestine
Sector: Technology, Security
# of staff: 13
Investment: $745,000
Investors: Palestine’s Ibtikar Fund, Abu Dhabi’s Gothams and angel investors
