This region is living proof of the perils of precipitous change. Societies caught up in the Arab uprisings nearly seven years ago are still coming to terms with the instability that swept through them. The United Nations estimates that the Middle East lost more than $600 billion in economic activity between 2011 and 2015. No one can quantify the human potential squandered during this period. As Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, said: "It has proven easier to destroy institutions than to build new ones and revolutions have created vacuums that extremists have exploited."
Addressing the Abu Dhabi Strategic Debate, Dr Gargash rejected as "profoundly mistaken" the notion that the UAE wants us to recreate the world as it existed prior to the uprisings. But how, he wondered, do we forge a constructive path "between aspirations for stability and development, and the realities of chaos and violence"? How we handle this challenge will determine the fate of the region, and the wider world, in the decades ahead. The UAE, for its part, has been "a passionate advocate of evolutionary change in our region". The result of this expertly managed change is a society that is confident in its own skin, proud of its heritage, tolerant of difference and open to the world. Its pioneering work in space exploration and science, the frontiers of the future, is matched by its groundbreaking efforts to preserve and celebrate our civilisational achievements of the past.
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Read more:
Middle East needs a strong, developing Saudi Arabia and stable Egypt, Minister says
Saudi Arabia’s urgent mission gathers speed
Egypt's Sisi rules out extending presidential terms
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But, as Dr Gargash pointed out, any strategy that seeks to bring stability to the whole region requires a "strong, developing Saudi Arabia and a stable, robust Egypt". The ambitious reforms undertaken by Saudi Arabia's young Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, radiate a "powerful message of hope" to the region's youth. Prince Mohammed is creating a climate in which the kingdom's young, frustrated for so long by corruption and unyielding orthodoxy, might finally thrive.
Managed change of the kind over which Prince Mohammed is presiding will produce outlets for healthy self-expression. Everyone who supports a moderate future ought to support that agenda. But change cannot be viewed in isolation; the gains in Saudi Arabia will be of little use beyond its borders if there is instability in Egypt, the most populous Arab country and seat of Al Azhar University, one of the world's oldest centres of Islamic learning. Both nations are at a critical juncture, engaged, in Dr Gargash's words, in a "battle over the heart and soul of our region". This is a fight "we cannot afford to lose".
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.
How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Captain Marvel
Director: Anna Boden, Ryan Fleck
Starring: Brie Larson, Samuel L Jackson, Jude Law, Ben Mendelsohn
4/5 stars
Hotel Silence
Auður Ava Ólafsdóttir
Pushkin Press
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Company%C2%A0profile
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TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
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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City's slump
L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1
