This file photo taken on February 27, 1979 shows French writer Maurice Genevoix, secretary of the Académie Française, at the Cercle interallié in Paris. AFP Photo
This file photo taken on February 27, 1979 shows French writer Maurice Genevoix, secretary of the Académie Française, at the Cercle interallié in Paris. AFP Photo
This file photo taken on February 27, 1979 shows French writer Maurice Genevoix, secretary of the Académie Française, at the Cercle interallié in Paris. AFP Photo
This file photo taken on February 27, 1979 shows French writer Maurice Genevoix, secretary of the Académie Française, at the Cercle interallié in Paris. AFP Photo

France bestows highest honour on First World War poet


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France will on Wednesday move the remains of First World War writer Maurice Genevoix into its Pantheon of national heroes in Paris, an honour championed by President Emmanuel Macron to encourage remembrance of the conflict.

Genevoix wrote five memoirs of his time as a front-line soldier experiencing the horrors of trench warfare in the conflict, which he later collected into a single book Ceux de 14 or Men of 14.

The work is considered by many to be the single greatest literary work to have emerged in French from the 1914-18 war, with its raw insight into the experience of battle drawing comparisons with Storm of Steel by German writer Ernst Juenger or the English poetry of Wilfred Owen.

The Pantheon is a secular temple to France's literary luminaries such as Voltaire, Rousseau, Dumas, Hugo and Malraux as well as other great figures from culture, science and politics.

The remains of 70 men are housed under the great dome of the neoclassical building but – controversially for some – only five women have been given the honour.

Only the president can decide on moving personalities to the Pantheon, and Mr Macron has used this authority only once before, in 2018, to give Simone Veil, a former French minister who survived the Holocaust, the honour of a final resting place there.

While the final choice rests with the president, the move can always be vetoed by descendants, as happened when the family of Albert Camus thwarted a bid in 2009 by then-president Nicolas Sarkozy to move his remains to the Pantheon.

There is also sometimes controversy, and a campaign that has divided French cultural commentators is in progress to give poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine – known for their stormy relationship as well as impassioned verse – a final resting place in the Pantheon.

Mr Macron will preside over Wednesday's ceremony, which is taking place on the November 11 Armistice Day that remembers the dead in the world wars.

Marking 102 years since the end of First World War, an installation by French composer Pascal Dusapin and German artist Anselm Kiefer commissioned by the Elysee will be put in the Pantheon.

The moving of Genevoix's remains had initially been scheduled for last year but was delayed to coincide with the 100th anniversary of the burial of the unknown soldiers in the Arc de Triomphe.

"Genevoix was the voice of memory. Through him, the voice of the Men of 14 never ceases to urge us not to drop our guard and to preserve our vigilance when the worst reappears again," Mr Macron said.

Genevoix participated in the battle of the Marne and the march on Verdun. Promoted to lieutenant, he saw the daily life of the infantryman – the mud, the blood, the storms of steel, what he called all this "insane farce".

Genevoix, then 24, was badly wounded in April 1915 and treated in hospital for seven months, and began to write from notes made in the trenches, with his first memoir published as war still raged in 1916.

He wrote five memoirs, which he then compiled into Men of 14 in 1949.

"What we did was more than could be asked of men and we did it," he wrote in the work.

In later life, he wrote novels and also became a champion of ecological causes. He died at the age of 89 in 1980.

ACL Elite (West) - fixtures

Monday, Sept 30

Al Sadd v Esteghlal (8pm)
Persepolis v Pakhtakor (8pm)
Al Wasl v Al Ahli (8pm)
Al Nassr v Al Rayyan (10pm)

Tuesday, Oct 1
Al Hilal v Al Shorta (10pm)
Al Gharafa v Al Ain (10pm)

ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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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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A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.

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A new relationship with the old country

Treaty of Friendship between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates

The United kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates; Considering that the United Arab Emirates has assumed full responsibility as a sovereign and independent State; Determined that the long-standing and traditional relations of close friendship and cooperation between their peoples shall continue; Desiring to give expression to this intention in the form of a Treaty Friendship; Have agreed as follows:

ARTICLE 1 The relations between the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United Arab Emirates shall be governed by a spirit of close friendship. In recognition of this, the Contracting Parties, conscious of their common interest in the peace and stability of the region, shall: (a) consult together on matters of mutual concern in time of need; (b) settle all their disputes by peaceful means in conformity with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations.

ARTICLE 2 The Contracting Parties shall encourage education, scientific and cultural cooperation between the two States in accordance with arrangements to be agreed. Such arrangements shall cover among other things: (a) the promotion of mutual understanding of their respective cultures, civilisations and languages, the promotion of contacts among professional bodies, universities and cultural institutions; (c) the encouragement of technical, scientific and cultural exchanges.

ARTICLE 3 The Contracting Parties shall maintain the close relationship already existing between them in the field of trade and commerce. Representatives of the Contracting Parties shall meet from time to time to consider means by which such relations can be further developed and strengthened, including the possibility of concluding treaties or agreements on matters of mutual concern.

ARTICLE 4 This Treaty shall enter into force on today’s date and shall remain in force for a period of ten years. Unless twelve months before the expiry of the said period of ten years either Contracting Party shall have given notice to the other of its intention to terminate the Treaty, this Treaty shall remain in force thereafter until the expiry of twelve months from the date on which notice of such intention is given.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF the undersigned have signed this Treaty.

DONE in duplicate at Dubai the second day of December 1971AD, corresponding to the fifteenth day of Shawwal 1391H, in the English and Arabic languages, both texts being equally authoritative.

Signed

Geoffrey Arthur  Sheikh Zayed

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Price, base / as tested Dh460,000

Engine 8.4L V10

Transmission Six-speed manual

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Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm

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