After picking up an Emmy on Wednesday, Bisan Atef Owda became the latest Palestinian voice to receive international recognition for her coverage of the Israel-Gaza war.
The journalist's ongoing project It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive, created with AJ+, the digital platform of Al Jazeera, documents her daily life in Gaza. It won Outstanding Hard News Feature: Short Form at the News and Documentary Emmy Awards, which followed the Creative and Primetime Emmys held earlier this month.
The Creative Community for Peace, a pro-Israel lobby group of entertainment industry leaders, signed an open letter calling for a withdrawal of Owda’s nomination. The open letter, which was signed by celebrities such as Debra Messing and Selma Blair, argued that Owda's alleged past affiliations with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a designated terrorist organisation in the US, warranted the rescission of her nomination.
The open letter drew backlash, with opposing viewpoints painting it as an attempt to suppress crucial and necessary journalistic perspectives from Gaza. Five days before Owda’s win, the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences said it would not rescind her nomination saying it was unable to corroborate reports of Owda’s involvement in the organisation.
It’s Bisan From Gaza and I’m Still Alive also won a Peabody Award earlier this year. Odwa has also reported independently to her four million followers on Instagram, where she has been one of the most prominent voices from the front lines of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.
To date, several Palestinian journalists including Owda have been recognised or awarded for their work in Gaza since last October.
Earlier this year, the World Press Freedom Hero Award was awarded to all Palestinian journalists covering the war in Gaza. The award included Palestinian journalist and the bureau chief of Al Jazeera in Gaza, Wael Dahdouh, whose wife, 15-year-old son and seven-year-old daughter were killed in an Israeli airstrike in October. It also honoured Bilal Jadallah, the Palestinian journalist and former director of Press House Palestine, a non-governmental organisation dedicated to press freedom. Jadallah was killed in an Israeli airstrike in October.
In May, Unesco Guillermo Cano World Press Freedom Prize was awarded to all Palestinian journalists in Gaza. Nasser Abu Baker, president of the Palestinian Journalists' Syndicate, accepted the award on behalf of his colleagues in the enclave.
Motaz Azaiza, the prominent Palestinian photojournalist, gained significant recognition for his coverage of the conflict through his social media channels. Last year, Azaiza was named Man of the Year by GQ Middle East and since then he was featured in Time's list of the 100 most influential people and was awarded the Freedom Prize in Normandy, France.
This week, the Palestinian writer and journalist Plestia Alaqad’s first book, The Eyes of Gaza, was announced after publishing house Pan Macmillan won an auction against five other publishers for the rights to publish the book.
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
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Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm
Transmission: 9-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km
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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
Australia World Cup squad
Aaron Finch (capt), Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Steve Smith, Shaun Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Marcus Stoinis, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jason Behrendorff, Nathan Lyon, Adam Zampa
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar
Director: Neeraj Pandey
Rating: 2.5/5
