• President Sheikh Mohamed and senior UAE officials perform Eid Al Adha prayers at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Media
    President Sheikh Mohamed and senior UAE officials perform Eid Al Adha prayers at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi. Abu Dhabi Media
  • During the sermon, Dr Omar Al Darei, director general of the UAE Fatwa Council, emphasised the importance of family ties. Abu Dhabi Media
    During the sermon, Dr Omar Al Darei, director general of the UAE Fatwa Council, emphasised the importance of family ties. Abu Dhabi Media
  • Sheikh Mohamed wished the Rulers of the emirates and leaders around the world a happy and blessed Eid Al Adha. Abu Dhabi Media
    Sheikh Mohamed wished the Rulers of the emirates and leaders around the world a happy and blessed Eid Al Adha. Abu Dhabi Media
  • Sheikh Mohamed prays alongside senior officials including Sheikh Mansour, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court. Abu Dhabi Media
    Sheikh Mohamed prays alongside senior officials including Sheikh Mansour, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court. Abu Dhabi Media
  • Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, performs Eid Al Adha prayers at Zabeel Grand Mosque. Dubai Media Office
    Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai, performs Eid Al Adha prayers at Zabeel Grand Mosque. Dubai Media Office
  • Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, performs Eid Al Adha prayers at Zabeel Grand Mosque. Dubai Media Office
    Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, Deputy Prime Minister and First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, performs Eid Al Adha prayers at Zabeel Grand Mosque. Dubai Media Office
  • Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Maktoum were joined by several senior officials. Dubai Media Office
    Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Maktoum were joined by several senior officials. Dubai Media Office
  • Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Sharjah Mosque
    Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi, Ruler of Sharjah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Sharjah Mosque
  • Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, also offered prayers along with several sheikhs, senior officials, citizens and residents
    Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, and Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, also offered prayers along with several sheikhs, senior officials, citizens and residents
  • Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers on Wednesday morning. Fujairah Media Office
    Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers on Wednesday morning. Fujairah Media Office
  • Sheikh Hamad was joined by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah.
    Sheikh Hamad was joined by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah.
  • A large crowd of worshippers attended prayers at Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Fujairah.
    A large crowd of worshippers attended prayers at Sheikh Zayed Mosque in Fujairah.
  • Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers on Wednesday morning. Rak Media Office
    Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers on Wednesday morning. Rak Media Office
  • The prayers were performed at the Grand Eid Musalla in Khuzam, Ras Al Khaimah
    The prayers were performed at the Grand Eid Musalla in Khuzam, Ras Al Khaimah
  • Sheikh Saud prayed to God to bless people of the UAE, and all Arab and Islamic nations, with good health, progress and prosperity
    Sheikh Saud prayed to God to bless people of the UAE, and all Arab and Islamic nations, with good health, progress and prosperity
  • Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at the Ahmed bin Rashid Al Mualla Mosque in the emirate
    Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at the Ahmed bin Rashid Al Mualla Mosque in the emirate
  • Sheikh Rashid bin Saud Al Mualla, Crown Prince of Umm Al Quwain, several sheikhs, senior officials and dignitaries also offered prayers
    Sheikh Rashid bin Saud Al Mualla, Crown Prince of Umm Al Quwain, several sheikhs, senior officials and dignitaries also offered prayers
  • Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi Mosque in Ajman
    Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi, Ruler of Ajman, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi Mosque in Ajman
  • Sheikh Humaid was joined by Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman
    Sheikh Humaid was joined by Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman

President Sheikh Mohamed performs Eid Al Adha prayers


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President Sheikh Mohamed performed Eid Al Adha prayers on Wednesday morning alongside fellow worshippers at the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi.

During the sermon, Dr Omar Al Darei, director general of the Fatwa Council, emphasised the importance of family bonds.

Sheikh Mohamed shared images on social media and wished the rulers of the emirates and leaders around the world a happy and blessed Eid Al Adha.

“To the rulers of the emirates, citizens and residents of the UAE, and Muslims around the world, I wish you a blessed Eid Al Adha and pray that God grants continued peace and happiness to our nation and to the people of the world,” Sheikh Mohamed said on Twitter.

Among those alongside Sheikh Mohamed were Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President and Minister of the Presidential Court; Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi; Sheikh Saif bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior; Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad, Advisor for Special Affairs at the Ministry of the Presidential Court; Minister of Tolerance and Coexistence: Sheikh Nahyan bin Mubarak, as well several sheikhs, high-ranking officials and worshippers.

Following the prayers, Sheikh Mohamed exchanged greetings with worshippers.

He then visited the tomb of UAE Founding Father, the late Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan.

In Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of Dubai and Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed, First Deputy Ruler of Dubai, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Zabeel Grand Mosque.

In Sharjah, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Muhammad Al Qasimi performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Sharjah Mosque. He was joined by Sheikh Abdullah bin Salem Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah and Sheikh Sultan bin Ahmed Al Qasimi, Deputy Ruler of Sharjah, along with several sheikhs, senior officials, citizens and residents.

Sheikh Hamad bin Mohammed Al Sharqi, Ruler of Fujairah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Sheikh Zayed Mosque. He was joined by Sheikh Mohammed bin Hamad Al Sharqi, Crown Prince of Fujairah.

Sheikh Saud bin Saqr Al Qasimi, Ruler of Ras Al Khaimah, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at the Grand Eid Musalla in Khuzam. He wished good health, progress and prosperity to the people of the UAE and all Arab and Islamic nations.

Sheikh Saud bin Rashid Al Mualla, Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at the Ahmed bin Rashid Al Mualla Mosque in the emirate. He was joined by Sheikh Rashid bin Saud Al Mualla, Crown Prince of Umm Al Quwain and several sheikhs and senior officials.

Sheikh Humaid bin Rashid Al Nuaimi. Ruler of Ajman, performed Eid Al Adha prayers at Sheikh Rashid bin Humaid Al Nuaimi Mosque in Ajman. He was joined by Sheikh Ammar bin Humaid Al Nuaimi, Crown Prince of Ajman.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Mohamed sent messages of congratulations to kings, emirs and presidents across the Arab world on the eve of Eid Al Adha.

Sheikh Mohamed called for the continued progress, prosperity and stability of their nations and people.

Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, and Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Vice President, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Presidential Court, sent similar messages to leaders across the region.

Thousands of worshippers gathered at mosques across the Emirates on Wednesday to perform prayers on the first morning of the festival.

Eid Al Adha – the festival of the sacrifice – is marked during Dhu Al Hijjah, the 12th and final month of the Islamic calendar. It is also the time the annual Hajj pilgrimage is performed.

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Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Final results:

Open men
Australia 94 (4) beat New Zealand 48 (0)

Plate men
England 85 (3) beat India 81 (1)

Open women
Australia 121 (4) beat South Africa 52 (0)

Under 22 men
Australia 68 (2) beat New Zealand 66 (2)

Under 22 women
Australia 92 (3) beat New Zealand 54 (1)

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

Who are the Sacklers?

The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.

Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. 

It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.

Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".

The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.

Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.

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-2 C Morikawa (US), M Laird (Sco), C Tringale (US)

Selected others: -1 P Casey (Eng), R Fowler (US), T Hatton (Eng)

Level B DeChambeau (US), J Rose (Eng) 

1 L Westwood (Eng), J Spieth (US)

3 R McIlroy (NI)

4 D Johnson (US)

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Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

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Name: Brendalle Belaza

From: Crossing Rubber, Philippines

Arrived in the UAE: 2007

Favourite place in Abu Dhabi: NYUAD campus

Favourite photography style: Street photography

Favourite book: Harry Potter

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

Results

2pm: Serve U – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (Dirt) 1,400m; Winner: Violent Justice, Pat Dobbs (jockey), Doug Watson (trainer)

2.30pm: Al Shafar Investment – Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Desert Wisdom, Bernardo Pinheiro, Ahmed Al Shemaili

3pm: Commercial Bank of Dubai – Handicap (TB) Dh68,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Fawaareq, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson

3.30pm: Shadwell – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh100,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Down On Da Bayou, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer

4pm: Dubai Real Estate Centre – Maiden (TB) Dh60,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Rakeez, Patrick Cosgrave, Bhupat Seemar

4.30pm: Al Redha Insurance Brokers – Handicap (TB) Dh78,000 (D) 1,800m; Winner: Capla Crusader, Bernardo Pinheiro, Rashed Bouresly

Meydan race card

6.30pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
7.05pm: Handicap Dh 185,000 2,000m
7.40pm: Maiden Dh 165,000 1,600m
8.15pm: Handicap Dh 190,000 1,400m
8.50pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap Dh 175,000 1,200m
10pm: Handicap Dh 165,000 1,600m

The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail

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Updated: June 28, 2023, 10:21 AM