Dozens of medical students have stepped up to help in the UAE's fight against Covid-19.
While most were eager to put their years of study to good use, concerns about potentially contracting the virus made some of their families nervous.
Priya Rani’s mother did not want her to volunteer.
When the Covid-19 pandemic struck, medical students were called to help at local hospitals.
Ms Rani was one. The medical student at Gulf Medical University had been restless at home after her studies were suspended.
The university arranged 25 volunteering placements with private and government hospitals in Ajman and Umm Al Quwain after the UAE government called on those with a background in healthcare to help.
This is the time we need to work. This is the time we need to fight Covid-19 to protect our patients
Ms Rani leapt at the possibility but it took days to convinced her mother.
“We literally had to beg our parents to do it,” said Ms Rani, who volunteered at Thumbay Hospital for six weeks prior to her final exams. “My mum stopped talking to me because she did not want me to go out, but I felt like it was something I really wanted to do.”
As a fourth year student, Ms Rani had spent months shadowing doctors but it was the first time she really grasped the role of all hospital staff.
She worked 12 hour shifts assisting nursing staff, who were under pressure serving Covid-19 patients.
“Being in their lives for just two months, I learnt to respect them so much,” said Ms Rani, who is from Bangladesh but grew up in the UAE.
“The doctors come and they diagnose you with your disease but it’s the nurses who are in the background doing all the work, it’s the nurses who are keeping watch on patients for 24 hours a day.”
Ms Rani worked in the wards without Covid-19 patients. Her daily tasks included everything from giving vaccinations to changing bedding to helping mothers with nursing.
Nurses guided her each step of the way.
“They taught me everything,” said Ms Rani.
“They literally taught me with their own hands and then they laughed, and they joked, they shared their food and I would never have known these things if I hadn’t volunteered.
“Usually we don’t see nurses in that way. I’ve seen so many patients come and yell at nurses. But they work for 12 hours a day and do an amazing job.”
Salwa Ali, a fourth year biomedicine student, volunteered in a lab at Thumbay Hospital processing Covid-19 tests.
“I was a bit scared going in, I won’t lie to you, but I was happy to be doing this,” said Ms Ali, a 21-year-old Emirati.
“It just made me more committed to my goals.”
Over the course of five weeks, she saw technology improve as researchers around the world rushed to automate test processing - cutting the time it takes to get a result from four hours to 80 minutes.
She expects the pandemic will inspire more young people to pursue careers in healthcare and medical research.
“Research is something very important in the current day,” said Ms Ali. “There are new viruses, we need new treatment, new procedures for everything and it will play such an important role in the community.”
Krishnaveni Selvaraj, 21, has volunteered as a nurse at a government hospital in Umm Al Quwain for the past three months.
She goes three days a week to care for geriatric patients.
Her parents were initially hesitant about her work in a hospital that treats Covid-19 patients but for her, volunteering was a certainty.
“Of course, we are nurses so we should not get nervous. If we get down or upset due to the Covid-19 pandemic, who will take of our patients? That’s the main thing.”
“My family were tense, worried. It was in their head that it’s really disturbing situation, they said, ‘how will you volunteer?’
“I said, ‘I’m a nurse, I’m going to graduate’. In nursing, it’s not like if something happens we should step back. Without nurses, nothing can be done. That’s how it is. We should be there for the patients, no matter what the situation is.”
Her interest in science led her to become a nurse, and she has not looked back.
“I need to gain a lot of experience. This is just the beginning.”
“Our world is still suffering with Covid-19 and people need nurses and doctors to be there for the patients. This is the time we need to work. This is the time we need to fight Covid-19 to protect our patients.”
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
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
THE BIO
Bio Box
Role Model: Sheikh Zayed, God bless his soul
Favorite book: Zayed Biography of the leader
Favorite quote: To be or not to be, that is the question, from William Shakespeare's Hamlet
Favorite food: seafood
Favorite place to travel: Lebanon
Favorite movie: Braveheart
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
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.”
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Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
