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
Latest: Sheikh Mohamed's childhood teacher leads birthday wishes as past pupil turns 60
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed celebrates his 60th birthday on March 11.
It can be said the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces has lived his entire life in the service of his country, from the earliest age.
He was born in Al Ain, the third son of Sheikh Zayed, at the time the Ruler's Representative in the Eastern Region.
It was an important moment, not just as the birth of the future Crown Prince. He was delivered at the new Oasis Hospital, the first in the emirate, and set up only that year by American missionaries at the invitation of Sheikh Zayed.
The realisation that the ruling family were among the first to trust these new doctors undoubtedly gave others the confidence to have their babies delivered at the hospital.
This greatly reduced the toll of death in childbirth and infant mortality, that until then had been all too common.
As Abu Dhabi became part of the UAE in December 1971, Sheikh Mohamed had already turned 10.
With their father now the country’s founding President, his sons found themselves increasingly in the public eye, seen through the rapid growth of television, newspapers and magazines.
Several of the photographs seen here, in a unique collection assembled from the UAE’s National Archives, show the childhood of the future Crown Prince.
One of the earliest photographs is from 1970, when Sheikh Mohamed was just nine.
It is an intimate family portrait of Sheikh Zayed with sons Sheikh Mohamed, Sheikh Hamdan and Sheikh Hazza. Sheikh Zayed looks at Sheikh Mohamed, smartly at attention in his uniform, as a loving father.
Another image from the same time shows Sheikh Zayed with his arms around the two younger boys as Sheikh Mohamed shares the same sofa.
In others we see him enjoying the simple pleasures of childhood, playing on a swing with his brother Sheikh Hazza or joyously riding a bicycle, taken in the 1960s, and another from the same period, sitting proudly on his horse.
By then Sheikh Mohamed was beginning his education, enrolled at Al Kindi Primary School where we see him serious, sitting at a desk with his books and writing on the classroom blackboard just before his eighth birthday in 1969.
A little later, Sheikh Mohamed was beginning to assume public duties, given the responsibility of presenting the opening of the school’s first annual exhibition, in April 1971.
Watched by his teacher, Mohamed Al Tamimi, we see Sheikh Mohamed being greeted by the guest of honour that day, the President of the UAE – but also a proud father.
By 1979, Sheikh Mohamed had graduated from the prestigious Sandhurst Military Academy in the UK, greeted on his return to Abu Dhabi by Sheikh Zayed, the moment captured in a photograph from Alittihad newspaper.
That same year, now an officer in the UAE Armed Forces, Sheikh Mohamed accompanied Sheikh Zayed to Saudi Arabia for the country’s annual military manoeuvres. A photograph shows him in his uniform, smiling behind his father and King Khalid bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.
Several images show him carrying out military duties. The earliest photo of the Crown Prince in uniform is from the 1960s, a portrait of a serious young boy in the cap of the Abu Dhabi Defence Force and the insignia of a lieutenant on his shoulders. Another, from the 1970s, shows him training in Al Ain.
Many years later we see Sheikh Mohamed, now a lieutenant general, inspecting the UAE Armed Forces in Kuwait, in March 2003. From that same year we see Sheikh Mohamed with Sheikh Zayed at a wedding in Al Ain and, in uniform again, with his father at the Idex defence exhibition in Abu Dhabi.
Sheikh Zayed passed away the following year. With his older brother Sheikh Khalifa now President, Sheikh Mohamed became Crown Prince, along with the position of Deputy Commander of the UAE Armed Forces. In 2005 he was promoted to the rank of general.
Since then, Sheikh Mohamed has been a familiar figure on the world stage. His long association with the British royal family is illustrated with images of a banquet hosted by the British ambassador to the UAE for Prince Charles in 1989, greeting the Prince of Wales again at Abu Dhabi International Airport in 2014, and with Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid, UAE Vice President and Ruler of Dubai, as Queen Elizabeth II began her second state visit to the UAE in 2010.
Two contrasting photographs show first Sheikh Mohamed being presented with the Order of Muhammad First Class by King Mohammed VI of Morocco in 2015 and then dressed as a simple pilgrim performing Umrah in Makkah, with Sheikh Zayed and the Ruler of Umm Al Quwain, Sheikh Rashid bin Ahmad Al Mu'alla.
From January 2008 we see Sheikh Mohamed welcoming US President George W Bush at his tent in Sweihan. The Crown Prince is introducing the president to a falcon, an echo of two much earlier photographs, one at the Falconers Club in Abu Dhabi, and the other, as a smiling teenager, holding a falcon aloft on a trip to Pakistan.
They are a reminder that, at heart, Sheikh Mohamed is a true son of the desert.
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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
US PGA Championship in numbers
1 Joost Luiten produced a memorable hole in one at the par-three fourth in the first round.
2 To date, the only two players to win the PGA Championship after winning the week before are Rory McIlroy (2014 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational) and Tiger Woods (2007, WGC-Bridgestone Invitational). Hideki Matsuyama or Chris Stroud could have made it three.
3 Number of seasons without a major for McIlroy, who finished in a tie for 22nd.
4 Louis Oosthuizen has now finished second in all four of the game's major championships.
5 In the fifth hole of the final round, McIlroy holed his longest putt of the week - from 16ft 8in - for birdie.
6 For the sixth successive year, play was disrupted by bad weather with a delay of one hour and 43 minutes on Friday.
7 Seven under par (64) was the best round of the week, shot by Matsuyama and Francesco Molinari on Day 2.
8 Number of shots taken by Jason Day on the 18th hole in round three after a risky recovery shot backfired.
9 Jon Rahm's age in months the last time Phil Mickelson missed the cut in the US PGA, in 1995.
10 Jimmy Walker's opening round as defending champion was a 10-over-par 81.
11 The par-four 11th coincidentally ranked as the 11th hardest hole overall with a scoring average of 4.192.
12 Paul Casey was a combined 12 under par for his first round in this year's majors.
13 The average world ranking of the last 13 PGA winners before this week was 25. Kevin Kisner began the week ranked 25th.
14 The world ranking of Justin Thomas before his victory.
15 Of the top 15 players after 54 holes, only Oosthuizen had previously won a major.
16 The par-four 16th marks the start of Quail Hollow's so-called "Green Mile" of finishing holes, some of the toughest in golf.
17 The first round scoring average of the last 17 major champions was 67.2. Kisner and Thorbjorn Olesen shot 67 on day one at Quail Hollow.
18 For the first time in 18 majors, the eventual winner was over par after round one (Thomas shot 73).
Ponti
Sharlene Teo, Pan Macmillan
How to get there
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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
