St. John's College, Oxford, England. Getty Images
St. John's College, Oxford, England. Getty Images

Oxbridge shows enduring appeal as universities top Times Higher Education's global rankings



The enduring appeal of Oxbridge has once again been confirmed, with the two prestigious British institutions topping this year’s world university rankings.

Oxford took first place for the second year running in the Times Higher Education’s list of top 1,000 global universities, joined by its rival Cambridge in second place. It is the highest that Cambridge has ever ranked and a steady improvement on fourth place last year.

Across the pond, there was less to celebrate, as Cambridge’s ascent forced US institutions to drop out of the top two positions for the first time. California Institute of Technology dropped to third position, a ranking it now shares with fellow west coast university, Stanford. MIT, Harvard and Princeton took the fifth, sixth and seventh slots respectively, unchanged from 2016.

Germany (20), The Netherlands (13) and Australia (eight) were well represented in the top 200, but it is ascendancy of Chinese universities that continues to impress the most. Peking and Tsinghua climbed into the top 30 for the first time, beating big names in Europe and the US. Almost all Chinese universities improved, signalling that the country’s commitment to investment has bolstered results year-on-year.

In the Middle East, the standout performer was Khalifa University, which shot into the 301-350 band having been unranked in last year’s list. UAE University and the American University of Sharjah both held onto their positions from last year, while the University of Sharjah also made it into the top 1,000 for the first time.

This is the fourteenth edition of the Times Higher Education’s World University Rankings, which is considered the definitive list of the top 1,000 institutions from 77 countries.

Phil Baty, Editorial Director of Global Rankings at Times Higher Education, hailed Cambridge’s rise to second place as a “fantastic achievement” and said that other advances among European institutions show the continued strength of the region.

However, he warned that Europe would come under increasing pressure amid a surge in global competition, while British universities could struggle in future due to the country’s impending departure from the European Union.

“There are signs that Asia is starting to threaten the position of some of Europe’s leading institutions, while Brexit poses a huge risk to the success of UK universities in the future,” he said.

“Europe will need to work hard to ensure it can sustain its performance in future years.”

The waning dominance of North American universities was also evident, with Mr Baty describing its fall from the top two spots as a “real blow to the country’s higher education sector”.

Two-fifths of the US institutions in the top 200 have dropped places in this year’s list. Canada fared slightly better, but both nations are clearly feeling the threat from rising Asian stars. For example, the University of Hong Kong overtook McGill University and the National University of Singapore is now on a par with the University of Toronto and has overtaken Carnegie Mellon.

Mr Baty warned that the Trump administration is casting a cloud over research funding for US universities, while the country’s anti-immigration policies could put further pressure on their place in the rankings.

“Funding concerns for America’s public universities, uncertainty around future levels of research income and anti-immigration policies means that the US’ position may decline further in future years,” he said.

East Asia was the standout region in this year’s rankings. The ascent of Chinese universities was particularly impressive, with Peking reaching its highest position at joint 27, making it equal to both the University of Edinburgh and New York University. Meanwhile, Tsinghua also overtook the University of Melbourne, Georgia Institute of Technology and LMU Munich.

Mr Baty said: “The rise of China in this year’s table is remarkable and demonstrates the way the global higher education landscape is changing.

“With two top-30 representatives for the first time in the 14-year history of the rankings, China’s leading universities are truly now part of the global elite and overtaking prestigious universities in the US, UK and Europe.”

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Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Cricket World Cup League 2

UAE squad

Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind

Fixtures

Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE

Results

Stage 5:

1. Jonas Vingegaard (DEN) Team Jumbo-Visma  04:19:08

2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates  00:00:03

3. Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers

4. Sergio Higuita (COL) EF Education-Nippo 00:00:05

5. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:00:06

General Classification:

1. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates 17:09:26

2.  Adam Yates (GBR) Ineos Grenadiers 00:00:45

3. Joao Almeida (POR) Deceuninck-QuickStep 00:01:12

4. Chris Harper (AUS) Team Jumbo-Visma 00:01:54

5. Neilson Powless (USA) EF Education-Nippo 00:01:56

BIG SPENDERS

Premier League clubs spent £230 million (Dh1.15 billion) on January transfers, the second-highest total for the mid-season window, the Sports Business Group at Deloitte said in a report.

Pakistan Super League

Previous winners

2016 Islamabad United

2017 Peshawar Zalmi

2018 Islamabad United

2019 Quetta Gladiators

 

Most runs Kamran Akmal – 1,286

Most wickets Wahab Riaz –65

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

What is a robo-adviser?

Robo-advisers use an online sign-up process to gauge an investor’s risk tolerance by feeding information such as their age, income, saving goals and investment history into an algorithm, which then assigns them an investment portfolio, ranging from more conservative to higher risk ones.

These portfolios are made up of exchange traded funds (ETFs) with exposure to indices such as US and global equities, fixed-income products like bonds, though exposure to real estate, commodity ETFs or gold is also possible.

Investing in ETFs allows robo-advisers to offer fees far lower than traditional investments, such as actively managed mutual funds bought through a bank or broker. Investors can buy ETFs directly via a brokerage, but with robo-advisers they benefit from investment portfolios matched to their risk tolerance as well as being user friendly.

Many robo-advisers charge what are called wrap fees, meaning there are no additional fees such as subscription or withdrawal fees, success fees or fees for rebalancing.

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Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode

Directors: Raj & DK

Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon

Rating: 4/5

Singham Again

Director: Rohit Shetty

Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone

Rating: 3/5

End of free parking

- paid-for parking will be rolled across Abu Dhabi island on August 18

- drivers will have three working weeks leeway before fines are issued

- areas that are currently free to park - around Sheikh Zayed Bridge, Maqta Bridge, Mussaffah Bridge and the Corniche - will now require a ticket

- villa residents will need a permit to park outside their home. One vehicle is Dh800 and a second is Dh1,200. 

- The penalty for failing to pay for a ticket after 10 minutes will be Dh200

- Parking on a patch of sand will incur a fine of Dh300

EA Sports FC 25
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Power: 400hp

Torque: 475Nm

Transmission: 9-speed automatic

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The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index

Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.

The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.

“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.

“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”

Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.

Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.

“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.

Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
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COMPANY PROFILE

Company: Bidzi

● Started: 2024

● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid

● Based: Dubai, UAE

● Industry: M&A

● Funding size: Bootstrapped

● No of employees: Nine

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed 

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

Overview

Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu

Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal


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