To most, Gaza is synonymous with violence and poverty. Little attention is paid to the dreams of the youth behind its walls and fences. And yet, as we report today, a UAE charity will help more than 2,500 Gaza students learn to read, write and play sports through the United Nation's Adopt a School in Gaza Initiative.
But an elementary school in Beit Lahia will receive far more than just school supplies from the Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahyan Foundation. It will receive the funds to inspire the imaginations of the students who live inside the stifling borders of the Strip.
Hope is also offered by dynamic people such as Suleiman Baraka, a Gaza-born, Nasa-trained astrophysicist, who inspires the Strip's youth to reach for the stars. Mr Baraka recently returned to his homeland, telescope in hand, to generate interest in astronomy. Holding his first "star party" this month, he was moved to tears by students who, with his telescope, discovered a sky with "no borders, no fences, no wall". The lesson is plain: with education and the right tools, the sky is only the limit.
Bombshell
Director: Jay Roach
Stars: Nicole Kidman, Charlize Theron, Margot Robbie
Four out of five stars
The five pillars of Islam
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
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Who was Alfred Nobel?
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
- In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
- Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
- Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
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