A pay rise for National Health Service staff could be fast-tracked next year after 48 hours of historic strikes by nurses and paramedics, according to reports.
Thousands of nurses picketed on Tuesday while ambulance staff staged their biggest strike in 30 years on Wednesday.
The Daily Telegraph reported that Health Secretary Steve Barclay is poised to offer an expedited pay deal.
It comes after unions and ministers remained in stalemate over pay negotiations on Wednesday night.
The Telegraph said a source close to Mr Barclay, who was criticised by unions for suggesting striking health workers had “made a conscious choice to inflict harm on patients”, revealed he was keen to “speed up the process” to give NHS staff a pay rise early next year to break the deadlock.
Unions have said they expect NHS workers to be offered a 2 per cent increase next year, based on a letter sent by Mr Barclay last month to the NHS Pay Review Body.
Meanwhile, health leaders have warned that disruption to care after strikes this week is likely to continue in the coming days.
There are fears that people whose conditions might have worsened because they delayed seeking help, the membership organisation for National Health Service hospital, mental health, community and ambulance services said.
NHS Providers said they anticipated a return to “very high numbers” of emergency calls and also warned about the knock-on effect to appointments that have to be rescheduled.
The number of people phoning 999 appeared to have dropped in some parts of England on Wednesday as thousands of ambulance staff and paramedics went on strike until midnight.
NHS Providers said there had been “varying levels of disruption” across the country, with some demand shifting to other services or not happening as expected.
But the organisation said demand for care across the whole healthcare system remained high and that trust leaders were reporting continuing delays to ambulance services and overcrowding at some accident and emergency departments.
Nurses strike in the UK - in pictures
Some ambulance trusts reported fewer calls during the day. The West Midlands Ambulance Trust thanked people for heeding their advice to only call in an emergency.
NHS Providers said it had reports of trust leaders and staff feeling “a sense of helplessness and moral injury” at not being able to provide the appropriate help as nurses and ambulance workers go on strike.
But it said trust leaders “of course understand” the strong feelings of nurses and ambulance staff, and appealed for “urgent, serious talks, including on pay” between the government and unions to avoid more industrial action.
“Leaders across the NHS also know that as this week’s strike action draws to a close, the disruption is far from over," said Saffron Cordery, interim chief executive of NHS Providers.
“The fallout from strike action is likely to spill over into the coming days due to the knock-on impact across different parts of the health and care system, the need to reschedule elective and outpatient appointments, and the anticipation of a return to very high numbers of emergency calls.
“There is particular concern about patients who may have delayed seeking care, and whose conditions have deteriorated, now coming forward for treatment.”
UK strikes – in pictures
Health leaders urged people to call for an ambulance if they were experiencing a life-threatening emergency, amid fears that even those who needed help would not contact them.
“There may be a number of reasons why 999 calls are dropping," said Dr Adrian Boyle, president of the Royal College of Emergency Medicine.
"Hesitancy may be a key factor during the industrial action. We want to reassure patients and the public that if they need emergency care, A&Es remain open.”
A West Midlands Ambulance Service spokesman said it had been experiencing fewer calls than normal.
In that region, the GMB and Unite unions had agreed to respond to category one and serious category two calls.
The Welsh Ambulance Service said “demand is manageable” but warned that “any influx of calls would put significant pressure on our service”.
Meanwhile, the East Midlands Ambulance Service said on Wednesday afternoon that it was too early to say how the service was coping.
Its advice to the public remained to only call 999 if there was a risk to life or if somebody was seriously ill or injured.
UK nurses walk out for second time threatening further strikes in pay dispute - video
Up to half of its more than 4,000 workforce were GMB members who were on strike.
The trust said it had agreed on exemptions with the union for staff to either attend category one calls and the most serious category two calls such as chest pain, strokes, gynaecological emergencies where mother or baby are at risk, road traffic accidents where a patient is trapped, and unwell children aged five and under.
South Central Ambulance Service told PA its main effect from strikes was patient transport services in Sussex and Surrey, rather than urgent and emergency care services.
The London Ambulance Service declined to comment on how services were running.
Earlier on Wednesday, there was a bitter war of words between unions and Mr Barclay, who has said he will not back down on pay.
He said the Unite, Unison and GMB unions had “refused” to work with the government at the national level to set out plans for dealing with the strikes.
But the unions said all those agreements had been made locally and were in place.
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham accused Mr Barclay of a “blatant lie” in saying ambulance unions had made a “conscious decision” to inflict harm on patients.
Earlier, Mr Barclay said there was a need to “look forward” to next year’s pay process after he declined to review the current offer.
A paramedic based in Nottinghamshire said that patients’ lives had been at risk for a long time because of problems in the NHS.
“I’ve attended elderly patients who have been on the floor with broken hips for over 20 hours," said Tom, 33, from the East Midlands Ambulance Service.
“They’ve been waiting that long that their limbs have started to become necrotic [with dying tissue], resulting in major surgery to remove said limbs.”
Strikes across the UK - in pictures
He said that at one point, 11 ambulances were stuck at a hospital waiting to hand over patients to A&E.
“The conditions we work in on a regular basis don’t enable us to do the job we want to do to its full capacity, and is putting patients’ lives at risk long before strikes were even considered,” Tom said.
Most ambulance trusts in England are on their highest level of alert, meaning they cannot provide usual critical services and patients experience harm.
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Ipaf in numbers
Established: 2008
Prize money: $50,000 (Dh183,650) for winners and $10,000 for those on the shortlist.
Winning novels: 13
Shortlisted novels: 66
Longlisted novels: 111
Total number of novels submitted: 1,780
Novels translated internationally: 66
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KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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MATCH INFO
Newcastle United 1 (Carroll 82')
Leicester City 2 (Maddison 55', Tielemans 72')
Man of the match James Maddison (Leicester)
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Types of fraud
Phishing: Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
Smishing: The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
Vishing: The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
SIM swap: Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
Identity theft: Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
Prize scams: Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
* Nada El Sawy
More on Quran memorisation:
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
Results
5pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (Dirt) 1,000m, Winner: Hazeem Al Raed, Antonio Fresu (jockey), Ahmed Al Shemaili (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 85,000 (D) 1,000m, Winner: Ghazwan Al Khalediah, Hugo Lebouc, Helal Al Alawi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,400m, Winner: Dinar Al Khalediah, Patrick Cosgrave, Helal Al Alawi.
6.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Faith And Fortune, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: Only Smoke, Bernardo Pinheiro, Abdallah Al Hammadi.
7.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 1,600m, Winner: AF Ramz, Saif Al Balushi, Khalifa Al Neyadi.
8pm: Maiden (PA) Dh 70,000 (D) 2,000m, Winner: AF Mass, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
FIGHT%20CARD
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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
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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