Our world is facing an unprecedented crisis of forced displacement, with about 68.5 million people having been forced from their homes last year. With a projection of that figure exceeding 70 million displaced people by the end of this year, the level of forced displacement is higher than at any other time since the end of the Second World War. It keeps rising, year on year, as new conflicts ignite and old conflicts refuse to die, as weather patterns become more erratic and climate change threatens our environment, and as international politics becomes more fractious and durable solutions become harder to achieve.
However, there is cause for optimism: on December 17, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) agreed on a new international framework that will transform the way the world responds to mass displacement, benefiting both refugees and the communities that host them.
In 2016, as tens of thousands of refugees risked their lives travelling to Europe in search of safety, shelter and better opportunities, UNGA agreed that protecting those forced to flee and supporting communities that shelter them are shared international responsibilities that must be borne equitably and with more guarantees. The general assembly recognised that it was no longer enough to provide refugees with basic shelter, food and lifesaving support, then to leave them in camps, often for decades, cut off from society and dependent on international humanitarian aid for survival.
Member states also agreed that, with a large majority of refugees living in countries where basic services were already strained, it was no longer an option to expect them to shoulder those responsibilities without increased support. Rather, UNGA set out a vision for a more comprehensive and sustainable response to the displacement crisis, where refugees had more access to countries where they could be safe, where they were given opportunities to become active participants within local host communities, and where they could contribute positively and help fuel the development of local economies.
After two years of extensive consultations led by the UN's refugee agency UNHCR together with member states, partner international organisations, the private sector, civil society and refugees themselves, UNGA has now agreed to a new global compact on refugees. The compact translates this vision into a set of concrete and practical measures to strengthen the shared responsibility for refugees, provide them with opportunities to be self-reliant and to lead productive lives while in exile, and to ensure more robust support and investment for host countries. Importantly, it also aims to address the environmental impact of hosting refugee populations and includes promotion of the use of alternative energy.
We are already seeing positive results. Bilateral and multilateral development actors such as the World Bank, the European Union, international development agencies – including those run by the UAE government and the Emirates Red Crescent – are giving greater priority to the development consequences of forced displacement in host countries through supporting capacity-building, education, health, livelihoods, environment and sustainable water supply projects, benefiting both refugees and host communities.
For their part, host countries are working to enhance refugee inclusion and self-reliance through changing laws and policies, guaranteeing rights and expanding access to national systems and services. Djibouti and Ethiopia recently reversed encampment policies and are granting refugees access to education, employment and national justice systems. Jordan is expanding work opportunities for refugees. Zambia now allows refugees to open bank accounts and possess mobile wallets. Uganda, Zambia, Kenya and Djibouti have included refugees in their national health systems.
And despite domestic political pressures in some areas, a number of European, Latin American and Middle Eastern countries have been developing new ways for refugees to access their countries – through family reunification, student scholarships or humanitarian visas – allowing them the chance to hope for a better future and the opportunity to achieve it. Canada has led the way in establishing private and community sponsorship programmes for refugees, which have now been taken up by other countries. The UAE’s amnesty has given thousands of persons from conflict-affected countries who overstayed their visas the chance to make their status official and seek employment.
In discussions leading to the global compact, member states and other partners reiterated their determination to work together to better understand and address the root causes of forced displacement, including through new efforts in conflict prevention and resolution, upholding international humanitarian law, promotion of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as poverty alleviation and development assistance in line with the 2030 agenda. For it is only through progress in these areas that refugees will return home. The global compact will not solve the crisis of forced displacement but it does offer a more comprehensive, more equitable and more sustainable way to manage it. It offers a better deal for refugees and the communities that host them and provides new hope and opportunity for a brighter future for all.
Toby Harward is head of the UNHCR in Abu Dhabi
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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The years Ramadan fell in May
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
Visa changes give families fresh hope
Foreign workers can sponsor family members based solely on their income
Male residents employed in the UAE can sponsor immediate family members, such as wife and children, subject to conditions that include a minimum salary of Dh 4,000 or Dh 3,000 plus accommodation.
Attested original marriage certificate, birth certificate of the child, ejari or rental contract, labour contract, salary certificate must be submitted to the government authorised typing centre to complete the sponsorship process
In Abu Dhabi, a woman can sponsor her husband and children if she holds a residence permit stating she is an engineer, teacher, doctor, nurse or any profession related to the medical sector and her monthly salary is at least Dh 10,000 or Dh 8,000 plus accommodation.
In Dubai, if a woman is not employed in the above categories she can get approval to sponsor her family if her monthly salary is more than Dh 10,000 and with a special permission from the Department of Naturalization and Residency Dubai.
To sponsor parents, a worker should earn Dh20,000 or Dh19,000 a month, plus a two-bedroom accommodation
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
Five famous companies founded by teens
There are numerous success stories of teen businesses that were created in college dorm rooms and other modest circumstances. Below are some of the most recognisable names in the industry:
- Facebook: Mark Zuckerberg and his friends started Facebook when he was a 19-year-old Harvard undergraduate.
- Dell: When Michael Dell was an undergraduate student at Texas University in 1984, he started upgrading computers for profit. He starting working full-time on his business when he was 19. Eventually, his company became the Dell Computer Corporation and then Dell Inc.
- Subway: Fred DeLuca opened the first Subway restaurant when he was 17. In 1965, Mr DeLuca needed extra money for college, so he decided to open his own business. Peter Buck, a family friend, lent him $1,000 and together, they opened Pete’s Super Submarines. A few years later, the company was rebranded and called Subway.
- Mashable: In 2005, Pete Cashmore created Mashable in Scotland when he was a teenager. The site was then a technology blog. Over the next few decades, Mr Cashmore has turned Mashable into a global media company.
- Oculus VR: Palmer Luckey founded Oculus VR in June 2012, when he was 19. In August that year, Oculus launched its Kickstarter campaign and raised more than $1 million in three days. Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion two years later.
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
RESULTS
Bantamweight:
Zia Mashwani (PAK) bt Chris Corton (PHI)
Super lightweight:
Flavio Serafin (BRA) bt Mohammad Al Khatib (JOR)
Super lightweight:
Dwight Brooks (USA) bt Alex Nacfur (BRA)
Bantamweight:
Tariq Ismail (CAN) bt Jalal Al Daaja (JOR)
Featherweight:
Abdullatip Magomedov (RUS) bt Sulaiman Al Modhyan (KUW)
Middleweight:
Mohammad Fakhreddine (LEB) bt Christofer Silva (BRA)
Middleweight:
Rustam Chsiev (RUS) bt Tarek Suleiman (SYR)
Welterweight:
Khamzat Chimaev (SWE) bt Mzwandile Hlongwa (RSA)
Lightweight:
Alex Martinez (CAN) bt Anas Siraj Mounir (MAR)
Welterweight:
Jarrah Al Selawi (JOR) bt Abdoul Abdouraguimov (FRA)
Shubh Mangal Saavdhan
Directed by: RS Prasanna
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Bhumi Pednekar
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
