Money isn’t everything, they say, and in an important sense this is true. But when it comes to solving some of the biggest problems that continue to plague our species – poverty, disease, environmental degradation and resource-scarcity, to name a few – cash goes a long way.
It seems remarkable that so many life-and-death issues – for example, vaccine research and distribution – are still not getting the funding they require. This week, just seven months after the World Health Organisation declared the end of Covid-19 as a global health emergency, philanthropist and technology leader Bill Gates told The National that one of the world’s largest multilateral investors in global health – the Global Fund – has raised less money this year than in any year before. The fact that in this day and age people still die from preventable diseases due to a lack of funding at a time of high liquidity should not be acceptable.
Solutions to other critical problems, such as climate change, can also get bogged down when it comes to who is going to pay for what. Cop28 in Dubai scored an early success when participating nations agreed on the summit’s first day to put into operation a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable nations cope with climate disasters. But some countries with significant resources – and share of responsibility – have been rather parsimonious. A $17.5-million loss and damage pledge by the US seemed particularly paltry, considering the kind of financial firepower that the world’s largest economy can bring to bear.
Penny-pinching is an increasingly common problem in the international aid world. According to the Union of Concerned Scientists, just one climate-related disaster – the devastating 2022 floods in Pakistan – was thought to have cost that country more than $30 billion, but an international donor conference held in January managed to raise just $10 billion.
Even more acute problems, such as the continuing war in Gaza, have been exacerbated by a lack of financial commitment. On November 30, the UN Relief and Works Agency that supports Palestinian refugees said its programme budget now stands at a deficit of $80 million. In war-torn Syria, the World Food Programme – which runs entirely on cash or in-kind donations – has already said that it was forced to “progressively reduce the size of its food rations due to lack of sufficient funding and supply chain disruptions”.
The chief international yardstick with which to measure progress on these issues is the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs, which set targets on poverty alleviation, education, gender equality and other critical issues, most of them to be met by 2030. But with only six years to go, huge funding gaps remain across much of the board.
It is not the case that the money to help out isn’t there. A certain short-sightedness, rather, means that many rich countries find it much easier to prioritise spending on things like national defence over alleviating global crises, despite both being critical to diminishing threats from abroad. Last year, global military spending for the first time topped $2 trillion – more than half of it from Nato members – about 10 times the amount development agencies spent on foreign aid.
Physicists Matteo Smerlak and Carlo Rovelli have pointed out that if countries agreed to a global 2 per cent annual reduction in military expenditure – rather than the current average of a 2.6 per cent increase – the world could receive a “peace dividend” of about $1 trillion within five years. That amount of money would make all the difference in alleviating global poverty or tackling climate change, which in turn would significantly weaken the drivers for armed conflict.
As another physicist, Albert Einstein, once noted, one “cannot simultaneously prevent and prepare for war”. The former is surely the better investment.
How to vote in the UAE
1) Download your ballot https://www.fvap.gov/
2) Take it to the US Embassy
3) Deadline is October 15
4) The embassy will ensure all ballots reach the US in time for the November 3 poll
GROUP RESULTS
Group A
Results
Ireland beat UAE by 226 runs
West Indies beat Netherlands by 54 runs
Group B
Results
Zimbabwe tied with Scotland
Nepal beat Hong Kong by five wickets
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Miss Granny
Director: Joyce Bernal
Starring: Sarah Geronimo, James Reid, Xian Lim, Nova Villa
3/5
(Tagalog with Eng/Ar subtitles)
Disability on screen
Empire — neuromuscular disease myasthenia gravis; bipolar disorder; post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
Rosewood and Transparent — heart issues
24: Legacy — PTSD;
Superstore and NCIS: New Orleans — wheelchair-bound
Taken and This Is Us — cancer
Trial & Error — cognitive disorder prosopagnosia (facial blindness and dyslexia)
Grey’s Anatomy — prosthetic leg
Scorpion — obsessive compulsive disorder and anxiety
Switched at Birth — deafness
One Mississippi, Wentworth and Transparent — double mastectomy
Dragons — double amputee
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
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PLAY-OFF%20DRAW
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Scorebox
Sharjah Wanderers 20-25 Dubai Tigers (After extra-time)
Wanderers
Tries Gormley, Penalty
Cons Flaherty
Pens Flaherty 2
Tigers
Tries O’Donnell, Gibbons, Kelly
Cons Caldwell 2
Pens Caldwell, Cross
Results
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Major Cinnamon, Fernando Jara, Mujeeb Rahman
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 1,900m; Winner: Al Mureib, Fernando Jara, Ahmad bin Harmash
7.40pm: Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Remorse, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
8.15pm: Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Meshakel, Xavier Ziani, Salem bin Ghadayer
8.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh95,000 (D) 1,600m; Winner: Desert Peace, William Buick, Charlie Appleby
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m; Winner: Sharamm, Ryan Curatlo, Satish Seemar
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
Asayel camels - sleek, short-haired hound-like racers
Majahim - chocolate-brown camels that can grow to weigh two tonnes. They were only valued for milk until camel pageantry took off in the 1990s
Millions Street - the thoroughfare where camels are led and where white 4x4s throng throughout the festival
Napoleon
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The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
The Dictionary of Animal Languages
Heidi Sopinka
Scribe
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
RACE CARD
6.30pm Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200
7.05pm Handicap Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
7.40pm Maiden Dh165,000 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm Handicap Dh190,000 (D) 1,600m
8.50pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 1,400m
9.25pm Handicap Dh175,000 (D) 2,000m
The National selections:
6.30pm Underwriter
7.05pm Rayig
7.40pm Torno Subito
8.15pm Talento Puma
8.50pm Etisalat
9.25pm Gundogdu
Company%C2%A0profile
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
