One of the best travel destinations for scuba diving and the world's most studied archipelago is not finished revealing its deep secrets.
Scientists on an expedition in the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador have discovered a thriving coral reef deep below the ocean surface.
The first to be documented inside the archipelago's protected area, the reef is teeming with marine life including pink octopus, squat lobsters, sharks, batfish, rays and more.
Lying at depths of 400 to 600 metres below the surface, it was discovered during an almost month-long expedition called Galapagos Deep 2023 in which scientists explored the protected ocean area in the volcanic islands 1,000km off the coast of Ecuador.
“This is encouraging news. It reaffirms our determination to establish new marine protected areas in Ecuador and to continue promoting the creation of a regional marine protected area in the Eastern Tropical Pacific,” said Antonio Dávalos, Ecuador’s Minister of Environment.
Sailing on research vessel Atlantis, 21 international scientists are using Alvin, one of the world’s first deep-ocean submersibles, to gather data. The vessel can capture high-resolution footage, produce maps and perform photographic surveys on dives of up to 10 hours and at depths of 6,500 metres. It also has two robotic arms, which scientists can use to collect samples.
Cresting the ridge of a submerged volcano, the newly discovered reef stretches over 2km and has given scientists hope that there are more reefs to be explored in what is already one of the world's leading areas of biodiversity.
Undiscovered coral reef gives hope despite climate crisis
Approximately 50-60 per cent of the reef is live, demonstrating that healthy reefs can still thrive at a time when coral is in crisis due to the climate emergency that is causing rising sea temperatures.
“The reefs we’ve found in the last few days have 50-60 per cent live coral in many areas, which is very rare indeed,” said Michelle Taylor, co-lead of the expedition and chairwoman of the Deep Sea Society. "The reef is pristine and teeming with life … This newly discovered reef is potentially an area of global significance — a canary in the mine for other reefs globally — a site we can monitor over time to see how a pristine habitat evolves with our current climate crisis."
Before this discovery, scientists believed that Wellington Reef off Darwin Island was the biggest coral reef in the Galapagos Islands to have survived the impact of El Nino in 1982, the most devastating of the century.
During this equatorial weather phenomenon, strong winds and warm sea-surface temperatures gave rise to heavy rain. It wiped out most of the archipelago's marine iguanas, reduced populations of other creatures and had a huge effect on the region's coral systems, which were bleached from high ocean temperatures.
The discovery of the new reef has led scientists to hypothesise that deep water coral communities could have persisted for centuries in the depths of the Galapagos Marine Reserve.
“The captivating thing about these reefs is that they are very old and essentially pristine, unlike those found in many other parts of the world’s oceans,” said Stuart Banks, senior marine researcher at the Charles Darwin Foundation in the Galapagos Islands.
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
'Downton Abbey: A New Era'
Director: Simon Curtis
Cast: Hugh Bonneville, Elizabeth McGovern, Maggie Smith, Michelle Dockery, Laura Carmichael, Jim Carter and Phyllis Logan
Rating: 4/5
Western Clubs Champions League:
- Friday, Sep 8 - Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Bahrain
- Friday, Sep 15 – Kandy v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
- Friday, Sep 22 – Kandy v Bahrain
Sole survivors
- Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
- George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
- Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
- Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Opening day UAE Premiership fixtures, Friday, September 22:
- Dubai Sports City Eagles v Dubai Exiles
- Dubai Hurricanes v Abu Dhabi Saracens
- Jebel Ali Dragons v Abu Dhabi Harlequins
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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2.
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China
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3.
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UAE
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4.
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Japan
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5
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Norway
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6.
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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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.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate
Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
