Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, chaired the first meeting of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. Photo: Wam
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, chaired the first meeting of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. Photo: Wam
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, chaired the first meeting of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. Photo: Wam
Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, chaired the first meeting of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. Photo: Wam

More than 2,000 Emiratis join private sector after government drive


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More than 2,000 Emiratis joined the UAE's private sector in the first three months of a major government recruitment drive.

The UAE set out plans in September to ensure 10 per cent of the private-sector workforce were citizens in the next five years.

A series of initiatives were launched to increase the number of Emirati private-sector workers by 75,000, by 2026, as part of the Nafis programme.

These included paid training programmes, subsidies for Emiratis working in the private sector and support for local entrepreneurs looking to leave the public sector and start up their own companies.

The Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council was established as part of the ambitious strategy.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, chaired the first meeting of the council to review its progress and approve a raft of new programmes.

He highlighted the key role played by the body in supporting the Emiratisation campaign and investing in local talent.

The meeting heard 2,360 Emiratis had been employed by private companies in the first 90 days of the scheme.

The council approved a second package of initiatives, including a training scheme for nurses, a number of training courses to boost the expertise of Emirati graduates in several sectors and a career counselling programme.

More than 330 meetings have been held with representatives of federal and local authorities and private-sector representatives, to identify the private sector's demand for highly-skilled employees, said Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the council.

Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. Victor Besa/The National.
Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council. Victor Besa/The National.

The meeting was attended by Mohammed Al Gergawi, Minister of Cabinet Affairs; Hussain Al Hammadi, Minister of Education; Hessa Buhumaid, Minister of Community Development; Abdulla bin Touq, Minister of Economy; Dr Abdulrahman Al Awar, Minister of Human Resources and Emiratisation; Ahmad Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs; Shamma Al Mazrui, Minister of State for Youth Affairs; Sarah Al Amiri, Minister of State for Advanced Sciences; Jassem Al Zaabi, chairman of the Abu Dhabi Department of Finance, and Ghannam Al Mazrouei, Secretary General of the Emirati Talent Competitiveness Council, as well as the council’s members.

Private firms embrace strategy

Following the launch of the Nafis programme, retail giant Majid Al Futtaim announced it would hire 3,000 Emiratis.

The company said 3 per cent of the 13,700 people it employs in the UAE are Emiratis, which it intends to boost significantly.

“We have a collective sense of responsibility to support and upskill the talented and ambitious national workforce that exists in the UAE,” said chief executive Alain Bejjani.

There have been commendable efforts over the years to create more opportunities for Emiratis within the public and private sectors.

In October, a private sector engineering company pledged to bring 500 Emiratis into the oil and gas sector in support of the campaign.

AlMansoori Specialised Engineering said it would train promising Emirati graduates to work within the company in areas such as engineering, operations and health and safety.

The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK 

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Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
 
Started: 2021
 
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
 
Based: Tunisia 
 
Sector: Water technology 
 
Number of staff: 22 
 
Investment raised: $4 million 
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Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

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4,872 matches 

1,942 teams

116 pitches

76 nations

26 UAE teams

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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

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In numbers

Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m

Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’  in Dubai is worth... $600m

China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn

The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn

Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn 

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Key developments

All times UTC 4

Five hymns the crowds can join in

Papal Mass will begin at 10.30am at the Zayed Sports City Stadium on Tuesday

Some 17 hymns will be sung by a 120-strong UAE choir

Five hymns will be rehearsed with crowds on Tuesday morning before the Pope arrives at stadium

‘Christ be our Light’ as the entrance song

‘All that I am’ for the offertory or during the symbolic offering of gifts at the altar

‘Make me a Channel of your Peace’ and ‘Soul of my Saviour’ for the communion

‘Tell out my Soul’ as the final hymn after the blessings from the Pope

The choir will also sing the hymn ‘Legions of Heaven’ in Arabic as ‘Assakiroo Sama’

There are 15 Arabic speakers from Syria, Lebanon and Jordan in the choir that comprises residents from the Philippines, India, France, Italy, America, Netherlands, Armenia and Indonesia

The choir will be accompanied by a brass ensemble and an organ

They will practice for the first time at the stadium on the eve of the public mass on Monday evening 

PRESIDENTS CUP

Draw for Presidents Cup fourball matches on Thursday (Internationals first mention). All times UAE:

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02.47am (Thursday): Adam Hadwin/Im Sung-jae v Xander Schauffele/Patrick Cantlay
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03.17am (Thursday): Hideki Matsuyama/CT Pan v Webb Simpson/Patrick Reed
03.32am (Thursday): Abraham Ancer/Louis Oosthuizen v Dustin Johnson/Gary Woodland

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Microsoft Exchange server exploitation: March 2021; attackers used a vulnerability to steal emails

Kaseya attack: July 2021; ransomware hit perpetrated REvil, resulting in severe downtime for more than 1,000 companies

Log4j breach: December 2021; attackers exploited the Java-written code to inflitrate businesses and governments

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%3Cp%3EAverage%20amount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20at%20DIC%20factory%20every%20month%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EApproximately%20106%2C000%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EAmount%20of%20biofuel%20produced%20from%201%20litre%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%20%3Cstrong%3E920ml%20(92%25)%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETime%20required%20for%20one%20full%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%20used%20cooking%20oil%20to%20biofuel%3A%20%3Cstrong%3EOne%20day%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EEnergy%20requirements%20for%20one%20cycle%20of%20production%20from%201%2C000%20litres%20of%20used%20cooking%20oil%3A%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3E%E2%96%AA%20Electricity%20-%201.1904%20units%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Water-%2031%20litres%3Cbr%3E%E2%96%AA%20Diesel%20%E2%80%93%2026.275%20litres%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Founder: Ahmed Al Qubaisi

Based: Abu Dhabi

Founded: January 2019

Number of employees: 10

Sector: Technology/Social media 

Funding to date: Estimated $300,000 from Hub71 in-kind support

 

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

'Panga'

Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari

Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta

Rating: 3.5/5

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size

1.

United States

2.

China

3.

UAE

4.

Japan

5

Norway

6.

Canada

7.

Singapore

8.

Australia

9.

Saudi Arabia

10.

South Korea

The Gandhi Murder
  • 71 - Years since the death of MK Gandhi, also christened India's Father of the Nation
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  • 7 - million dollars, the film's budget 
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
  • Priority access to new homes from participating developers
  • Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
  • Flexible payment plans from developers
  • Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
  • DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
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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 

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Director: Jesse Armstrong

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Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

Updated: December 15, 2021, 7:40 AM`