Bill Gates, Co-Chair & Trustee of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, urges the wealthy in the UAE to give to the poor.
Bill Gates, Co-Chair & Trustee of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, urges the wealthy in the UAE to give to the poor.
Bill Gates, Co-Chair & Trustee of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, urges the wealthy in the UAE to give to the poor.
Bill Gates, Co-Chair & Trustee of Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, urges the wealthy in the UAE to give to the poor.

Bill Gates spreads philanthropy in the UAE


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Bill Gates said he planned to have meetings with donors and other philanthropists while in the Emirates, hoping to "get the wealthy to give".

The US billionaire said a number of people in the country had shown interest in contributing to "the issue of helping the poor".

One company - Al Ansari Exchange - has already agreed to contribute and yesterday announced a US$5 million (Dh18.3m) donation over the next five years for polio eradication, and to support the prevention of neglected tropical diseases.

Mr Gates said the largest chunk of donations to his charity - 60 per cent - came from governments' foreign aid budgets. The rest came from philanthropists.

But he said the balance between philanthropy and government spending in the Middle East was not "as black and white", as the two are often one and the same.

"Sometimes in this region ... the definitions aren't as clear but the initiatives here will make a big difference," he said.

Mr Gates said he encouraged people with funds to donate and that he was "sure they will find it quite fulfilling".

He was speaking in the capital yesterday ahead of the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, and said he understood the need by some to "know that their dollars really have impact".

He said that scepticism was why the Gates Foundation had "such professional teams and measurement systems".

Mr Gates said he was "very demanding in terms of value-for-money, real impact, and hopefully our success and credibility is something that encourages other people to get involved".

He described Yemen as the country in the region that needs the most help.

"We want children to have enough to eat and not die from disease," Mr Gates said.

"[Yemen is] one of the countries that the aid community needs to do better in getting the tools [of support] out to."

* Marie-Louise Olson

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

How tumultuous protests grew
  • A fuel tax protest by French drivers appealed to wider anti-government sentiment
  • Unlike previous French demonstrations there was no trade union or organised movement involved 
  • Demonstrators responded to online petitions and flooded squares to block traffic
  • At its height there were almost 300,000 on the streets in support
  • Named after the high visibility jackets that drivers must keep in cars 
  • Clashes soon turned violent as thousands fought with police at cordons
  • An estimated two dozen people lost eyes and many others were admitted to hospital 
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
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Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
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The Africa Institute 101

Housed on the same site as the original Africa Hall, which first hosted an Arab-African Symposium in 1976, the newly renovated building will be home to a think tank and postgraduate studies hub (it will offer master’s and PhD programmes). The centre will focus on both the historical and contemporary links between Africa and the Gulf, and will serve as a meeting place for conferences, symposia, lectures, film screenings, plays, musical performances and more. In fact, today it is hosting a symposium – 5-plus-1: Rethinking Abstraction that will look at the six decades of Frank Bowling’s career, as well as those of his contemporaries that invested social, cultural and personal meaning into abstraction. 

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The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Traits of Chinese zodiac animals

Tiger:independent, successful, volatile
Rat:witty, creative, charming
Ox:diligent, perseverent, conservative
Rabbit:gracious, considerate, sensitive
Dragon:prosperous, brave, rash
Snake:calm, thoughtful, stubborn
Horse:faithful, energetic, carefree
Sheep:easy-going, peacemaker, curious
Monkey:family-orientated, clever, playful
Rooster:honest, confident, pompous
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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
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  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
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  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
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Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019

Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO

Based: Amman, Jordan

Sector: Education Technology

Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed

Stage: early-stage startup 

Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to report a beggar

Abu Dhabi – Call 999 or 8002626 (Aman Service)

Dubai – Call 800243

Sharjah – Call 065632222

Ras Al Khaimah - Call 072053372

Ajman – Call 067401616

Umm Al Quwain – Call 999

Fujairah - Call 092051100 or 092224411

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