RAS AL KHAIMAH // When Khulood Mohamed graduated from high school, she thought her education was over.
The youngest sister of a dozen siblings, she had dreamt of being the first in her family to attend college. But when she finished high school, her marks were low and she knew only a handful of English words.
A few weeks after her application to the RAK Women's College was turned down, she got a call. She had been accepted into the institution's Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Programme, which offered graduates below the mark a second chance.
Ms Mohamed made the most of it and graduated as an A-student in applied business technology in December.
"We entered here and we knew nothing about English - we started with ABCs," Ms Mohamed said.
Her high school experience had almost put her off education entirely.
"I will tell you about English class," Ms Mohamed said. "I still laugh about it. They would give us 12 paragraphs and tell us 'You will have an exam with three, so memorise them'. So I memorised 12 paragraphs and understood nothing.
"We told our teacher, 'We don't understand'. She said, 'It's usual not to understand'."
"I can't tell you how many private lessons I took," said Nouf Jalal, 21, a college classmate. "I am the first daughter and they want me to be educated. I was really good at all subjects until Grade 11. But the last year was really unfair."
Instead of being marked throughout the year, the Grade 12 marks were based entirely on a final exam. Ms Jalal panicked.
"I got sick. I got scared. I went to the exam but I couldn't write," she said. "At high school, it was a negative environment. They didn't help improve your skills. Nobody cared about you. But here in HCT it's a friendly environment with teachers and staff. The subjects matched my skills."
For Meitha al Mas, 21, high school science filled her with despair.
"I studied a lot but I couldn't understand. I just studied alone and I did my best," she said.
But her best was not good enough.
"When they told me, 'You won't be in college', I felt sad," Ms al Mas said. "Finding work is very difficult for high school graduates. They always want a college certificate."
At college, the women proved that they could succeed.
Ms al Mas thrived in business courses. Ms Mohamed, unable to form a sentence in English a few months earlier, won first place in a national public speaking competition. Ms Jalal graduated with distinction.
"My friends said we would like to show them that it will not be worthless. We wanted to prove for them and for ourselves that we really wanted to improve," Ms Mohamed said. "This programme helped us a lot. From nothing, to everything. It showed us how to see the world from a different side," she said.
The college does not keep records of how many were enrolled in the programme and the students were treated like all the others. "They are great," said Khadija al Tenaiji, the college work placement co-ordinator.
"They are concentrating on their studies and they are using this opportunity because they know that if it weren't for the Sheikh Mohammed programme and their families, they wouldn't have this.
"I noticed that so many of them are talented. It's something they didn't just study at the college, it comes from home. It's personal skills and life skills."
Ms al Mas is the first woman in her family to complete post-secondary studies.
"It changed their minds about education," she said. "Now my younger sisters can study at college."
Ms Mohamed's success in college earned her independence and her brothers' trust.
"It has given my family a different thinking," she said. "We are three sisters with nine brothers. They want to protect us. The first time [we ask] they won't allow us to work, so we have to show them that they can trust us. They are proud now, they want me to be working. I showed them I need this."
Finding work has had its challenges, too.
"I feel very disappointed after I graduated," Ms Mohamed said. "I thought I would find a job immediately. Real life is a shock."
After graduation, she volunteered for two months in the financial section of the land department.
She now volunteers with the Julfar Development Centre, which supports handicrafts and home-based businesses.
Ms Jalal plans to earn a bachelor's degree and work part-time.
Ms al Mas finished her courses in December and will sit for her International English Language Testing System test in a few weeks.
"If we can't get a job this year, next year we will," said Ms al Mas. "I will be my best."
The graduates say that without a college diploma, they would have been lost.
"If we go back to the beginning, I thank God and Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid for all this," said Ms Mohamed. "He didn't just change students or the HCT. He changed families."
azacharias@thenational.ae
The specs: 2019 Haval H6
Price, base: Dh69,900
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 197hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 315Nm @ 2,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7.0L / 100km
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"
Company%20Profile
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From Europe to the Middle East, economic success brings wealth - and lifestyle diseases
A rise in obesity figures and the need for more public spending is a familiar trend in the developing world as western lifestyles are adopted.
One in five deaths around the world is now caused by bad diet, with obesity the fastest growing global risk. A high body mass index is also the top cause of metabolic diseases relating to death and disability in Kuwait, Qatar and Oman – and second on the list in Bahrain.
In Britain, heart disease, lung cancer and Alzheimer’s remain among the leading causes of death, and people there are spending more time suffering from health problems.
The UK is expected to spend $421.4 billion on healthcare by 2040, up from $239.3 billion in 2014.
And development assistance for health is talking about the financial aid given to governments to support social, environmental development of developing countries.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
Profile of MoneyFellows
Founder: Ahmed Wadi
Launched: 2016
Employees: 76
Financing stage: Series A ($4 million)
Investors: Partech, Sawari Ventures, 500 Startups, Dubai Angel Investors, Phoenician Fund
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (All UAE kick-off times)
Lecce v SPAL (6pm)
Bologna v Genoa (9pm)
Atlanta v Roma (11.45pm)
Sunday
Udinese v Hellas Verona (3.30pm)
Juventus v Brescia (6pm)
Sampdoria v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sassuolo v Parma (6pm)
Cagliari v Napoli (9pm)
Lazio v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Monday
AC Milan v Torino (11.45pm)
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
All or Nothing
Amazon Prime
Four stars
11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
