ABU DHABI // The UAE has ranked first in the region and 32nd globally on the Human Development Index (HDI), which assesses the progress of nations in health, education and income as part of the UN's 2010 Global Human Development Report.
The country was also rated as one of only two countries from the region in the category of "very high human development".
The United Nations Development Programme announced the rankings and figures during a ceremony held yesterday at the Emirates Palace to mark the 20th anniversary of the report.
The UAE has risen five places since the last global HDI, in 2005. The overall region suffered a HDI decline of 27 per cent because of substantial inequality in health, education and income.
Globally, the average HDI has risen by 41 per cent since 1970, with an 18 per cent increase since 1990.
Out of the countries assessed in the Global Human Development Report, which cover 92 per cent of the world's population, only three countries - Congo, Zambia and Zimbabwe - had a lower HDI than in 1970.
On average, the global life expectancy has increased from 59 to 70, school enrolment rates from 55 per cent to 70 per cent and annual GDP per capita has doubled to more than US$10,000 (Dh36,731) since 1970.
Experts, however, said a weak link existed between income increases and actual improvements on the HDI. To illustrate this, Francisco Rodriguez, a senior policy adviser to the Global Human Development Report office, presented a table of the top 10 countries that demonstrated improvements in HDI.
The table was then broken down into non-income HDI and income HDI. Only three countries listed under the income HDI top 10 made it to the overall HDI top 10.
As an example, the UAE has seen the gross national income per capita significantly decrease, by almost 50 per cent, since 1980. Experts said many factors accounted for this decline, such as inflation, the level of oil production and a rapidly increasing population.
Mr Rodriguez said the UAE's ranking was remarkable, given the decline in gross national income. "This is probably because of the country's significant performance in health and education," he said.
The 2010 report introduced three new indexes - the Inequality-adjusted HDI, the Gender Inequality Index and the Multidimensional Poverty Index. These new measures incorporate recent advances in measurement and support the importance of inequality and poverty in human development.
There were 169 countries assessed in the HDI, 139 in the Inequality-adjusted HDI, 138 in the Gender Inequality Index and 104 in the Multidimensional Poverty Index.
The UAE ranked 45th in the Gender Inequality Index, which measures gender gaps in reproductive health, empowerment and participation in the labour force.
Experts said this performance was attributable to gender equality in education, with 77 per cent of adult women in the UAE attaining a secondary or higher level of education, the same percentage as for UAE men.
Although placing far above its neighbour, Saudi Arabia - which ranked 128th - experts said the UAE's rank in the gender index was surprising considering the country's position on the HDI. "This is due to the low level of females in the labour force," Mr Rodriguez said. However, he emphasised that this fact provided the UAE with significant untapped potential.
Sheikha Lubna Al Qasimi, the Minister of Foreign Trade, said that where only 32 per cent of women in the region had completed a secondary education, 132 women completed university for every 100 men.
The Multidimensional Poverty Index, which identifies serious simultaneous deprivations in health, education and living standards, shows that about one third of the 104 sampled countries live in multidimensional poverty. The same report indicates that the Arab region is home to an estimated 39 million living in poverty.
"Now that the UAE is a hub of business and culture, it has become a national duty to help those in need," said Hazza Mohammed Falah al Qahtani, the director-general of the Office for the Co-ordination of Foreign Aid. "And to fulfil this moral obligation, we send millions of dirhams a year in foreign aid to developing countries."
mismail@thenational.ae
MO
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
SPECS
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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
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
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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
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
UAE v Ireland
1st ODI, UAE win by 6 wickets
2nd ODI, January 12
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4th ODI, January 16
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
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Price, base: Dh359,200
Engine: 2.9L twin-turbo V6
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 450hp at 5,700rpm
Torque: 600Nm at 1,900rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.7L / 100km
Company%20Profile
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Company profile
Company: Eighty6
Date started: October 2021
Founders: Abdul Kader Saadi and Anwar Nusseibeh
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Hospitality
Size: 25 employees
Funding stage: Pre-series A
Investment: $1 million
Investors: Seed funding, angel investors
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
MIDWAY
Produced: Lionsgate Films, Shanghai Ryui Entertainment, Street Light Entertainment
Directed: Roland Emmerich
Cast: Ed Skrein, Woody Harrelson, Dennis Quaid, Aaron Eckhart, Luke Evans, Nick Jonas, Mandy Moore, Darren Criss
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
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A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Fire and Fury
By Michael Wolff,
Henry Holt
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
