Today is the 10th anniversary of the passing of the founding president. He was instrumental in shaping the UAE's progress and improving the lives of millions.
It was the evening of the 19th day of Ramadan, on November 2, 2004, when the announcement was made.
"The presidential court announces to Arab and Islamic countries and the rest of the world the death of the leader of the nation Sheikh Zayed," the state news agency Wam reported.
According to official documents, Sheikh Zayed was nearly 86, born on December 1, 1918, in an age when events were recorded in words rather than written. His birth came just weeks after the end of the First World War and the shattering of empires, including that of the Ottomans, who until then had controlled much of the region.
At Sheikh Zayed’s funeral the following day, it was the rulers of the 21st century who assembled, including King Abdullah of Jordan, Hamid Karzai, the president of Afghanistan, Sultan Qaboos of Oman, and Prince Charles of Britain.
In the edition that recorded the passing of Sheikh Zayed, Al Ittihad, the Arabic-language sister paper of The National wrote: "We belong to Allah and to Allah we shall return. Zayed returns to his Creator, content and gratified."
On Dubai television, it was the task of senior newsreader Ali Khalifa to break the news. In an interview with The National in 2011, he recalled breaking down on air, unable to continue. “No amount of professionalism is there to help you repress your emotions or have control over the situation,” he said.
Through the following morning, the crowds gathered to mourn, filling the streets around the Sultan bin Zayed Mosque in Al Bateen. All pretence of normal life ceased; offices were deserted and shops shuttered. Many of those waiting and watching held up photographs of the man known to all as “father”.
In the mosque, members of the royal family and guests recited the funeral prayer, the salat al janaza. Afterwards, the sons of Sheikh Zayed carried his body to the funeral cortege.
A silver minivan carried the President on his final journey, to the then incomplete Grand Mosque where he was buried in the grounds.
For the next three days, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed received condolences, as he was appointed the UAE’s new President. For the country, there was 40 days of mourning, with flags at half mast across the seven Emirates.
Sheikh Zayed had been the Ruler of Abu Dhabi since August 1966, then the driving force in the creation of the federation of the United Arab Emirates, a dream that was realised on December 2, 1971. It was inevitable that he would become the country’s first President and that he would remain so until his death.
Ten years later, his legacy is still with us, not just in the buildings and roads that carry his name, or for the visitors who gather each day at the graveside in the Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque, but in the astonishing progress of the country that he helped to create and the millions of lives that have been transformed by his leadership.
newsdesk@thenational.ae
The biog
Favourite films: Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia
Favourite books: Start with Why by Simon Sinek and Good to be Great by Jim Collins
Favourite dish: Grilled fish
Inspiration: Sheikh Zayed's visionary leadership taught me to embrace new challenges.
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
ENGLAND SQUAD
For first two Test in India Joe Root (captain), Jofra Archer, Moeen Ali, James Anderson , Dom Bess, Stuart Broad , Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Ben Foakes, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Chris Woakes. Reserves James Bracey, Mason Crane, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Robinson, Amar Virdi.
Cherry
Directed by: Joe and Anthony Russo
Starring: Tom Holland, Ciara Bravo
1/5
MATCH INFO
Barcelona 4 (Messi 23' pen, 45 1', 48', Busquets 85')
Celta Vigo 1 (Olaza 42')
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.
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.
Richard Jewell
Director: Clint Eastwood
Stars: Paul Walter Hauser, Sam Rockwell, Brandon Stanley
Two-and-a-half out of five stars
At Everton Appearances: 77; Goals: 17
At Manchester United Appearances: 559; Goals: 253
Gender equality in the workplace still 200 years away
It will take centuries to achieve gender parity in workplaces around the globe, according to a December report from the World Economic Forum.
The WEF study said there had been some improvements in wage equality in 2018 compared to 2017, when the global gender gap widened for the first time in a decade.
But it warned that these were offset by declining representation of women in politics, coupled with greater inequality in their access to health and education.
At current rates, the global gender gap across a range of areas will not close for another 108 years, while it is expected to take 202 years to close the workplace gap, WEF found.
The Geneva-based organisation's annual report tracked disparities between the sexes in 149 countries across four areas: education, health, economic opportunity and political empowerment.
After years of advances in education, health and political representation, women registered setbacks in all three areas this year, WEF said.
Only in the area of economic opportunity did the gender gap narrow somewhat, although there is not much to celebrate, with the global wage gap narrowing to nearly 51 per cent.
And the number of women in leadership roles has risen to 34 per cent globally, WEF said.
At the same time, the report showed there are now proportionately fewer women than men participating in the workforce, suggesting that automation is having a disproportionate impact on jobs traditionally performed by women.
And women are significantly under-represented in growing areas of employment that require science, technology, engineering and mathematics skills, WEF said.
* Agence France Presse
This is an info box
- info goes here
- and here
- and here
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
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
'Munich: The Edge of War'
Director: Christian Schwochow
Starring: George MacKay, Jannis Niewohner, Jeremy Irons
Rating: 3/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder turbo
Power: 178hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 280Nm at 1,350-4,200rpm
Transmission: seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: from Dh209,000
On sale: now
Why are you, you?
Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.
Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.
Ben Okri,
