From the Editors: Ajyal Schools testament to UAE’s quality education

AIYAL SCHOOLS TESTAMENT TO UAE’S COMMITMENT TO QUALITY EDUCATION: The UAE on Monday launched ‘Ajyal’ (Generations) Schools -- the first transformational project in the educational sector that will go hand in hand with the structural changes introduced recently to the nation’s educational system. The model will be applied to all students from grade one to grade four, in ten schools initially, under the supervision of Emirates Schools Establishment, and will later include 28 schools over a three-year time span. Ajyal Schools will be free, with a target to benefit 14,000 students in its initial phase. This pioneering new system will further enhance the process of offering long-term benefits to UAE students to better-equip them to meet the academic challenges of the future. Establishment of this new system yet again shows the UAE’s commitment to provide cutting-edge infrastructure and quality to future-proof its school education system. [COMMENT BY: Sanjib Kumar Das, Assistant Editor]

DUBAI AND UAE MAKE THOSE ASSETS WORK: For foreign investors, there is value to be had in UAE assets – and they don’t just need the IPOs to get to them. DP World’s stake sale to the Canadian pension fund CDPQ is thus nothing short of momentous, with the latter taking a 22 per cent exposure in Jebel Ali Port, Jebel Ali Free Zone and National Industries Park. And DP World has left the door open for other ‘long-term investors’ to commit up to $3 billion in Dubai’s flagship assets. ADNOC has already been on this journey, in the last two years bringing in some of the biggest names in the global investment space for its pipeline and other business interests. So has Aldar, with Apollo Global Management in a $1.4 billion deal early this year. Then there are the various blue-chip funds that came in for the DEWA and Borouge IPOs. These inward investments serve a swathe of purposes for the UAE – higher investment and investor visibility chasing some of the most prized assets the country has on offer. The DP World-CDPQ deal thus pushes the envelope further… [COMMENT BY: Manoj Nair, Business Editor]

CAN UAE GET PAST AUSTRALIA AND PERU TO MAKE QATAR WORLD CUP? The UAE national football team will be playing in a massive clash tonight against Australia in a bid to reach the Qatar World Cup. Tonight’s qualifier will take place at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium in Qatar and there will be thousands of UAE fans packed inside the venue after the UAE FA allocated 5,000 free tickets in an effort to help the team progress amidst a powerful atmosphere. If they get past the Aussies then the UAE will face Peru and will be just be 90 mins away from making the finals in November. UAE will be looking to star man Ali Mabkhout, their all-time leading scorer, to fire them to glory. He has scored 80 goals in 104 games and if he is able to get himself on the scoresheet tonight it could be one of his most important international goals. Defensively, the UAE look pretty solid having just conceded 7 goals in their last 10 qualifiers and the fact the Socceroos will be without star man Tom Rogic will boost their confidence. The UAE also beat Australia the last time they played them in the 2019 Asian Cup quarter-finals and they will be hopeful of repeating that result. [ COMMENT BY: Imran Malik, Assistant Sports Editor]

WHY THE DEATH THREAT AGAINST SALMAN KHAN MUST BE TAKEN SERIOUSLY: We live in a scary world as it is and what celebrities don’t need is a target on their backs just because they’re in the public eye. The death threat issued against Salman Khan and his father, writer Salim Khan, is testament of how vulnerable even celebrities are. Someone clearly staked out Salim Khan’s morning routine to ensure the letter reached him while he was out for his morning jog. Mumbai Police has tightened the security around the Khan residence in Bandra, with both father and son having recorded their statements and 200 CCTV footage is now being looked through. With Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s murder still fresh in everyone’s mind, no precaution can be considered in excess at this point. [COMMENT BY: Bindu Rai, Entertainment Editor]