"Two turtle doves / that Shakespeare loved ... endangered now / by herbicide / the chopping down / of where they hide." How's that for an update on a traditional Christmas carol? Feeling festive now? Thought not.
The line comes from The Twelve Days of Christmas 2009, by the UK's Poet Laureate Carol Ann Duffy. And the first Christmas poem by the first woman to hold the post is causing huge controversy.
Duffy begins with a cutting comment on the war in Afghanistan: "Somewhere down the line, for another father, husband, brother, son / a bullet with his name on."
She takes aim at "bankers' profits fired in greed", and this year's infamous British parliamentary expenses crisis: "One milked money to mend her moat".
There is festive cheer of sorts - the England football manager Fabio Capello's achievements are noted, as is Joanna Lumley's success in securing justice for Ghurkas - but it ends as it began, with a plea for the people to be heard, this time at the Copenhagen climate conference.
The Twelve Days of Christmas 2009 has caused such fuss because, for many, the poet laureate is supposed to be the passive, poetic voice of the establishment.
In the Daily Mail, Richard Littlejohn said of Duffy's effort: "And a merry Christmas to you dear. I wonder what Her Maj makes of it ... this stuff wouldn't pass muster in a fifth-form limerick competition." Judith Woods, in The Daily Telegraph, called it "staggeringly joyless".
Ben Jonson was the first unofficial poet laureate in 1617: appointed by James I, and asked, as his successors would be, to mark state occasions such as births, marriages, coronations and military victories through verse. Now countries including Canada, New Zealand, USA, Ireland, and Nigeria all have poets laureate. Even Nazi Germany had one.
It's not actually an obligation for a laureate to write a Christmas poem - and indeed Duffy's is a commission from the Radio Times magazine rather than the Queen.
It's funny, sad, angry and engaging - as all the best poetry should be. More importantly, Duffy follows in a long line of Poet Laureates who haven't always towed the line. As far back as 1688, John Dryden was removed from the position by William III because, as a converted Catholic, he refused to take an oath of allegiance to the new government.
Two centuries later, Alfred, Lord Tennyson took on the role. One of the most famous poets laureates, his tenure coincided with Queen Victoria's reign, and he could be as servile as the next laureate - particularly in the poem to mark Victoria's golden jubilee in 1887. But he is most famous for The Charge of the Light Brigade, with its memorable dig at the Crimean War: "Not tho' the soldier knew, someone had blunder'd - Charging an army, while all the world wonder'd."
And it's this uneasy balance, between writing about Britain and writing for Britain, that laureates have increasingly struggled with.
Ted Hughes, too, will always be celebrated as one of the great 20th century poets, but he also found writing to royal appointment tough-going and he resorted to woolly, sepia-tinged cliché. It left his cutting-edge reputation tarnished.
But it was Andrew Motion who changed the image of the role, perhaps for good. In 1999 he announced that he would only remain laureate for 10 years, rather than until death as tradition demanded.
In 2000, his Christmas poem talked of London homelessness, "a shanty town of cardboard boxes". He followed that with a protest poem about the invasion of Iraq.
"Take Eden, further south: at dawn today / I ordered up my troops to tear away / its walls and gates so everyone can see / that gorgeous fruit which dangles from its tree." It caused a sensation.
Motion admitted his eight royal poems were the hardest of his career to write, and were scrutinised like no other piece of writing.
And there lies the rub. Everything a poet laureate writes is pored over in microscopic detail. So when, or if, Prince William announces his engagement to Kate Middleton, it'll be fascinating to see what kind of style Carol Ann Duffy employs.
Time will tell whether Britain has a rebel Poet Laureate on its hands.
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
Scoreline
Syria 1-1 Australia
Syria Al Somah 85'
Australia Kruse 40'
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Raha%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Kuwait%2FSaudi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Tech%20Logistics%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2414%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Soor%20Capital%2C%20eWTP%20Arabia%20Capital%2C%20Aujan%20Enterprises%2C%20Nox%20Management%2C%20Cedar%20Mundi%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20166%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to improve Arabic reading in early years
One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient
The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers
Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades
Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic
First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations
Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades
Improve the appearance of textbooks
Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings
Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught
Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar
Disposing of non-recycleable masks
Use your ‘black bag’ bin at home
Do not put them in a recycling bin
Take them home with you if there is no litter bin
- No need to bag the mask
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 specs
Engine: 8.0-litre, quad-turbo 16-cylinder
Transmission: 7-speed auto
0-100kmh 2.3 seconds
0-200kmh 5.5 seconds
0-300kmh 11.6 seconds
Power: 1500hp
Torque: 1600Nm
Price: Dh13,400,000
On sale: now
The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Fifa%20World%20Cup%20Qatar%202022%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFirst%20match%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2020%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%2016%20round%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%203%20to%206%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EQuarter-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%209%20and%2010%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESemi-finals%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2013%20and%2014%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFinal%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDecember%2018%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Revibe%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202022%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hamza%20Iraqui%20and%20Abdessamad%20Ben%20Zakour%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20UAE%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Refurbished%20electronics%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%20so%20far%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%2410m%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFlat6Labs%2C%20Resonance%20and%20various%20others%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.