Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. AFP
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. AFP
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. AFP
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and Democratic vice presidential candidate Tim Walz. AFP

Tim Walz and JD Vance agree to October vice presidential debate


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Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance on Thursday said he agreed to debate with Democratic nominee Tim Walz on October 1.

Mr Walz first agreed to the CBS News-hosted matchup on Wednesday evening.

“See you on October 1, JD,” Mr Walz, who is Kamala Harris's running mate, wrote in a post on X.

A campaign official told CBS that Mr Walz “looks forward to debating JD Vance – if he shows up”. The two vice presidential hopefuls have been trading barbs since they were named as their presidential candidates' running mates.

The date was one of four proposed by the US television network for a vice presidential debate.

Mr Vance, who is Donald Trump's running mate, upped the stakes and said he would meet Mr Walz on September 18 as well.

"The American people deserve as many debates as possible, which is why president Trump has challenged Kamala to three of them already," he said in a post on X.

"Not only do I accept the CBS debate on October 1, I accept the CNN debate on September 18th as well. I look forward to seeing you at both!"

The Harris-Walz campaign declined the request for a second vice presidential debate.

Michael Tyler, communications director for the campaign, said "the debate about debates is over".

Mr Tyler said both the Trump and Harris campaigns had agreed on three debates, which include two presidential and one vice presidential debates.

He stated that a second presidential debate was contingent on whether Mr Trump "actually shows up on September 10" and then "the American people will have another opportunity to see" Ms Harris and Mr Trump in October.

"Voters deserve to see the candidates for the highest office in the land share their competing visions for our future," Mr Tyler said.

Mr Vance, a senator from Ohio known for his memoir Hillbilly Elegy about growing up in poverty in Appalachia, has accused Mr Walz of lying about his military record.

Writing on X on Tuesday, Mr Vance also thanked Mr Walz for his service but said he “shouldn't have lied about it”.

“You shouldn’t have said you went to war when you didn’t. Nor should you have said that you didn’t know your unit was going to Iraq. Happy to discuss more in a debate.”

The Minnesota National Guard, however, confirmed to The National that Mr Walz retired after 24 years of service on May 16, 2005 – about two months before his 125th Field Artillery battalion received an alert order to go to Iraq.

Mr Walz, meanwhile, has stuck to the criticism that first thrust him into the spotlight: calling Republicans “weird”.

“I just have to say it. You know it. You feel it. These guys are creepy and, yes, just weird as hell,” Mr Walz told supporters at a rally in Philadelphia.

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The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

5. Zakat 

Europe’s rearming plan
  • Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
  • Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
  • Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
  • Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
  • Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

THURSDAY'S ORDER OF PLAY

Centre Court

Starting at 10am:

Lucrezia Stefanini v Elena Rybakina (6)

Aryna Sabalenka (4) v Polona Hercog

Sofia Kenin (1) v Zhaoxuan Yan

Kristina Mladenovic v Garbine Muguruza (5)

Sorana Cirstea v Karolina Pliskova (3)

Jessica Pegula v Elina Svitolina (2)

Court 1

Starting at 10am:

Sara Sorribes Tormo v Nadia Podoroska

Marketa Vondrousova v Su-Wei Hsieh

Elise Mertens (7) v Alize Cornet

Tamara Zidansek v Jennifer Brady (11)

Heather Watson v Jodie Burrage

Vera Zvonareva v Amandine Hesse

Court 2

Starting at 10am:

Arantxa Rus v Xiyu Wang

Maria Kostyuk v Lucie Hradecka

Karolina Muchova v Danka Kovinic

Cori Gauff v Ulrikke Eikeri

Mona Barthel v Anastasia Gasanova

Court 3

Starting at 10am:

Kateryna Bondarenko v Yafan Wang

Aliaksandra Sasnovich v Anna Bondar

Bianca Turati v Yaroslava Shvedova

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.”

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo

Power: 261hp at 5,500rpm

Torque: 405Nm at 1,750-3,500rpm

Transmission: 9-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 6.9L/100km

On sale: Now

Price: From Dh117,059

FA Cup quarter-final draw

The matches will be played across the weekend of 21 and 22 March

Sheffield United v Arsenal

Newcastle v Manchester City

Norwich v Derby/Manchester United

Leicester City v Chelsea

Mane points for safe home colouring
  • Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
  • Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
  • When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
  • Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
  • If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Results

Final: Iran beat Spain 6-3.

Play-off 3rd: UAE beat Russia 2-1 (in extra time).

Play-off 5th: Japan beat Egypt 7-2.

Play-off 7th: Italy beat Mexico 3-2.

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

What She Ate: Six Remarkable Women & the Food That Tells Their Stories
Laura Shapiro
Fourth Estate

The Perfect Couple

Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor

Creator: Jenna Lamia

Rating: 3/5

At a glance

Fixtures All matches start at 9.30am, at ICC Academy, Dubai. Admission is free

Thursday UAE v Ireland; Saturday UAE v Ireland; Jan 21 UAE v Scotland; Jan 23 UAE v Scotland

UAE squad Rohan Mustafa (c), Ashfaq Ahmed, Ghulam Shabber, Rameez Shahzad, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Adnan Mufti, Shaiman Anwar, Ahmed Raza, Imran Haider, Qadeer Ahmed, Mohammed Naveed, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan

Meydan race card

6pm Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m 

6.35Dubai Trophy – Conditions(TB) $100,000 (Turf) 1,200m
1,800m 

7.10pm Jumeirah Derby Trial – Conditions (TB) $60,000 (T)
1,800m ,400m 

7.45pm Al Rashidiya – Group 2 (TB)  $180,000  (T) 1,800m 

8.20pm Al Fahidi Fort – Group 2 (TB) $180,000 (T) 1,400m 

8.55pm Dubawi Stakes – Group 3 (TB) $150,000 (D) 1,200m 

9.30pm Aliyah – Rated Conditions (TB) $80,000 (D) 2,000m  

Combating coronavirus

The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
Stuart Kells, Counterpoint Press

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
MO
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The biog

First Job: Abu Dhabi Department of Petroleum in 1974  
Current role: Chairperson of Al Maskari Holding since 2008
Career high: Regularly cited on Forbes list of 100 most powerful Arab Businesswomen
Achievement: Helped establish Al Maskari Medical Centre in 1969 in Abu Dhabi’s Western Region
Future plan: Will now concentrate on her charitable work

Updated: August 15, 2024, 5:06 PM