A Muslim man, centre, reads a newspaper as a Hindu man buys flowers from a vendor at a market in Belagavi, India, on October 7, 2021. AP
A Muslim man, centre, reads a newspaper as a Hindu man buys flowers from a vendor at a market in Belagavi, India, on October 7, 2021. AP
A Muslim man, centre, reads a newspaper as a Hindu man buys flowers from a vendor at a market in Belagavi, India, on October 7, 2021. AP
A Muslim man, centre, reads a newspaper as a Hindu man buys flowers from a vendor at a market in Belagavi, India, on October 7, 2021. AP


A great example of communal harmony in India


The National
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May 06, 2022

A benchmark of communal harmony

With reference to Taniya Dutta's report Hindu sisters donate land worth millions of rupees for Muslim prayer ground (May 4): what a wonderful thing to do, especially in these times. There are so many great instances of communal harmony in India. It would be wonderful to learn about similar instances. Personally, I would like to express my appreciation and gratitude to the Rastogi sisters. Not everyone would do this.

Azeem Khan, Ajman, UAE

An incredible gesture, to carry out their father's wish even though he didn't explicitly instruct them to do it. Their father set an incredible precedent, teaching the children the worth and value of community and communal harmony. We should not underestimate how much it matters that people live amicably. Togetherness matters. It's all about religious tolerance and peaceful co-existence. Hate will lead us no where. That is the true way of life.

Magez Khalid, Abu Dhabi

So many of us can learn a lot from the siblings' thoughtfulness and generosity.

Dipak Kumar Das, Bhubaneshwar, India

What does it take to wear a mask on a flight?

With regard to Hayley Skirka's article US CDC says travellers should keep wearing face masks on flights (May 4): honestly, it isn't that hard to keep a mask on when surrounded by so many people, and with such high chances of catching something, as at airports and on planes. One would imagine that people would want to take precautions after what we've seen in the past two years, and counting.

Bexala Lynn, New York City

Quick thinking at the Dubai airport

With reference to the report Mother welcomes new arrival after going into labour at Dubai airport (May 4): well done to the team at Dubai International Airport!

Srinath Sambandan, Visakhapatnam, India

It’s wonderful how the Dubai team helped her but she shouldn’t have been flying. I thought it was banned after 6 months or 36 weeks of pregnancy.

Linda MacConnell, Abu Dhabi

Johnny Depp-Amber Heard: the many witnesses and their varied claims

With reference to the report Amber Heard has PTSD from partner violence, says doctor at Johnny Depp trial (May 4): needs to be ascertained whether this doctor met with Johnny Depp to analyse him or did she just take Amber’s “impartial” word to make her diagnosis.

Nancy Frederick, Boston, Massachusetts

This doctor seemed rather unprofessional. She appeared biased from the start, priming the jury in her use of pronouns with respect to domestic violence; then showing extreme emotional involvement when recounting, in vivid detail and without notes, what was "told" to her.

Huda Al Hashemi, Dubai

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.”

Abu Dhabi GP starting grid

1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)

2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)

3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)

4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)

5 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)

6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)

7 Romain Grosjean (Haas)

8 Charles Leclerc (Sauber)

9 Esteban Ocon (Force India)

10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)

11 Carlos Sainz (Renault)

12 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)

13 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)

14 Sergio Perez (Force India)

15 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)

16 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)

17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)

18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)

19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)

20 Lance Stroll (Williams)

Results

Stage 4

1. Dylan Groenewegen (NED) Jumbo-Visma 04:16:13

2. Gaviria (COL) UAE Team Emirates

3. Pascal Ackermann (GER) Bora-Hansgrohe

4. Sam Bennett (IRL) Deceuninck-QuickStep

5. Caleb Ewan (AUS) Lotto Soudal

General Classification:

1. Adam Yates (GBR) Mitchelton-Scott        16:46:15

2. Tadej Pogacar (SLO) UAE Team Emirates         0:01:07

3. Alexey Lutsenko (KAZ) Astana Pro Team          0:01:35

4. David Gaudu (FRA) Groupama-FDJ         0:01:40

5. Rafal Majka (POL) Bora-Hansgrohe

The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

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My Cat Yugoslavia by Pajtim Statovci
Pushkin Press

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Fifa Club World Cup quarter-final

Esperance de Tunis 0
Al Ain 3
(Ahmed 02’, El Shahat 17’, Al Ahbabi 60’)

Marathon results

Men:

 1. Titus Ekiru(KEN) 2:06:13 

2. Alphonce Simbu(TAN) 2:07:50 

3. Reuben Kipyego(KEN) 2:08:25 

4. Abel Kirui(KEN) 2:08:46 

5. Felix Kemutai(KEN) 2:10:48  

Women:

1. Judith Korir(KEN) 2:22:30 

2. Eunice Chumba(BHR) 2:26:01 

3. Immaculate Chemutai(UGA) 2:28:30 

4. Abebech Bekele(ETH) 2:29:43 

5. Aleksandra Morozova(RUS) 2:33:01  

COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Updated: May 06, 2022, 2:45 AM