'Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood," said the scientist Marie SklodowskaCurie, the first person to be honoured with two Nobel Prizes.
Since I truly admire Madame Curie, who was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, I decided to conquer my fear of nuclear energy by educating myself through a trip to a Japanese nuclear plant.
I was supposed to be on a plane just one day after the devastating earthquake and tsunami hit. In the immediate aftermath of the quake, there was no nuclear crisis yet, but nonetheless, the trip to the nuclear plant was canceled as a precaution. I recall my annoyance at that. But now bless the conservative Japanese authorities who had the foresight to avoid any risks.
I was to go inside the Tokai No 2 Power Station, Japan's first large-scale light water reactor plant. It is located in the northeast of Tokyo, and is known as the birthplace of Japanese atomic energy.
I had also planned to go to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, where I could visit medical and research clinics dedicated to the hibakusha victims, which refers to radiation victims of the atomic bombs and survivors of nuclear reactor accidents. I was surprised to find out there are still people suffering from the bombing 66 years on. I was supposed to meet a few of them.
Now, with Japan's growing reactor crisis, the decades of work by these clinics will be priceless for anyone exposed to radiation. I am sure lessons learnt from history will help them to deal with the unfolding tragedy.
I am not a scientist and so I will not speculate on the safety of nuclear power. All I know is that back in 1986, on April 26, my family and I were in Poland when the relatively unknown town of Chernobyl in Ukraine made headlines when one of the reactors at its nuclear plant exploded. I don't remember much about the actual incident as I was just seven years old, but I clearly remember the fears expressed by my family. We were back in Saudi Arabia the next day - Poland shares its borders with Ukraine.
My parents weren't taking any risks, especially given that back then, Ukraine and Poland were under the Soviet Union, a power notorious for its suppression of information particularly regarding casualties. Given that radioactive debris spread all across Europe from that incident, I don't think my parents overreacted at all.
Decades later, when I travelled through Belarus and Eastern Europe to report on orphanages, I discovored a "Cherno" ward in one of them. It was believed that these children's deformities and illnesses were due to the world's worst nuclear incident. (I say "believed" because it is difficult to measure the effects of a naturally-occuring element on the human body, even when it is known to be harmful.)
All I know is what I saw. Children of different ages, including toddlers, were struggling, and it was heart-breaking. Some were missing limbs, others had deformed fingers or toes, and a third group had difficulty with their perception and coordination.
I can't forget how the supervising nurse told me that they kept these children away from couples that would come in hoping to adopt, as they could "scare them away". The "special" ward was more like the unwanted children ward. Some doctors, who are friends of mine, dismissed the idea that Chernobyl had caused the children's deformities, saying that statistically, at least, they were normal.
Whatever the case, since I didn't get the chance to actually learn more about nuclear power in Japan, I can only watch in horror as the country struggles with destruction and radiation risks that may last for years to come.
rghazal@thenational.ae
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How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
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Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
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Satya Nadella
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Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
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Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
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Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
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Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
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Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
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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.”