• A cloudy day in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
    A cloudy day in Dubai. Pawan Singh / The National
  • Cloudy skies over the Marina Eye in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Cloudy skies over the Marina Eye in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • A spectacular sunset at Al Hudayriat Island, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
    A spectacular sunset at Al Hudayriat Island, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
  • Praying on top of Jebel Jais, in Ras Al Khaimah, on New Year's Day. Chris Whiteoak / The National
    Praying on top of Jebel Jais, in Ras Al Khaimah, on New Year's Day. Chris Whiteoak / The National
  • Feeding seagulls on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Feeding seagulls on the Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • A breezy day in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    A breezy day in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • Trees provide shade from the winter sun near the Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
    Trees provide shade from the winter sun near the Corniche in Abu Dhabi. Khushnum Bhandari / The National
  • Winds are set to reach up to 40kph for the remainder of the week. Victor Besa / The National
    Winds are set to reach up to 40kph for the remainder of the week. Victor Besa / The National
  • Cloudy skies over the Al Bahia area in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
    Cloudy skies over the Al Bahia area in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
  • Overcast weather along the E10 highway, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
    Overcast weather along the E10 highway, Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
  • Calm conditions at Amity International School Watersports Academy in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National
    Calm conditions at Amity International School Watersports Academy in Abu Dhabi. Victor Besa / The National

UAE weather: Cooler conditions expected this week with a chance of more rain


Salam Al Amir
  • English
  • Arabic

Cool temperatures will continue in the UAE, with a chance of rain by the middle of the week.

Forecasters said there will be cloudy conditions, with temperatures dropping to 12°C in Ras Al Khaimah, mostly in the early mornings.

There will be highs of 28°C degrees in Liwa and lows of 14°C to 16°C in some parts of Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Umm Al Quwain and Ajman.

Monday will be partly cloudy, with light to moderate winds.

Tuesday will be partly cloudy and dusty with a chance of rainfall over the sea, islands, coastal and northern areas during the night and into Wednesday morning, which will be cool.

Moderate to fresh north-westerly winds will be strong at times over the sea, with a speed of 20kph to 30kph but reaching 50kph. Forecasters said conditions will be rough to very rough at times in the Arabian Gulf and moderate to rough in the Oman Sea.

Thursday and Friday will be partly cloudy with a chance of rainfall over some northern and eastern areas.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures

Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)

Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy

Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy

Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy

Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium

UAE squad

Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia

In the Restaurant: Society in Four Courses
Christoph Ribbat
Translated by Jamie Searle Romanelli
Pushkin Press 

Key features of new policy

Pupils to learn coding and other vocational skills from Grade 6

Exams to test critical thinking and application of knowledge

A new National Assessment Centre, PARAKH (Performance, Assessment, Review and Analysis for Holistic Development) will form the standard for schools

Schools to implement online system to encouraging transparency and accountability

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Match info

Manchester United 4
(Pogba 5', 33', Rashford 45', Lukaku 72')

Bournemouth 1
(Ake 45 2')

Red card: Eric Bailly (Manchester United)

The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler

Price, base / as tested Dh57,000

Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine

Transmission Six-speed gearbox

Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm

Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm

Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km

Empty Words

By Mario Levrero  

(Coffee House Press)
 

Mobile phone packages comparison

Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday

Women & Power: A Manifesto

Mary Beard

Profile Books and London Review of Books 

Qosty Byogaani

Starring: Hani Razmzi, Maya Nasir and Hassan Hosny

Four stars

RESULT

Manchester United 2 Burnley 2
Man United:
 Lingard (53', 90' 1)
Burnley: Barnes (3'), Defour (36')

Man of the Match: Jesse Lingard (Manchester United)

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.”

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458. 

Updated: January 16, 2023, 6:28 AM