NEW YORK // The crumbling remains of Cleopatra's palace, the many-gated Indian city of Dwarka and the earthquake-ravaged Caribbean hub of Port Royal are undoubtedly listed among the world's archaeological treasures - but they have something else in common.
The three sites are all under water, and thanks to a United Nations convention coming into force next year, are set to benefit from greater protection being afforded to mankind's sub-aquatic legacy.
The submerged sites in Alexandria, Gujarat and Jamaica, together with sections of the ancient city of Carthage, in Tunisia, and the temples of Mahabalipuram, in India, fall under the remit of the Convention on the Protection of Underwater Cultural Heritage.
Officials from Unesco, the UN body that helps to conserve mankind's heritage, are also working to safeguard the more than three million shipwrecks scattered across the planet's ocean floors.
Experts warn that sunken vessels - such as the Titanic, the Spanish Armada and the junk fleet on which Kublai Khan attempted a Japanese invasion - are increasingly being targeted by scuba-diving relic hunters.
Concerns have mounted since Michael Hatcher, a prolific wreck raider, located the Chinese junk Tek Sing, which sank in 1822 in the Gelasa strait between Borneo and Sumatra, and recovered 350,000 pieces of Chinese blue and white porcelain in 1999.
In 1986, he also raised 170,000 pieces of Chi'ing dynasty porcelain and 126 gold bars from the Geldermalsen, a Dutch "East Indiaman" ship that sank to the murky depths off Singapore in 1751.
Mr Hatcher has been criticised for damaging artifacts in the pursuit of profits.
The adventurer promised that emerging technology would allow the recovery of all salvageable wrecks on the world's sea beds within two decades.
Underwater exploration technology has developed rapidly since Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Emile Gagnan developed the aqualung in the early 1940s and allowed divers to reach ever-greater depths.
The Japanese research submarine Shinkai 6.500 dived to 6,527 metres below sea level in the trench off Sanriku, Japan, in 1989; while an unmanned investigation, Kaiko, descended to the record depth of 10,911 metres, six years later.
Koichiro Matsuura, Unesco's director general, said the convention, which will enter into force on Jan 2, will "offer legal protection to the historical memory that is in underwater cultural heritage, thus curtailing the growing illicit trade by looters".
From next year, the treaty will cover wrecks and sites within the territorial waters of the 20 ratifying countries, from Libya to Lebanon - and the "many more states" expected to sign up, added Ulrike Koschtial of Unesco.
The treaty closes loopholes exploited by wreck raiders as it applies to sunken vessels bearing the flag of a ratifying nation that lie at the bottom of international waters. It further empowers officials to prevent scavengers from trafficking salvaged artifacts through ports and borders.
"If a site is above ground and in a country's territory, then you can put a policeman next to it and stand guard," said Ms Koschtial, the officer responsible for the treaty. "But that is not the case with sites of underwater cultural heritage.
"This convention is the first step in creating general and harmonised legal protection of underwater archaeological heritage that we can use to prohibit commercial exploitation, pillaging and looting."
Unesco advocates the use of metal cages to protect vulnerable underwater sites from pillagers or boat anchors, and sonar buoys that photograph potential intruders and transmit alerts back to the wreck's guardians.
While officials welcome the growing number of scuba-divers to visit wrecks and submerged sites like Port Royal - the "city that sank" into the Caribbean in 1692 - they insist enthusiasts treat sites with respect.
Other underwater treasures include the limestone sinkholes of Mexico's Yucatan peninsula, known locally as cenotes, and the Neolithic rock art caves submerged beneath the Black Sea.
While the lost city of Atlantis is perhaps the most widely known example of underwater heritage, the mythical marvel is matched in reality by immersed sites the size of Pompeii, Unesco says.
Although at surface it appears gloomy and brooding, the North Sea hides several archaeological gems with remains of Neanderthal camp sites preserved in brine for more than 50,000 years.
Archaeologists have long suspected the Arabian Gulf and the Red Sea hide evidence of the early hominids that left Africa for the peninsula. Wrecks like the Umbria, a freighter that sank off Sudan's coast in 1940, have already become a favourite of Red Sea resort scuba divers.
The bay of Alexandria hosts its own underwater bounty, with the remains of Cleopatra's palace and the Lighthouse of Alexandria, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, among a collection of submerged treasures.
For this site, Unesco's relic guardians aim for greater protection than is envisaged under the convention, with plans to build an underwater museum to showcase what remains of the last Ptolemaic queen.
@Email:jreinl@thenational.ae
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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The specs
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 650hp at 6,750rpm
Torque: 800Nm from 2,500-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 11.12L/100km
Price: From Dh796,600
On sale: now
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
The cost of Covid testing around the world
Egypt
Dh514 for citizens; Dh865 for tourists
Information can be found through VFS Global.
Jordan
Dh212
Centres include the Speciality Hospital, which now offers drive-through testing.
Cambodia
Dh478
Travel tests are managed by the Ministry of Health and National Institute of Public Health.
Zanzibar
AED 295
Zanzibar Public Health Emergency Operations Centre, located within the Lumumba Secondary School compound.
Abu Dhabi
Dh85
Abu Dhabi’s Seha has test centres throughout the UAE.
UK
From Dh400
Heathrow Airport now offers drive through and clinic-based testing, starting from Dh400 and up to Dh500 for the PCR test.
Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
A Bad Moms Christmas
Dir: John Lucas and Scott Moore
Starring: Mila Kunis, Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Susan Sarandon, Christine Baranski, Cheryl Hines
Two stars
Honeymoonish
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Elie%20El%20Samaan%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENour%20Al%20Ghandour%2C%20Mahmoud%20Boushahri%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The five pillars of Islam
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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.”
Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten
Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.
Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.
Meydan race card
6.30pm: Baniyas (PA) Group 2 Dh125,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,200m
7.40pm: Maiden (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
8.15pm: Handicap (TB) Dh170,000 (D) 1,900m
8.50pm: Rated Conditions (TB) Dh240,000 (D) 1,600m
9.25pm: Handicap (TB) Dh175,000 (D)1,200m
10pm: Handicap (TB) Dh165,000 (D) 1,400m
About Proto21
Date started: May 2018
Founder: Pir Arkam
Based: Dubai
Sector: Additive manufacturing (aka, 3D printing)
Staff: 18
Funding: Invested, supported and partnered by Joseph Group
360Vuz PROFILE
Date started: January 2017
Founder: Khaled Zaatarah
Based: Dubai and Los Angeles
Sector: Technology
Size: 21 employees
Funding: $7 million
Investors: Shorooq Partners, KBW Ventures, Vision Ventures, Hala Ventures, 500Startups, Plug and Play, Magnus Olsson, Samih Toukan, Jonathan Labin
How to donate
Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
2289 – Dh10
2252 – Dh 50
6025 – Dh20
6027 – Dh 100
6026 – Dh 200
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN
Director: Mahdi Fleifel
Starring: Mahmoud Bakri, Aram Sabbah, Mohammad Alsurafa
Rating: 4.5/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Take Me Apart
Kelela
(Warp)
Company%20Profile
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MATCH INFO
England 2
Cahill (3'), Kane (39')
Nigeria 1
Iwobi (47')
Business Insights
- Canada and Mexico are significant energy suppliers to the US, providing the majority of oil and natural gas imports
- The introduction of tariffs could hinder the US's clean energy initiatives by raising input costs for materials like nickel
- US domestic suppliers might benefit from higher prices, but overall oil consumption is expected to decrease due to elevated costs
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Soldier F
“I was in complete disgust at the fact that only one person was to be charged for Bloody Sunday.
“Somebody later said to me, 'you just watch - they'll drop the charge against him'. And sure enough, the charges against Soldier F would go on to be dropped.
“It's pretty hard to think that 50 years on, the State is still covering up for what happened on Bloody Sunday.”
Jimmy Duddy, nephew of John Johnson
Kill%20Bill%20Volume%201
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