ABU DHABI // The UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs called for Qatar to abandon its "stubbornness" on Thursday, after Turkey accelerated plans to send troops to Qatar and Doha struck a defiant tone.
"We call for reason and wisdom to prevail over stubbornness, escalation will benefit no one and taking the protection of external parties is no solution, the only solution is a new, transparent stance," Dr Anwar Gargash said.
He also called on Qatar to to "change its course", in a series of messages on Twitter late on Thursday, the fourth day of an escalating crisis within the GCC over Doha’s policies.
Earlier in the day, the Qatari foreign minister insisted the country would not be pressured into change.
"No one has the right to intervene in our foreign policy," Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said.
He insisted that despite a partial blockade by its neighbours, Qatar could survive "forever", and ruled out "a military solution as an option" to end the most serious rift in the GCC’s history.
The UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt cut diplomatic ties and land, sea and air links to Qatar on Monday over its support for Islamist groups and refusal to fully support their regional policies. Qatar has denied those charges.
On Thursday, the UAE added to the raft of measures to isolate Qatar. The General Civil Aviation Authority announced it had "closed the airspace for all air traffic to and from Doha until further notice".
At the same time, Bahrain joined the UAE in outlawing expressions of sympathy for Qatar on social media.
"Any expression of sympathy with the government of Qatar or opposition to the measures taken by the government of Bahrain, whether through social media, Twitter or any other form of communication, is a criminal offence punishable by up to five years in prison and a fine," Bahrain’s interior ministry said.
The country’s foreign minister also repeated Riyadh’s demands that Qatar change the nature of its relationship with Iran and end support for what he called "terrorist organisations".
A number of smaller countries allied with Saudi Arabia have joined in taking steps to varying degrees against Qatar, and on Thursday Chad announced that it had recalled its ambassador to Doha.
The crisis has also drawn in global and regional powers, which may pave the way for a deeper mediation process and stave off for now the ratcheting up further of steps targeting Qatar.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday joined international calls to resolve tensions between Qatar and other Gulf Arab states, and said he was ready to support any diplomatic efforts "if desired by all parties".
US president Donald Trump spoke on the phone with the leaders of Saudi, the UAE and Qatar’s emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Wednesday, and offered to host a mediation summit at the White House.
While speaking with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Mr Trump reiterated "the importance of maintaining a united Gulf Cooperation Council to promote regional stability, but never at the expense of eliminating funding for radical extremism or defeating terrorism".
It was an about-turn from Tuesday when the US president backed the Saudi-UAE position fully, saying on Twitter that they may even bring an end to terrorism.
The GCC as a bloc is crucial to Mr Trump’s Middle East goals of creating an Arab force to fight terrorism and confront Iran. Qatar also hosts the largest US military base in the Middle East, which is the US Central Command’s forward headquarters running all operations in the region, staffed by around 10,000 troops. The US military considers it a strategic interest not to concentrate its regional facilities in one country or axis.
For Qatar, which has a small military and is vulnerable to rivals and enemies in the region, the Al Udeid airbase is the cornerstone of its national security and it is notionally meant to serve as a strategic deterrent.
Qatari officials had reportedly placed frantic calls to US counterparts after Mr Trump posted his tweets, questioning the countries’ alliance. But they were apparently relieved by the walking back of Mr Trump’s tweets, after he was briefed by his national security staff.
"We don’t see that he’s pointing fingers at Qatar," Qatar’s ambassador to Washington, Meshal bin Hamad Al Thani said. "Our relationship with the US speaks for itself."
Qatar has made itself an invaluable ally for a number of countries around the world through its supply of natural gas, and also strategically allied itself with Turkey, whose government has coordinated with Doha on support for Muslim Brotherhood groups across the region and rebels in Syria.
It has also become closer to Moscow, even as they support opposing sides in the Syrian war and are also competitors in the gas market.
Russia and Turkey have inserted themselves in the GCC crisis, with Ankara fast-tracking plans to send more troops to its new permanent military base in Qatar. Turkish officials have given conflicting statements since the base was constructed in 2014, but up to 3,000 troops could soon be stationed there, giving Qatar another deterrent lever.
Turkey has also sought to rebuild frayed ties with Riyadh and Abu Dhabi over the past year, and did not openly side with Qatar as tensions erupted three weeks ago. But Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Wednesday he wanted "to clearly say that we disapprove of the sanctions on Qatar".
Russia’s foreign minister Sergey Lavrov is set to meet with his Qatari counterpart in Moscow on Saturday, and Russian president Vladimir Putin spoke with King Salman and Egypt’s president earlier in the week.
Iran’s foreign minister has also has also spoken with Qatari officials and met his Turkish counterpart in Ankara. The efforts by these countries on Qatar’s behalf has raised questions about the future possibility of Doha aligning more closely with them and edging away from the GCC and US.
On Thursday, Egypt urged the UN Security Council to launch an investigation into accusations that Qatar paid a ransom of up to $1 billion (Dh3.67bn) "to a terrorist group active in Iraq" to release kidnapped members of its royal family.
The reported payment to Iranian-backed militias and Al Qaeda-linked militants has been pointed to as the final straw for Riyadh that triggered the unprecedented measures.
"This violation of the Security Council resolutions, if proved correct, shall definitely have a negative bearing on counter-terrorism efforts on the ground," senior Egyptian UN diplomat Ihab Moustafa Awad Moustafa told the council.
Qatar has denied trying to pay ransom money to secure the release of 26 Qataris, including members of the country’s ruling royal family, abducted in Iraq by unidentified gunmen.
Also on Thursday, the Qatari news network Al Jazeera claimed it was under a wide-scale cyber attack that targeted "all systems".
"Al Jazeera Media Network under cyber attack on all systems, websites & social media platforms," Al Jazeera said on Twitter.
tkhan@thenational.ae
* with additional reporting from Associated Press, Reuters and Agence France-Presse
RESULT
Brazil 2 Croatia 0
Brazil: Neymar (69'), Firmino (90' 3)
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
Abu Dhabi traffic facts
Drivers in Abu Dhabi spend 10 per cent longer in congested conditions than they would on a free-flowing road
The highest volume of traffic on the roads is found between 7am and 8am on a Sunday.
Travelling before 7am on a Sunday could save up to four hours per year on a 30-minute commute.
The day was the least congestion in Abu Dhabi in 2019 was Tuesday, August 13.
The highest levels of traffic were found on Sunday, November 10.
Drivers in Abu Dhabi lost 41 hours spent in traffic jams in rush hour during 2019
MATCH INFO
West Ham United 2 (Antonio 73', Ogbonna 90 5')
Tottenham Hotspur 3 (Son 36', Moura 42', Kane 49')
The%20specs
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
ON%20TRACK
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The specs: 2018 Dodge Durango SRT
Price, base / as tested: Dh259,000
Engine: 6.4-litre V8
Power: 475hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 640Nm @ 4,300rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.7L / 100km
Dubai World Cup Carnival Thursday race card
6.30pm: Dubai Millennium Stakes Group Three US$200,000 (Turf) 2,000m
7.05pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
7.40pm: UAE Oaks Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
8.15pm: Zabeel Mile Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,600m
8.50pm: Meydan Sprint Group Two $250,000 (T) 1,000m
9.25pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,400m
10pm: Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,600m
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.”
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Afro%20salons
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFor%20women%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3ESisu%20Hair%20Salon%2C%20Jumeirah%201%2C%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EBoho%20Salon%2C%20Al%20Barsha%20South%2C%20Dubai%3Cbr%3EMoonlight%2C%20Al%20Falah%20Street%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFor%20men%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EMK%20Barbershop%2C%20Dar%20Al%20Wasl%20Mall%2C%20Dubai%3Cbr%3ERegency%20Saloon%2C%20Al%20Zahiyah%2C%20Abu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3EUptown%20Barbershop%2C%20Al%20Nasseriya%2C%20Sharjah%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
SHAITTAN
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVikas%20Bahl%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAjay%20Devgn%2C%20R.%20Madhavan%2C%20Jyothika%2C%20Janaki%20Bodiwala%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The Sheikh Zayed Future Energy Prize
This year’s winners of the US$4 million Sheikh Zayed Future Energy Prize will be recognised and rewarded in Abu Dhabi on January 15 as part of Abu Dhabi Sustainable Week, which runs in the capital from January 13 to 20.
From solutions to life-changing technologies, the aim is to discover innovative breakthroughs to create a new and sustainable energy future.
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
SPEC%20SHEET
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Company profile
Date started: January, 2014
Founders: Mike Dawson, Varuna Singh, and Benita Rowe
Based: Dubai
Sector: Education technology
Size: Five employees
Investment: $100,000 from the ExpoLive Innovation Grant programme in 2018 and an initial $30,000 pre-seed investment from the Turn8 Accelerator in 2014. Most of the projects are government funded.
Partners/incubators: Turn8 Accelerator; In5 Innovation Centre; Expo Live Innovation Impact Grant Programme; Dubai Future Accelerators; FHI 360; VSO and Consult and Coach for a Cause (C3)
How to volunteer
The UAE volunteers campaign can be reached at www.volunteers.ae , or by calling 800-VOLAE (80086523), or emailing info@volunteers.ae.
Scoreline
Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')
Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')
Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'
