The kites fluttered above plumes of black smoke from tyres burning at the fence that separates Gaza from Israeli territory.
As Israeli soldiers fired tear gas and live rounds at the Palestinians massed near the barbed wire border fence, small groups of young men stood back behind earthen mounds, adeptly pulling at long lines to manoeuvre the kites — and their tails of burning cloth — over the parched Israeli farmland beyond the fence.
Further back, others were pulling strings too.
Only a short walk from the fence, the protest organisers worked the crowd from a podium shielded from the scorching sun by a huge netted roof. Named the National Committee for the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege, since March 30 the group has been calling on Gazans to commemorate the expulsion of Palestinians from their land in 1948. Last Friday, that theme changed to protesting the capture of Jerusalem by Israeli troops in the 1967 war.
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Read more:
Israel fires warning shots to stop Gazans flying balloons, kites
Emergency Gaza UN General Assembly meeting called by Arab states
US vetoes Kuwait UN proposal to protect Palestinians
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The drumbeat of those protests had begun well before the crowds gathered at five spots along the separation fence. From mid-morning, loudspeakers had blasted recorded messages from lorries driving through Gaza city.
"Now it's time to liberate Jerusalem and bring back its beauty and glory," a metallic voice echoed through streets. "The National Committee for the Great March of Return and Breaking the Siege is asking you to take part in these protests today."
Most of those who come to the fence had not been born when the Palestinians were expelled nor when the Israelis captured Jerusalem, and are instead motivated by the appalling situation in the narrow strip of land on the Mediterranean coast.
Since Hamas was elected in 2006, Israel and Egypt have enforced a blockade on Gaza that has all but collapsed the local economy.
The Israeli military has repeatedly clashed with Hamas, which it designates a terrorist organisation, and the subsequent destruction has added to the hardship endured by Gazans. The blockade also severely restricts movement out of Gaza, with the territory commonly described as an open air prison.
"We have been living under a siege for 12 years," said Mohammed Alouh, who works in the administration of Shafeay mosque in the Askula neighbourhood of Gaza City. "We've urged the world community to end the siege, but it hasn't happened, so we are going to the fence to break it ourselves."
The mosque's imam had encouraged worshippers to join the protests at the end of midday prayers, said Mr Alouh. Next to the mosque, a bus stood ready to transport those who heeded the imam's call.
The protests have become part of the Friday routine in Gaza. The weekly gatherings have galvanised residents, and proven a useful distraction to Gaza's increasingly unpopular rulers. Hamas, which has prevented elections since 2006, has a tight grip on the enclave. But its inability to improve the daily lives in Gaza has begun to undermine its position, experts say.
"There is political pressure building on Hamas," said Mkhaimar Abusada, a professor of political science at Al Azhar University in Gaza. "Two thirds of the people in Gaza consider Hamas to be a major cause of their problems."
Unemployment in Gaza stands at 44 per cent, according to the World Bank, and over 60 per cent of those under the age of 30 are unable to find work. The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics estimates that one third of Gaza residents live below the poverty line. Dilapidated infrastructure provides neither enough clean water nor more than four hours of electricity a day.
Hamas moved quickly to take control of the organising committee.
"The protests were started by independent activists," said Mr Abusada. "Hamas jumped in and started leading the protests."
The Great March of Return protests are the brainchild of Ahmed Abu Artema, a 33-year-old journalist and writer, whose poems are popular on social media. The political parties in Gaza, chief among them Hamas, then muscled in on the organising committee.
"We can't do anything about this, the political factions control everything in Gaza," said Mr Artema, who admitted that he is less involved in the protests than in the beginning. "We can't ignore them and we can't deny that they are part of this."
Hamas also uses its sway over Gaza's mosque to its advantage, and Shafeay mosque is not the only one where the call to prayer is followed by the call to protest.
"In Gaza most of the imams are in the pay of Hamas," said Mr Abusada.
Hamas's involvement in the protests has not gone unnoticed by the Israelis, who have tried to dissuade Gazans from demonstrating by playing on discontent with the group. Israeli aircraft dropped leaflets on to Gaza last Thursday, urging residents to refrain from protesting at the fence.
"It would be good for you not to allow Hamas to take you hostage to add to their political credit," the flyer reads.
But so far, the Israelis are losing the propaganda war.
"We are also angry at Hamas, but we can't protest against them," said Naeem Hassan Hamada, whose son Mohammed died on June 2 after being shot in the leg by an Israeli sniper during the May 14 protests. The priority must remain protesting against the Israeli occupation, he said.
Mr Hamada's 30-year-old son was heavily indebted and unemployed after a failed business venture, according to his father. Instead of turning on Hamas, he went to the fence. His father said his depression caused him to disregard the danger, and he was shot. He died of his wounds after being released early from a hospital overwhelmed with casualties.
Organisers have vowed to continue the protests.
"Hamas has succeeded by diverting the internal pressure towards the Israeli occupation," said Mr Abusada.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Which products are to be taxed?
To be taxed:
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Products excluded from the ‘sweetened drink’ category would contain at least 75 per cent milk in a ready-to-drink form or as a milk substitute, baby formula, follow-up formula or baby food, beverages consumed for medicinal use and special dietary needs determined as per GCC Standardisation Organisation rules
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
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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Opening Premier League fixtures, August 14
- Brentford v Arsenal
- Burnley v Brighton
- Chelsea v Crystal Palace
- Everton v Southampton
- Leicester City v Wolves
- Manchester United v Leeds United
- Newcastle United v West Ham United
- Norwich City v Liverpool
- Tottenham v Manchester City
- Watford v Aston Villa
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'THE WORST THING YOU CAN EAT'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
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if you go
