The photograph shows a group of eight middle-aged men beaming with excitement and wearing T-shirts with the logo “libre” — or “free” — shortly before they boarded their flight from Argentina to New York for a school reunion.
Days later, five were dead and another was in hospital.
The victims of Tuesday’s terror attack in New York included five Argentinian friends visiting for a school reunion as well as a Belgian national, it emerged on Wednesday, in a reminder of the city’s status as a global destination.
Consular staff from several countries issued public appeals as they tried to trace whether any of their citizens were hurt when a rented pickup truck ploughed through pedestrians and cyclists.
Argentina’s foreign ministry identified the dead as Ariel Erlij, Hernan Diego Mendoza, Diego Enrique Angelini, Alejandro Damian Pagnucco, and Hernan Ferruchi.
It said a fifth citizen, Martin Ludovico Marro, who now lives in Connecticut, was recovering from injuries at Manhattan's Presbyterian Hospital.
They were all from the same Rosario Polytechnic School, and had flown to New York for the 30th anniversary of their graduation in 1987.
They had planned a trip that would also take them to Boston.
Mateo Estreme, Argentina’s consul in New York, said that the three survivors were in a state of shock.
"We are trying to figure out how to go on — especially the families,' he told The New York Post. "[They] are completely lost about, well, being very far from their relatives. They don't know what to do."
The survivors were struggling to comprehend the carnage, he said.
“They are devastated,” he said. “They are still in shock because they cannot believe that this happened.”
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Argentine media reported that part of the trip had been paid for by Erlij, who ran a steel mill. He wanted to make sure that two the members of the group could be there.
They died on a bright, clear afternoon of the sort that New York does so well. They were following the leisurely flow of pedestrians and cyclists on the bike path that sits alongside the West Side Highway, close to the Hudson River.
They rode Citibikes, one of the great levellers of the city, rented with a credit card from roadside stations and used by everyone — from tourists looking for a different way to see the city to busy commuters trying to beat gridlock.
The five men were killed close to Stuyvesant High School at to the end of the deadly rampage, where the rented truck came to halt after careening more than 20 blocks along the cycle path.
In all, six people were declared dead at the scene. Two more died later in hospital.
At least 15 people were also wounded. The location meant that two students and two members of staff were among the injured, according to the city’s department of education.
The government of Belgium confirmed that one of its citizens had died, but provided no further information.
Didier Reynders, deputy prime minister and foreign affairs minister, said three others were wounded.
“I am deeply saddened to announce a Belgian victim in Manhattan,” he said. “I express my condolences to the family and friends.
“Our thoughts are with her family and her friends.”
He told the Belga news agency that the victim was a woman from the city of Roeselare, who was visiting New York with her mother and sister. They were now being looked after by consular staff, he added.
Condolences poured in from around the world as the city gears up for an influx of visitors this weekend for the New York City Marathon and for the Thanksgiving parade later this month.
Brief scores:
Manchester United 4
Young 13', Mata 28', Lukaku 42', Rashford 82'
Fulham 1
Kamara 67' (pen),
Red card: Anguissa (68')
Man of the match: Juan Mata (Man Utd)
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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Groom and Two Brides
Director: Elie Semaan
Starring: Abdullah Boushehri, Laila Abdallah, Lulwa Almulla
Rating: 3/5
More on Quran memorisation:
It Was Just an Accident
Director: Jafar Panahi
Stars: Vahid Mobasseri, Mariam Afshari, Ebrahim Azizi, Hadis Pakbaten, Majid Panahi, Mohamad Ali Elyasmehr
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Ajax v Juventus, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Stage 2
1. Mathieu van der Poel (NED) Alpecin-Fenix 4:18:30
2. Tadej Pogacar (SLV) UAE Team Emirates 0:00:06
3. Primoz Roglic (SLV) Jumbo-Visma 0:00:06
4. Wilco Kelderman (NED) Bora-Hansgrohe 0:00:06
5. Julian Alaphilippe (FRA) Deceuninck-QuickStep 0:00:08
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
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Tewellah by Nawal Zoghbi is out now.
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
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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MATHC INFO
England 19 (Try: Tuilagi; Cons: Farrell; Pens: Ford (4)
New Zealand 7 (Try: Savea; Con: Mo'unga)
