The UN's World Heritage Committee has put landmarks in two Ukrainian cities on its list list of endangered sites.
The historic Saint Sophia Cathedral in the capital, Kyiv, and the medieval centre of the western city of Lviv, are Unesco World Heritage Sites central to Ukraine's culture and history.
The decision on Friday to put those two on the body's list of sites “in danger” has no enforcement mechanism, but could help deter Russian attacks.
The decision was taken at the 45th session of the World Heritage Committee, which is being held in Saudi Arabia.
The committee maintains Unesco's World Heritage List and oversees conservation of the sites.
The gold-domed Saint Sophia Cathedral, located in the heart of Kyiv, was built in the 11th century and designed to rival the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul.
The monument to Byzantine art contains the biggest collection of mosaics and frescoes from that period, and is surrounded by monastic buildings dating back to the 17th century.
The Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, also known as the Monastery of the Caves, is a sprawling complex of monasteries and churches — some underground — that were built from the 11th to the 19th century.
The two sites on the Dnipro River, a 15-minute drive from one another, are “a masterpiece of human creative genius," according to Unesco, the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation.
The other site is the historic centre of Lviv, near the Polish border.
A fifth century castle overlooks streets and squares built between the 13th and 17th centuries. The site includes a synagogue as well as Orthodox, Armenian and Catholic religious buildings, reflecting the city's diversity.
“In its urban fabric and its architecture, Lviv is an outstanding example of the fusion of the architectural and artistic traditions of Eastern Europe with those of Italy and Germany,” Unesco said.
“The political and commercial role of Lviv attracted to it a number of ethnic groups with different cultural and religious traditions.”
Unesco added Ukraine's Black Sea port city of Odesa to its list of endangered heritage sites in January.
Russian forces have launched multiple artillery attacks and airstrikes on the city, a cultural hub known for its 19th century architecture. Russia says it only strikes military targets.
Under the 1972 Unesco convention, ratified by both Ukraine and Russia, signatories undertake to “assist in the protection of the listed sites” and are “obliged to refrain from taking any deliberate measures” which might damage World Heritage sites.
Inclusion on the List of World Heritage in Danger is meant to rally urgent international support for conservation efforts. The list includes more than 50 sites around the world.
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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Dolittle
Director: Stephen Gaghan
Stars: Robert Downey Jr, Michael Sheen
One-and-a-half out of five stars
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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.”
Diriyah%20project%20at%20a%20glance
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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Jeff Buckley: From Hallelujah To The Last Goodbye
By Dave Lory with Jim Irvin
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