Medics from the British Army's nursing corps carry out coronavirus vaccinations. The Indian variant of the virus is blamed for more than 90 per cent of new cases in the UK. Getty Images
Medics from the British Army's nursing corps carry out coronavirus vaccinations. The Indian variant of the virus is blamed for more than 90 per cent of new cases in the UK. Getty Images
Medics from the British Army's nursing corps carry out coronavirus vaccinations. The Indian variant of the virus is blamed for more than 90 per cent of new cases in the UK. Getty Images
Medics from the British Army's nursing corps carry out coronavirus vaccinations. The Indian variant of the virus is blamed for more than 90 per cent of new cases in the UK. Getty Images

Europe

WHO: Indian variant ‘poised to take hold’ of Europe

Britain reports 91% of new Covid cases linked to more infectious strain

Brodie Owen
London

June 10, 2021

  • English
  • Arabic

The World Health Organisation said the Indian variant of the coronavirus is "poised to take hold" of Europe as many countries prepare to ease restrictions and cross-border travel resumes.

Hans Kluge, WHO’s Europe director, said the continent was “by no means out of danger” despite a steady decline in infection rates in recent weeks.

He said the Indian variant, also known as the Delta variant, was showing signs of evading some vaccines and that many vulnerable people, particularly those over 60, remained unprotected.

“The new Delta variant of concern … is poised to take hold in the region,” he said.

“We have been here before. Over the course of last summer, cases gradually rose in younger age groups and then moved into older age groups, contributing to a devastating resurgence.”

In the UK, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the Indian variant now accounted for 91 per cent of all new cases in the country.

The spread of the strain forced ministers to reconsider plans for the final stage of unlocking on June 21.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson is due to scrutinise data before announcing on Monday whether he will delay that last step.

Dr Kluge urged travellers to use common sense ahead of the peak summer season.

"With increasing social gatherings, greater population mobility and large festivals and sports tournaments taking place in the coming days and weeks, WHO Europe calls for caution," he said.

"If you choose to travel, do it responsibly. Be conscious of the risks. Apply common sense and don’t jeopardise hard-earned gains.”

Over the past two months, new coronavirus cases, deaths and hospital admissions have declined in Europe, prompting 36 out of 53 countries in the continent to start easing social restrictions.

The number of reported Covid-19 infections in Europe last week was 368,000, a fifth of the weekly cases reported during a peak in April this year.

About 30 per cent of Europe’s population has received a first dose of a Covid-19 vaccine.

Who was Alfred Nobel?

The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.

  • In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
  • Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
  • Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Long read

Mageed Yahia, director of WFP in UAE: Coronavirus knows no borders, and neither should the response

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.”

CoronavirusEurope