Covid-19 doctor's portrait from Brazil wins Hipa grand prize of $120,000 for photography

A portrait showing the worn out face of a Covid-19 doctor after eight hours of continuous work in the emergency room, has won the grand prize of the annual Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum International Photography Award.

Brazilian photographer Ary Bassous’s photo of Dr Juliana Ribeiro earned him the $120,000 prize money at the award’s 10th season, titled Humanity.

“The marks on her face share the painful human stories that has consumed the entire world,” according to Hipa, which said the “emotionally-charged photo captures the pain of our world today”.

Scroll through the gallery above for the winners of the the 10th season of Hipa.

Hipa was launched in 2011 by Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashid, the Crown Prince of Dubai, to promote the city’s artistic and cultural projects, as well as encourage the art of photography within the Emirati community.

Awards were also given in categories including Humanity, General and Architectural Photography, while special prizes included Photography Content Creator Award, Emerging Person/Organisation in Photography Award and Photography Appreciation Award.

“With nearly half a million entries received into the award over the years, spanning 203 countries, our photographers continue to inspire us every day” said Ali bin Thalith, Hipa secretary general. "This season, in particular, saw winners from the UAE, Lebanon and Morocco reflect the strength of our Arab photographers and their creative talents that has led them to shine on the international photography stage."

“This season we were humbled by the awe-inspiring and emotionally charged photographs we received that not only dug deep but also unearthed, through photography, the essence of what it means to be human. In these photographs we felt a myriad of emotions ranging from absolute despair to pure kindness and joy.”

Judges for this season included South African photographer Brent Stirton, a senior correspondent for Getty Images and a fellow at the National Geographic Society; Catalin Marin from Romania who is an architectural, interior and lifestyle photographer based in Dubai; Saudi artist, photographer and academic trainer Hanaa Turkistani; Bosnian photographer Ziyah Gafic, an award-winning photojournalist and videographer from Sarajevo; French photographer Eric Bouvet; and American photographer and a co-founder and director of the VII Academy, Gary Knight.

Below is the full list of winners:

Humanity category winners

First place: Mads Nissen from Denmark
Second place: Ilhan Kilinc from Turkey
Third place: Marc Abou Jaoude from Lebanon
Fourth place: Fabrizio Maffei from Italy
Fifth place: Biplab Hazra from India

General category winners

First place: Sameer Al-Doumy from France
Second place: Fatima Zahra Cherkaoui from Morocco
Third place: Eirik Gronningsaeter from Norway

General category (black and white) winners

First place: Giuseppe Cocchieri from Italy
Second place: Yadi Setiadi from Indonesia
Third place: Bambang Wirawan from Indonesia

Portfolio category winners

First place: Florian Ledoux from France
Second place: Catalina Gomez Lopez from Spain
Third place: Fikret Dilek Uyar from Turkey
Fourth place: Yousef Al Habshi Al Hashmi from the UAE
Fifth place: Alexander McBride from the UK

Architectural Photography category winners

First place: Charles Saswinanto from Indonesia
Second place: Amri Arfianto from Indonesia
Third place: Lin Jing from China
Fourth place: Beatriz Fernandez Mayo from Spain
Fifth place: Rahul Bansal from India

Special Award recipients

Photography Appreciation Award: American photojournalist Randy Olson for his 30-plus years of leadership in projects and initiatives in more than 50 countries. He is also the founder of The Photo Society, a multi-award-winning initiative dedicated to telling the world’s stories through photography.
Photography Content Creator Award: American photographer and biologist Cristina Mittermeier, co-founder of the Conservation Society SeaLegacy, contributing photographer to the National Geographic, featured photographer for Sony and editor of 26 picture books on environmental issues.
Emerging Person/Organisation in Photography Award: The International League of Conservation Photographers, a US non-profit that has a mission to support environmental and cultural conservation through ethical photography and filmmaking.

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What is dialysis?

Dialysis is a way of cleaning your blood when your kidneys fail and can no longer do the job.

It gets rid of your body's wastes, extra salt and water, and helps to control your blood pressure. The main cause of kidney failure is diabetes and hypertension.

There are two kinds of dialysis — haemodialysis and peritoneal.

In haemodialysis, blood is pumped out of your body to an artificial kidney machine that filter your blood and returns it to your body by tubes.

In peritoneal dialysis, the inside lining of your own belly acts as a natural filter. Wastes are taken out by means of a cleansing fluid which is washed in and out of your belly in cycles.

It isn’t an option for everyone but if eligible, can be done at home by the patient or caregiver. This, as opposed to home haemodialysis, is covered by insurance in the UAE.

The alternatives

• Founded in 2014, Telr is a payment aggregator and gateway with an office in Silicon Oasis. It’s e-commerce entry plan costs Dh349 monthly (plus VAT). QR codes direct customers to an online payment page and merchants can generate payments through messaging apps.

• Business Bay’s Pallapay claims 40,000-plus active merchants who can invoice customers and receive payment by card. Fees range from 1.99 per cent plus Dh1 per transaction depending on payment method and location, such as online or via UAE mobile.

• Tap started in May 2013 in Kuwait, allowing Middle East businesses to bill, accept, receive and make payments online “easier, faster and smoother” via goSell and goCollect. It supports more than 10,000 merchants. Monthly fees range from US$65-100, plus card charges of 2.75-3.75 per cent and Dh1.2 per sale.

• 2checkout’s “all-in-one payment gateway and merchant account” accepts payments in 200-plus markets for 2.4-3.9 per cent, plus a Dh1.2-Dh1.8 currency conversion charge. The US provider processes online shop and mobile transactions and has 17,000-plus active digital commerce users.

• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.

Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

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.”

How Apple's credit card works

The Apple Card looks different from a traditional credit card — there's no number on the front and the users' name is etched in metal. The card expands the company's digital Apple Pay services, marrying the physical card to a virtual one and integrating both with the iPhone. Its attributes include quick sign-up, elimination of most fees, strong security protections and cash back.

What does it cost?

Apple says there are no fees associated with the card. That means no late fee, no annual fee, no international fee and no over-the-limit fees. It also said it aims to have among the lowest interest rates in the industry. Users must have an iPhone to use the card, which comes at a cost. But they will earn cash back on their purchases — 3 per cent on Apple purchases, 2 per cent on those with the virtual card and 1 per cent with the physical card. Apple says it is the only card to provide those rewards in real time, so that cash earned can be used immediately.

What will the interest rate be?

The card doesn't come out until summer but Apple has said that as of March, the variable annual percentage rate on the card could be anywhere from 13.24 per cent to 24.24 per cent based on creditworthiness. That's in line with the rest of the market, according to analysts

What about security?

The physical card has no numbers so purchases are made with the embedded chip and the digital version lives in your Apple Wallet on your phone, where it's protected by fingerprints or facial recognition. That means that even if someone steals your phone, they won't be able to use the card to buy things.

Is it easy to use?

Apple says users will be able to sign up for the card in the Wallet app on their iPhone and begin using it almost immediately. It also tracks spending on the phone in a more user-friendly format, eliminating some of the gibberish that fills a traditional credit card statement. Plus it includes some budgeting tools, such as tracking spending and providing estimates of how much interest could be charged on a purchase to help people make an informed decision.

* Associated Press

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Power: 420bhp

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Defence review at a glance

• Increase defence spending to 2.5% of GDP by 2027 but given “turbulent times it may be necessary to go faster”

• Prioritise a shift towards working with AI and autonomous systems

• Invest in the resilience of military space systems.

• Number of active reserves should be increased by 20%

• More F-35 fighter jets required in the next decade

• New “hybrid Navy” with AUKUS submarines and autonomous vessels

Tamkeen's offering

Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
Option 2: 50% across three years
Option 3: 30% across five years