Emirati twins among top chefs at Sharjah Children's Reading Festival

Chefs from around the world are set to cook up a storm at the Cookery Corner of Sharjah Children's Reading Festival next week.

The 14th SCRF will welcome 12 chefs from nine countries, including Emirati twins Maitha and Abdulrahman Al Hashimi, who will take part in more than 30 culinary events during the 12-day festival, to be held from May 3 to 14.

The event at Expo Centre Sharjah, held under the theme Train your Brain, is meant to teach visitors about different cultures, celebrate the talents of young people from around the world and promote the power of books and reading for all.

The Cookery Corner programme will present festivalgoers with a range of culinary events on stage, focusing on cuisine from the region as well as Asia, Africa and Europe. Visiting chefs and food experts are celebrated in their chosen culinary fields, many of whom have written bestselling books and have a dedicated online following.

The Al Hashimi twins, 14, will showcase culinary gems from the UAE. The siblings are the youngest chefs to receive diplomas from the International Centre for Culinary Arts in Dubai.

Lebanese chef and author Fatina Al Daher, who gained a dedicated online following through her style of quick cooking videos, will share some of her easy dishes, while chef and author Assia Othman will introduce some traditional Moroccan dishes at the festival.

Gabonian chef Anto Cocagne, who lives in Paris, and whose ambition is to popularise African cooking around the world, will share her cooking journey with audiences while Ana Ortins will delve into her passion for Portuguese cuisine inspired by her home town in the Alentejo region of Portugal.

Chef and blogger Uma Raghuraman, known as "Masterchef Mom" online, will recreate recipes from her book My Genius Lunch Box, which consists of healthy meals for children.

Self-taught vegan chef Priyanka Naik will share her unique eco-friendly cooking approach, while New Zealand chef and author Ashia Ismael will show audiences how her Indian lineage has influenced her cooking style.

SCRF will also feature the first Cookery Workshops for Kids, bringing together participating chefs and young culinary enthusiasts to teach them how to create their own lunch boxes and make simple, healthy dishes.

Sharjah Children's Reading Festival will run from May 3 – 14 at the Expo Centre Sharjah. More information is available at www.scrf.ae

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Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.

Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.

Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.

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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.”

How has net migration to UK changed?

The figure was broadly flat immediately before the Covid-19 pandemic, standing at 216,000 in the year to June 2018 and 224,000 in the year to June 2019.

It then dropped to an estimated 111,000 in the year to June 2020 when restrictions introduced during the pandemic limited travel and movement.

The total rose to 254,000 in the year to June 2021, followed by steep jumps to 634,000 in the year to June 2022 and 906,000 in the year to June 2023.

The latest available figure of 728,000 for the 12 months to June 2024 suggests levels are starting to decrease.