5 healthy things to do this weekend: beach yoga, cycling, mountain trekking, diabetes walk and screening

Help raise awareness of diabetes at Walk2016 at Yas Marina Circuit. The annual event, which started in 2007 and is organised by the Imperial College London Diabetes Centre, encourages people of all ages and fitness levels to get active in a fun and social environment. As well as the walk, there will be family sport activities, food and beverage stalls, a DJ and more. Friday, Dh10 for adults, free for under-16s, gates open 2pm, walk starts at 5pm, Yas Marina Circuit, Yas Island, www.icldc.ae/event/walk-2016.

Try yoga and a hike on the beach with Gulf 4 Good. Start your weekend with an early-morning yoga session – bring your mat – then add in a 13km hike along Jumeirah Beach and enjoy the fresh air and good company. If you can't or don't want to do the whole hike, head to the road to find a taxi at any time. Friday, from 7am for yoga; 8am to 11am for hike, free, meet at the running track near the Burj Al Arab and Jumeirah Beach Hotel, Jumeirah Beach, Dubai, book your spot at 04 368 0222, admin2@gulf4good.org.

Register for The Great Dubai Pulse Ride – Off-Road, in which cyclists of all ages and abilities ride on safe, traffic-free 5km, 10km or 20km routes in an event showcasing the benefits of leading a healthy and active lifestyle. There will be prizes for those competing in the 20km ride, plus activities in the Sports Village, including bouncy castles, arts and crafts and a local market zone. Friday, from 7am, Sports Village, Dubai Sports City, Dubai, www.thecyclehub.com.

Join Explorer Tours for a full day of hiking in Ras Al Khaimah and follow the ancient routes of the Bedouins. See an ancient settlement where the Bedouins transported crops and water from the top of the mountain to neighbouring settlements. The trek is suitable for beginner and intermediate trekkers and will last four to five hours, along a scenic 8km circuit led by experienced guides. Saturday, Dh300, 7.30am leaves Oasis Centre, Sheikh Zayed Road, Dubai in a coach; trek takes place in Ras Al Khaimah, www.facebook.com/ExplorerToursUAE, info@explorertours.ae.

Book a free diabetes screening at Medeor 24x7 Hospital Abu Dhabi. The screenings for families, including pregnant women and children, will be held throughout the month in recognition of World Diabetes Day on November 14. Appointments can be booked by calling 800 900 600 or emailing info@medeor24x7.com.

Timeline

2012-2015

The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East

May 2017

The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts

September 2021

Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act

October 2021

Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence

December 2024

Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group

May 2025

The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan

July 2025

The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan

August 2025

Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision

October 2025

Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange

November 2025

180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE

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Ads on social media can 'normalise' drugs

A UK report on youth social media habits commissioned by advocacy group Volteface found a quarter of young people were exposed to illegal drug dealers on social media.

The poll of 2,006 people aged 16-24 assessed their exposure to drug dealers online in a nationally representative survey.

Of those admitting to seeing drugs for sale online, 56 per cent saw them advertised on Snapchat, 55 per cent on Instagram and 47 per cent on Facebook.

Cannabis was the drug most pushed by online dealers, with 63 per cent of survey respondents claiming to have seen adverts on social media for the drug, followed by cocaine (26 per cent) and MDMA/ecstasy, with 24 per cent of people.

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.”