The dire economic situation in Gaza is casting dark shadows upon the remaining horse clubs and breeders in the besieged coastal strip, where many youngsters dream of accompanying their horses to international contests but instead face a cruel reality.
The lack of proper training and equipment in addition to movement restrictions outside her home town of Gaza have limited young horse rider Noor Abu Sharia's ambitions.
“The horse-riding sport is so special, even if it is limited in Gaza,” said Noor, 17, who won her first tournament at the age of 9. She has a 15-year-old brown horse, aptly named Chocolate.
Along with 80 riders at Al Jawad Equestrian Club, south-west of Gaza city, Noor takes part in extensive training every week. Al Jawad is one of three clubs still open in Gaza after two closed because of the economic situation.
One of the club owners, Abed Mohammed Al Haiek, said they had 43 horses before the war with Israel in May, but now only 38 are left as the area is suffering from shortages of proper food, vital medicine and vaccines.
“The food for each horse costs about 300 shekels monthly [$93], besides extra expenses like medicine and salaries,” he said.
"With the bad economic situation, we face mounting challenges to keep the place running. I am going to expand the activities of the club and open a tennis court, so I can have extra income.”
Abed Al Aziz Abu Sharia, Noor’s father and the chairman of the technical committee of the Palestinian Equestrian Federation in Gaza, told The National they face obstacles such as providing routine veterinary treatment, food and medicine.
“Horses need special treatment and care, they need psychological and physical attention," he said.
“The big problem I face usually is when I have a sick horse and we cannot diagnose its illness because we don’t have suitable medical devices in Gaza.
“The lack of medicine forces me sometimes to choose between two horses.”
Breeders of Arabian and racehorses are suffering from the same problems.
“Gaza is under siege. We face many difficulties to import the necessary and special food, medication and vaccines needed to preserve the families of the Arabian horses and other horses we have here,” horse breeder Mohammed Maqadma told The National.
These problems result in poor health, death and sometimes the loss of some dynasties of Arabian horses left in the strip, he said.
The Israeli blockade on Gaza since 2007 and the closing of borders affect every aspect of life in the strip.
Horses in Gaza are under quarantine and not allowed to travel through two crossings – Rafah in the south, which is controlled by Egypt and Erez in the north, run by the Israelis.
Another member of Al Jawad club, Iyad Al Serk, 15, said he was disappointed because his options in Gaza were limited.
“What's the point of extensive training while knowing that I will reach a dead end?" Mr Al Serk told The National.
Iyad jumps 90-centimetre fences, but does not have his own horse because of the difficulties in bringing them into Gaza.
Prices for horses can start at $10,000 and the animals have to enter Gaza through Karem Shalom crossing, south of Gaza Strip, which is also controlled by the Israelis.
During the 11-day war in May, Noor and her brother Mohammed,15, had to leave their home because the tower next to their building was destroyed, partly damaging their own property.
“I was so worried about my horse during the war, because those are animals and can’t protect themselves," said Mohammed, who is also a rider.
The equestrian federation in Gaza lost about $50,000 during the war, through damage to buildings and equipment, as well as injury to horses, Mr Abu Sharia said.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Top 10 in the F1 drivers' standings
1. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 202 points
2. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes-GP 188
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes-GP 169
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull Racing 117
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 116
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull Racing 67
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 56
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 45
9. Carlos Sainz Jr, Toro Rosso 35
10. Nico Hulkenberg, Renault 26
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%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Sleep Well Beast
The National
4AD
The candidates
Dr Ayham Ammora, scientist and business executive
Ali Azeem, business leader
Tony Booth, professor of education
Lord Browne, former BP chief executive
Dr Mohamed El-Erian, economist
Professor Wyn Evans, astrophysicist
Dr Mark Mann, scientist
Gina MIller, anti-Brexit campaigner
Lord Smith, former Cabinet minister
Sandi Toksvig, broadcaster
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
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.”
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Brief scoreline:
Toss: South Africa, elected to bowl first
England (311-8): Stokes 89, Morgan 57, Roy 54, Root 51; Ngidi 3-66
South Africa (207): De Kock 68, Van der Dussen 50; Archer 3-27, Stokes 2-12
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%3Cp%3ETotal%20trade%20in%20goods%20and%20services%20(exports%20plus%20imports)%20between%20the%20UK%20and%20the%20UAE%20in%202022%20was%20%C2%A321.6%20billion%20(Dh98%20billion).%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThis%20is%20an%20increase%20of%2063.0%20per%20cent%20or%20%C2%A38.3%20billion%20in%20current%20prices%20from%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%202021.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20was%20the%20UK%E2%80%99s%2019th%20largest%20trading%20partner%20in%20the%20four%20quarters%20to%20the%20end%20of%20Q4%202022%20accounting%20for%201.3%20per%20cent%20of%20total%20UK%20trade.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
