Sudan's RSF claims it shot down army fighter jet

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group has claimed it has shot down an army fighter jet in the Bahri district as heavy fighting raged across Khartoum on Tuesday.

“The brave men were able to arrest the pilot of the plane after he landed with a parachute,” the RSF said.

It accused the army of committing “heinous massacres” in greater Khartoum on Tuesday as reports of heavy clashes raged near Omdurman and other districts.

“We saw pilots jumping with parachutes as the plane plunged to the ground,” a witness in northern Khartoum, who asked not to be named over security fears, told Reuters.

The armed forces led by Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan have been at war with the RSF – led by his former deputy Gen Mohamed Dagalo – since April 15, in a brutal conflict that has killed nearly 3,000 people and displaced millions.

A witness in Omdurman, across the river from Khartoum's city centre, also reported “heavy clashes using various types of weapons”.

Others said they could see “airstrikes in the area of the state television building”, where the RSF had launched an attack this week and fired anti-aircraft weapons on Tuesday.

In the capital's east, witnesses also reported clashes with machine guns.

People fleeing violence arrive in Gadaref, east Sudan, on Monday. AFP

The army “launched rockets and heavy artillery” on RSF bases in both central and northern Khartoum, another witness reported, with houses damaged and civilians taken to one of the few hospitals still functioning.

Medics warn the toll of dead and wounded from Sudan's war is likely to be much higher than recorded figures, with many casualties unable to reach health centres, two-thirds of which are out of service.

In both Khartoum and the western region of Darfur, fighting has mainly hit densely-populated neighbourhoods, with bombs falling on homes and bodies left in the streets.

There have been only brief moments of respite for civilians, most of whom are trapped and have been forced to ration water, food, electricity and medicine for close to three months.

About 2.2 million Sudanese have been displaced within the country and 645,000 have fled across borders, according to the International Organisation for Migration.

How to improve Arabic reading in early years

One 45-minute class per week in Standard Arabic is not sufficient

The goal should be for grade 1 and 2 students to become fluent readers

Subjects like technology, social studies, science can be taught in later grades

Grade 1 curricula should include oral instruction in Standard Arabic

First graders must regularly practice individual letters and combinations

Time should be slotted in class to read longer passages in early grades

Improve the appearance of textbooks

Revision of curriculum should be undertaken as per research findings

Conjugations of most common verb forms should be taught

Systematic learning of Standard Arabic grammar

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3) People with a history of cancer in the family can be more susceptible.

4) Treatments include surgery and chemotherapy but early diagnosis is the key.

5) Anyone concerned is urged to contact their doctor

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.”

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