King Abdullah during a state visit to the UAE in November last year. UAE Presidential Court
King Abdullah during a state visit to the UAE in November last year. UAE Presidential Court
King Abdullah during a state visit to the UAE in November last year. UAE Presidential Court
King Abdullah during a state visit to the UAE in November last year. UAE Presidential Court

Jordan's King Abdullah takes part in air drop to Gaza field hospital


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Jordan’s King Abdullah has participated in an air drop to a field hospital in Gaza, state media reported on Sunday.

The announcement underscores the importance the kingdom places on humanitarian deliveries to the Palestinians amid the war, with the King repeatedly having called for Israel to lift restrictions on the aid flows.

Official TV showed footage of the King wearing military fatigue and protective gear on a Jordanian air force transport plane as it parachuted crates of supplies to a field hospital in Gaza, run by the kingdom’s military.

The footage did not give a date for the operation but said the King took part the latest air drop conducted by the air force in Gaza.

According to state media, the latest air drop operation was on February 5 and 6, conducted jointly with the Dutch air force.

King Abdullah in Washington, where he is due to meet US President Joe Biden on Monday to discuss the war in Gaza.

The supplies were parachuted to Field Hospital 77 in the north of Gaza, using pallets equipped with a GPS-guided device that can steer the package to its landing site.

Jordan also operates Field Hospital 2 in the south, and has previously supplied them by airdrop.

Any aircraft operating in Gaza's air space needs Israeli permission.

Jordan signed a peace treaty with Israel in 1994. The kingdom's 10 million population consists of a large proportion of people of Palestinian origin.

They are mostly descendants of Palestinians who were driven from their homes when Israel was created in 1948, and when Israel occupied Palestinian territory after the 1967 Arab-Israeli War.

Israel pulled out from Gaza in 2005 – two years before Hamas took control of the enclave from the Fatah party of President Mahmoud Abbas.

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Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

Profile of Tamatem

Date started: March 2013

Founder: Hussam Hammo

Based: Amman, Jordan

Employees: 55

Funding: $6m

Funders: Wamda Capital, Modern Electronics (part of Al Falaisah Group) and North Base Media

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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.”

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Tottenham Hotspur 1 Burnley 1
Liverpool 4 Arsenal 0

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Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
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Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)

Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)

Women’s Coach of the Year
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Which honey takes your fancy?

Al Ghaf Honey

The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year

Sidr Honey

The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest

Samar Honey

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Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)

Updated: February 11, 2024, 8:15 PM