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Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia Al Sudani lashed out on Monday at the international community for not stopping the month-long Israel-Gaza war, calling it a “genocide” against the Palestinian people.
“We say it clearly, that the international community has failed in fulfilling their duties and commitments,” Mr Al Sudani told a joint press conference with Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi in Tehran.
More than 10,000 people have been killed in Israel's bombardment of Gaza since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, that killed 1,400 people.
Meanwhile, clashes between Israel and Hezbollah and its allies in southern Lebanon, as well as drone and missile attacks by Iran's proxies against US troops in Iraq and Syria, have raised concerns about a regional spillover of the Gaza war.
The US has warned regional players not to take advantage of the conflict to attack its troops and interests, or Israel, and has strengthened its presence in the region with aircraft carrier groups.
“Anyone who wants to contain this conflict and to prevent its spillover in the region should exert pressure on the authorities of the occupation to stop this aggression and the devastating and systematic killing,” Mr Al Sudani said.
“The decision to draw the region into an all-out war that threatens both regional and global peace and security lies with the party that engages in aggression and targets the people of Gaza.”
Mr Raisi accused the US of “encouraging” Israel to kill and carry out “cruel acts” against Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip.
“The aid from the United States to the Zionist regime [Israel] is encouraging them to kill and commit cruel acts of neglect against the Palestinian people,” Mr Raisi said.
“We believe that the bombings must stop as soon as possible, that a ceasefire must be declared immediately and that aid be provided to the oppressed and proud people of Gaza.
“These horrible crimes against humanity are a genocide, which is carried out by the Zionist regime [Israel] with the support of the United States and certain European countries.”
Earlier on Monday, Mr Al Sudani's adviser Husham Al Rikabi said the Prime Minister would visit a “number of brotherly and friendly countries” in the region as "part of Iraq’s efforts to stop the aggression against the Palestinian people”. He did not name the countries.
Mr Al Sudani returned to Baghdad from Tehran on Monday afternoon, the official Iraq News Agency reported.
US Iraq warning
Mr Al Sudani met US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Baghdad on Sunday evening, with the American official warning that his country would take every step necessary to protect its troops in Iraq and Syria from attacks by Iran-backed Shiite militias.
“I made very clear that attacks or threats coming from militias that are aligned with Iran are totally unacceptable, and we will take every necessary step to protect our people,” Mr Blinken told reporters accompanying him after the meeting, according to AFP.
The State Department said he urged Mr Al Sudani to “hold accountable those responsible for continuing attacks on US personnel in Iraq and fulfil Iraq’s commitments to protect all installations hosting US personnel at the invitation of the Iraqi government”.
“Secretary Blinken made clear that the US will defend its interests and personnel,” it said.
Days after Hamas fighters killed more than 1,400 people in Israel on October 7, Iraqi Shiite militias resumed attacks against US troops in Iraq and Syria.
Dozens of drone and missile attacks have been claimed by the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a network of Iran-allied groups, due to Washington's support for Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip.
Among the targets were the Ain Al Asad base in Anbar province, a military site near Baghdad's international airport, and Harir airbase, in the northern city of Erbil.
Attacks have also been launched against US bases in Syria, with militias also recently claiming responsibility for hitting Israeli targets in the Dead Sea region.
The six points:
1. Ministers should be in the field, instead of always at conferences
2. Foreign diplomacy must be left to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation
3. Emiratisation is a top priority that will have a renewed push behind it
4. The UAE's economy must continue to thrive and grow
5. Complaints from the public must be addressed, not avoided
6. Have hope for the future, what is yet to come is bigger and better than before
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
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.”
World record transfers
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: N2 Technology
Founded: 2018
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Startups
Size: 14
Funding: $1.7m from HNIs
SPECS
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ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Jack Butland, Jordan Pickford, Nick Pope
Defenders: John Stones, Harry Maguire, Phil Jones, Kyle Walker, Kieran Trippier, Gary Cahill, Ashley Young, Danny Rose, Trent Alexander-Arnold
Midfielders: Eric Dier, Jordan Henderson, Dele Alli, Jesse Lingard, Raheem Sterling, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Fabian Delph
Forwards: Harry Kane, Jamie Vardy, Marcus Rashford, Danny Welbeck
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Farasan Boat: 128km Away from Anchorage
Director: Mowaffaq Alobaid
Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani
Rating: 4/5
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS
AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas
DevisionX – manufacturing
Event Gates – security and manufacturing
Farmdar – agriculture
Farmin – smart cities
Greener Crop – agriculture
Ipera.ai – space digitisation
Lune Technologies – fibre-optics
Monak – delivery
NutzenTech – environment
Nybl – machine learning
Occicor – shelf management
Olymon Solutions – smart automation
Pivony – user-generated data
PowerDev – energy big data
Sav – finance
Searover – renewables
Swftbox – delivery
Trade Capital Partners – FinTech
Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment
Workfam – employee engagement
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