Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
The Israeli army bombed Gaza and raided towns in the occupied West Bank, as the UN Security Council passed a resolution calling for safe aid passages in the strip and for creating the conditions for a “sustainable cessation of hostilities”.
Israeli strikes on homes in Al Nuseirat refugee camp in the north killed 18 people, the Palestinian state news agency (Wafa) reported.
In a separate attack, a water desalination plant was destroyed in the town of Jabalia north of the Gaza Strip by Israeli shelling, Wafa added.
On Friday evening, as the vote on the Security Council resolution was under way, Israeli forces began shelling near the Palestinian Red Crescent-run Al Amal hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis.
“We saw the fire with our own eyes”, Osama Al Kahlout, who heads the Red Crescent's operations room in the south told The National, adding that the shelling was just “five metres away”.
“The staff, the displaced and the children were very frightened.”
About 14,000 people have taken shelter at Al Amal and the Red Crescent's headquarters adjacent to it.
Mr. Kahlout said shrapnel landed on the roof of the hospital.
“This is a dangerous indicator. We worry that what happened to Al Shifa hospital will happen to us next.”
Meanwhile, the UN Development Programme (UNDP) reported that one of its staff members and his family were killed in Israeli attacks near Gaza city.
UNDP administrator Achim Steiner said Issam Al Mughrabi, 56, his wife Lamya’a, 53, and his children Mohammad, 32, Suad, 30, Lama, 27, Luai, 23, Obaideh, 13, are among the dead.
The strike also reportedly killed more than 70 members of the wider Al Mughrabi family, the statement added.
More than 20,000 men, women and children have been killed since October 7.
“No more families should endure the pain and suffering that Issam's family and countless others are experiencing,” Mr Steiner said.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres emphasised that Israel's offensive in Gaza is creating “massive obstacles” in the distribution of aid inside the enclave.
“An effective aid operation in Gaza requires security, staff who can work in safety, logistical capacity, and the resumption of commercial activity,” he said on Saturday on social media platform X.
Mr Guterres earlier said 136 UN members of staff have been killed since the war in Gaza began on October 7.
“Something we have never seen in UN history,” he said.
In the occupied West Bank, Israeli forces raided towns and cities on Friday and in the early hours of Saturday, Wafa reported.
Tanks were seen in Jenin, Hebron, Nablus and Jericho, and other places.
In Jenin, an exchange of fire took place between Israeli forces and militants as tanks were stationed “around the Jenin government hospital”, Wafa said.
Israeli snipers took positions on residential buildings overlooking Jenin camp. One man was arrested.
Power to Jenin camp and a number of areas of the city was cut off as the raid began, Wafa said, quoting eyewitnesses.
The strikes in Gaza and the raids in the West Bank happened after the UN Security Council adopted a resolution aimed at increasing aid and setting the conditions for a reduction in violence, as the world body said Israel's assault on the Palestinian enclave is pushing it towards famine.
After four postponements this week, the UAE-crafted resolution received 13 votes in favour and two abstentions from the US and Russia.
The adopted text calls for “urgent steps to immediately allow safe and unhindered humanitarian access, and also for creating the conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities”.
The World Food Programme has warned that “widespread famine looms”. More than half a million people in Gaza – a quarter of the population – are starving, according to the UN.
“Four out of five of the hungriest people anywhere in the world are in Gaza,” noted Mr Guterres at a press briefing in New York.
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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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Bantamweight 56.4kg
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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.
How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
- Submit their request
What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
