Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza
Israel has struck targets linked to pro-Iranian militias in southern and central Syria in the past 24 hours, members of the Syrian opposition to President Bashar Al Assad said on Monday, in the latest regional violence related to the war in Gaza.
The attacks occurred as Israeli positions in the Golan Heights came under attack, two people gathering reconnaissance on behalf of the opposition said.
On Monday, the Islamic Resistance in Iraq, a coalition of Iran-backed militias with bases in Syria, claimed responsibility for a drone attack on an Israeli airbase in Golan. The attack happened a day after a Grad rocket was fired towards the Golan area from near Nawa, in Syria's southern governorate of Deraa, the sources said.
No casualties were reported in the attack on Sunday, which the sources believed was carried out by the Quds Brigade, a group comprised mainly of Palestinians in northern Syria that is regarded as an Iranian proxy.
Islamic Resistance in Iraq, which is made up of Kataib Hezbollah, Harakat Al Nujaba and other Iran-backed groups, said in a statement on Monday it would "continue and double" attacks against Israel during Ramadan.
Israel retaliated to the attacks by firing rockets at a military hill fortification near Nawa, which faces Israeli positions on Mount Hermon, another occupied area beside the Golan Heights, sources said.
Official Syrian media said the military intercepted Israeli rockets fired at "several positions" in the south of the country. One soldier was wounded in the attack, which caused material damage, the official reports said.
Israeli planes also attacked the Qalamoun mountains north of Damascus. The area, which lies between the capital and the central city of Homs, is regarded as a core position in the Iranian zone in Syria, with local militias in the region formed and supervised by Hezbollah.
In Amman, the Jordanian army said it had sent aircraft to examine "suspicious" flying objects at the Syrian border, without elaborating.
Despite the recent spate of combat, the sources from the Syrian opposition said there has actually been a decrease in attacks on Israel launched from Syria in recent weeks.
By the end of last year, the attacks on the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel since 1967, had intensified, reaching almost one a day, before lessening to a current average of once a week, one of the sources told The National from Amman.
"Two sides are now just saying to each other that 'we are here'," he said. "The militias want to keep the Israelis busy while averting open warfare. Israel does not want that sort of conflict either."
Syria has been part of Tehran's "unity of fronts" response to the war in Gaza. Its stated aim is to relieve pressure on Hamas in Gaza through attacks by pro-Iranian militias in Yemen, Syria and Iraq on Israeli and US targets, as well as cross-border attacks by Hezbollah from Lebanon.
Iran, the most powerful regional supporter of Mr Al Assad, is one of several powers who have carved zones in Syria since the 2011 civil war started after a crackdown by authorities on a pro-democracy revolt that broke out in March of that year.
Tehran's reach in Syria is mainly through the militias it organised in the country in support of the President in the initial stages in the conflict. Although the Russian intervention in 2015 appears to have secured Mr Al Assad's position, Tehran has been strengthening the capabilities of its militia allies, arming them with drones and missiles.
This has given the militias the capability to harass US forces in eastern Syria and pose a threat to Israeli troops in the Golan Heights.
Additional reporting by Sinan Mahmoud from Baghdad
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Top New Zealand cop on policing the virtual world
New Zealand police began closer scrutiny of social media and online communities after the attacks on two mosques in March, the country's top officer said.
The killing of 51 people in Christchurch and wounding of more than 40 others shocked the world. Brenton Tarrant, a suspected white supremacist, was accused of the killings. His trial is ongoing and he denies the charges.
Mike Bush, commissioner of New Zealand Police, said officers looked closely at how they monitored social media in the wake of the tragedy to see if lessons could be learned.
“We decided that it was fit for purpose but we need to deepen it in terms of community relationships, extending them not only with the traditional community but the virtual one as well," he told The National.
"We want to get ahead of attacks like we suffered in New Zealand so we have to challenge ourselves to be better."
More coverage from the Future Forum
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If you go
The flights
Emirates (www.emirates.com) and Etihad (www.etihad.com) both fly direct to Bengaluru, with return fares from Dh 1240. From Bengaluru airport, Coorg is a five-hour drive by car.
The hotels
The Tamara (www.thetamara.com) is located inside a working coffee plantation and offers individual villas with sprawling views of the hills (tariff from Dh1,300, including taxes and breakfast).
When to go
Coorg is an all-year destination, with the peak season for travel extending from the cooler months between October and March.
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.”
More from UAE Human Development Report:
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
