Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
On February 26, President Joe Biden said he was hopeful a six-week ceasefire and hostage-release deal would soon be brokered in Gaza, before the start of Ramadan.
But on Wednesday, the first day of Eid, the holiday marking the end of the Muslim fasting month, a ceasefire seemed more elusive than ever as an Israeli air strike killed three sons of Hamas's top political leader Ismail Haniyeh and three of his grandchildren.
During Ramadan, the death toll in Gaza has mounted and the humanitarian situation has only grown worse. The fate of the hostages taken by Hamas and other militant groups is largely unknown.
Internationally mediated ceasefire talks are taking place in Cairo and US officials this week said an offer has been handed to Hamas.
“Hamas, they need to move on the proposal that has been made,” Mr Biden said on Wednesday during a joint news conference with Japan's Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.
Mr Biden, who is running for re-election in November, has become increasingly critical of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“I have been very blunt, straightforward with [Mr Netanyahu],” Mr Biden said on Wednesday. “We’ll see what he does in terms of meeting the commitments he made to me.”
More than 33,000 Palestinians have been killed since October 7, according to authorities in Gaza, and a famine is looming, even amid efforts in recent days to increase the flow of aid.
Last week, the Israeli military killed seven World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza. Israel said it had mistakenly thought they were Hamas operatives.
“I think what [Mr Netanyahu] is doing is a mistake, I don’t agree with his approach,” Mr Biden said in an interview with a Spanish-language broadcaster aired on Tuesday.
He urged Israel to call for a six-to-eight-week ceasefire and allow humanitarian aid to freely move into the Gaza Strip.
“There's no excuse to not provide for the medical and the food needs of those people – this should be done now,” he added.
Experts say the shift in tone is significant, though so far, it has not been backed up by policy changes.
“While the rhetorical shifts are important, it's more important for President Biden to take action to ensure that Israel is held accountable for its violations of US law and international law, which means cutting off us weapons to Israel,” said Josh Ruebner, adjunct professor of justice and peace studies at Georgetown University.
“It should be a very clear cut decision that the Biden administration should take,” Mr Ruebner told The National.
Since the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, according to Israeli counts, Mr Biden has been an unequivocal supporter of Israel, enabling arms sales and resisting international and domestic calls to support a permanent ceasefire.
Meanwhile Mr Netanyahu faces a growing protest movement at home, primarily over the plight of the hostages that remain captivity after more than six months.
“For pretty much every Israeli who does not support the current government, the worst case scenario is that the government continues, the war completely isolates Israel and we lose all our major allies, who eventually stop sending arms meaning Israel loses the ability to achieve anything,” Israeli pollster Dahlia Scheindlin told The National.
“Two thirds of Israelis want early elections, because roughly they think that this government is leading Israel towards that worst-case scenario.”
After the attack on the World Central Kitchen aid workers, Israeli troops withdrew from the Gazan city of Khan Younis and unprecedented amounts of humanitarian aid crossed into the strip.
The seeming sudden change to Israel’s war strategy sparked anger among Mr Netanyahu’s far-right political allies, who have accused him of weakening the war effort and abandoning a planned invasion of the southern Gazan city of Rafah. Washington opposes such a move unless plans are in place to protect the more than one million people sheltering in the southern city.
Gaza analyst Talal Awkal called the withdrawal a political manoeuvre aimed at demonstrating to mediators that Israel is responding to American demands for progress in the hostage talks, and therefore put pressure on Hamas.
“But the war is not over, and they might well come to Rafah later on to get what Netanyahu has called ‘complete victory’,” Mr Awkal told The National.
“Netanyahu is really in a corner because of US and international pressure.”
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Their favourite city: Dubai
Their favourite food: Khaleeji
Their favourite past-time : walking on the beach
Their favorite quote: ‘we rise by lifting others’ by Robert Ingersoll
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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Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters
The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.
Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.
A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.
The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.
The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.
Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.
Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment
But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.
Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
