December 2018: Omar Al Bashir triples the price of bread, sparking street protests across Sudan that quickly morph into a movement calling for the removal of the president, who seized power in a 1989 military coup.
April 2019: Tens of thousands begin a sit-in outside the army's headquarters in Khartoum to demand that the military remove Al Bashir, whose security forces had killed scores of protesters since December.
April 2019: Al Bashir's generals, including his one-time supporter Mohamed Dagalo of the Rapid Support Forces, remove him from power on April 11 and place him under arrest. Gen Ahmed Awad Ibn Auf, Al Bashir's last defence minister, is appointed interim leader but is forced to step down after one day following protests against his appointment. He is replaced by the army's inspector-general, Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan.
June 2019: Security forces widely suspected to be dominated by members of the RSF break up the sit-in protest, which continued after Al Bashir's overthrow to demand that the military hand over power to a civilian government. More than 100 protesters are killed. Talks take place between leaders of the protest movement and the military on a transition to democratic rule.
August 2019: Leaders of the protest movement and the military sign a historic power-sharing agreement that creates a transitional administration. An 11-member Sovereign Council led by Gen Al Burhan is created to act as a collective presidency and career UN economist Abdalla Hamdok is appointed prime minister. They are supposed to lead the country until legislative and presidential elections can be held.
February 2020: Gen Al Burhan and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hold a secret meeting in Entebbe, Uganda. They agree to gradually normalise relations.
October 2020: The military and several rebel groups in the west and south of the country sign a peace deal in Juba, capital of South Sudan. Major rebel groups stay away.
December 2020: The United States removes Sudan from the list of states sponsoring terrorism, opening the way for western economic aid and debt forgiveness to begin after decades of international isolation under Al Bashir's Islamist regime.
October 2021: Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo seize power in a military coup that plunges the country into economic and political crisis. The coup sparks months of street protests that security forces try to suppress with deadly force. The West, led by the US, suspends all aid and negotiations on debt forgiveness involving billions of dollars.
December 2022: Civilian groups and the military sign a framework agreement to restore the democratic transition. Details of the restructuring and role of the armed forces and associated paramilitaries such as the RSF are left for further negotiations.
April 2023: Weeks of tension between Gen Al Burhan and Gen Dagalo boil over into violence. The RSF swiftly seizes Khartoum's international airport and the presidential palace and lays siege to the army headquarters.
May 2023: A series of ceasefires brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US collapse soon after coming into force, with both sides accused of breaching them.
July 2023: The RSF and allied militias are accused of killing thousands in campaign against ethnic Africans in the western Darfur region, and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes.
October 2023: The UN accuses both the army and the RSF of committing war crimes.
December 2023: The US accuses both the army and the RSF of committing war crimes.
December 2023: The RSF captures the city of Wad Madani, south of Khartoum, dealing the army a major blow. The city is in Al Jazeerah region, Sudan's breadbasket.
March 2024: The army rejects a UN Security Council resolution calling for a ceasefire in Sudan during Ramadan.
April 2024: The US says it is seeking resumption of indirect negotiations in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, between the RSF and the army.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
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.”
PSA DUBAI WORLD SERIES FINALS LINE-UP
Men’s:
Mohamed El Shorbagy (EGY)
Ali Farag (EGY)
Simon Rosner (GER)
Tarek Momen (EGY)
Miguel Angel Rodriguez (COL)
Gregory Gaultier (FRA)
Karim Abdel Gawad (EGY)
Nick Matthew (ENG)
Women's:
Nour El Sherbini (EGY)
Raneem El Welily (EGY)
Nour El Tayeb (EGY)
Laura Massaro (ENG)
Joelle King (NZE)
Camille Serme (FRA)
Nouran Gohar (EGY)
Sarah-Jane Perry (ENG)
RESULTS
5pm Wathba Stallions Cup Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (Dirt) 1,400m
Winner Munfared, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)
5.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,600m
Winner Sawt Assalam, Szczepan Mazur, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
6pm Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Dergham Athbah, Pat Dobbs, Mohamed Daggash
6.30pm Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Rajee, Fernando Jara, Majed Al Jahouri
7pm Conditions (PA) Dh80,000 (D) 1,800m
Winner Kerless Del Roc, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
7.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Pharoah King, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson
8pm Conditions (PA) Dh85,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner Sauternes Al Maury, Dane O’Neill, Doug Watson
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Haltia.ai
Started: 2023
Co-founders: Arto Bendiken and Talal Thabet
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: AI
Number of employees: 41
Funding: About $1.7 million
Investors: Self, family and friends
A QUIET PLACE
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Joseph Quinn, Djimon Hounsou
Director: Michael Sarnoski
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Dresos
Started: September 2020
Founders: Vladimir Radojevic and Aleksandar Jankovic
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Fashion
Funding: $285,000; $500,000 currently being raised
Investors: Crowdfunding, family, friends and self-funding
Ticket prices
General admission Dh295 (under-three free)
Buy a four-person Family & Friends ticket and pay for only three tickets, so the fourth family member is free
Buy tickets at: wbworldabudhabi.com/en/tickets
Four motivational quotes from Alicia's Dubai talk
“The only thing we need is to know that we have faith. Faith and hope in our own dreams. The belief that, when we keep going we’re going to find our way. That’s all we got.”
“Sometimes we try so hard to keep things inside. We try so hard to pretend it’s not really bothering us. In some ways, that hurts us more. You don’t realise how dishonest you are with yourself sometimes, but I realised that if I spoke it, I could let it go.”
“One good thing is to know you’re not the only one going through it. You’re not the only one trying to find your way, trying to find yourself, trying to find amazing energy, trying to find a light. Show all of yourself. Show every nuance. All of your magic. All of your colours. Be true to that. You can be unafraid.”
“It’s time to stop holding back. It’s time to do it on your terms. It’s time to shine in the most unbelievable way. It’s time to let go of negativity and find your tribe, find those people that lift you up, because everybody else is just in your way.”
