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Syrians search for relatives whom they believe were detained in secret cells beneath Sednaya prison near Damascus. EPA -
Rescue efforts to find prisoners at Sednaya prison continue. EPA -
Israeli soldiers in southern Syria. Reuters -
Mohammed Bashir, head of US-listed terrorist group Hayat Tahrir Al Sham's Salvation Government, at a press conference in the rebel-held northwestern Syrian city of Idlib in November. AFP -
Crowds gathering at Saadallah Al Jabiri Square in Aleppo. AP -
Senior insurgent commander Abu Mohammed Al Julani addresses a crowd at Ummayad Mosque in Damascus. Reuters -
Members of the Syrian government security forces are herded into a field by gunmen in Homs, Syria. EPA -
A hall inside the presidential palace gutted by fire after Syrian rebels took over Damascus. EPA -
A Syrian rebel fighter fires rounds as people celebrate in Homs after the city's liberation from the stranglehold of the Assad regime. AFP -
People gather to celebrate the Syrian government's fall at a mosque in Istanbul, Turkey. AP -
People gather around Umayyad Square in Damascus. AFP -
Rebel fighters cheer from the back of a pick-up truck at Umayyad Square having stormed into the centre of Damascus, Syria. AFP -
Syrian government forces cross the border into Iraq at Al Qaim. Reuters -
A multi-barrel rocket launcher fires at regime troops, in the northern outskirts of Syria's west-central city of Hama. AFP -
Syrian Kurds flee their homes in the outskirts of Aleppo. AFP
COMPANY%20PROFILE
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Monster Hunter: World
Capcom
PlayStation 4, Xbox One
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
More on Palestine-Israeli relations
Albadr Alshateri: US stance has undermined efforts to end conflict
Michael Young: Arab initiative that could be the real path to peace
James Haines-Young: Why Palestinians face a darkening future
France and Covid-19
The%20National%20selections
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.”
GIANT REVIEW
Starring: Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Athale
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Liverpool 4 (Salah (pen 4, 33', & pen 88', Van Dijk (20')
Leeds United 3 (Harrison 12', Bamford 30', Klich 66')
Man of the match Mohamed Salah (Liverpool)
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
In-demand jobs and monthly salaries
- Technology expert in robotics and automation: Dh20,000 to Dh40,000Â
- Energy engineer: Dh25,000 to Dh30,000Â
- Production engineer: Dh30,000 to Dh40,000Â
- Data-driven supply chain management professional: Dh30,000 to Dh50,000Â
- HR leader: Dh40,000 to Dh60,000Â
- Engineering leader: Dh30,000 to Dh55,000Â
- Project manager: Dh55,000 to Dh65,000Â
- Senior reservoir engineer: Dh40,000 to Dh55,000Â
- Senior drilling engineer: Dh38,000 to Dh46,000Â
- Senior process engineer: Dh28,000 to Dh38,000Â
- Senior maintenance engineer: Dh22,000 to Dh34,000Â
- Field engineer: Dh6,500 to Dh7,500
- Field supervisor: Dh9,000 to Dh12,000
- Field operator: Dh5,000 to Dh7,000
Company%20profile
While you're here
Mustafa Alrawi: To get the 'jab' done, there must be patience and empathy
Damien McElroy:Â Anti-science attitudes in America are proving lethal
Editorial:Â What makes the UAE such a good place to test vaccines?
Editorial:Â The fight against Covid-19 should be guided by science
Trump v Khan
2016: Feud begins after Khan criticised Trump’s proposed Muslim travel ban to US
2017: Trump criticises Khan’s ‘no reason to be alarmed’ response to London Bridge terror attacks
2019: Trump calls Khan a “stone cold loser” before first state visit
2019: Trump tweets about “Khan’s Londonistan”, calling him “a national disgrace”
2022: Khan’s office attributes rise in Islamophobic abuse against the major to hostility stoked during Trump’s presidency
July 2025 During a golfing trip to Scotland, Trump calls Khan “a nasty person”
Sept 2025 Trump blames Khan for London’s “stabbings and the dirt and the filth”.
Dec 2025 Trump suggests migrants got Khan elected, calls him a “horrible, vicious, disgusting mayor”
World politics
Sholto Byrnes: How liberals in the West forgot what liberalism is
Rashmee Roshan Lall:Â Donald Trump will disrupt US democracy
Sholto ​​​​​​​Byrnes: Populists are the product of failed political parties
