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Israeli shelling killed at least six civilians in the southern province of Deraa, Syria, authorities said on Tuesday, a day after air strikes killed one person in southern Lebanon despite warnings from EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas that continuing attacks risk further regional escalation.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry said "heavy artillery and air bombardment targeted residential and farming areas" in the town of Kuwayya, to the north-west of Deraa city, killing six.
"This escalation comes in the context of a series of violations that started with Israeli forces' penetrating into Quneitra and Deraa provinces, in an ongoing aggression on Syrian territory, in flagrant violation of national sovereignty and international law," the ministry said.
Kuwayya is situated right on the Jordanian border and close to the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights monitor said that an "Israeli military unit" entered the town and fired heavy artillery at residents attempting to resist their incursion.
The Israeli army claimed it had struck Syria in response to incoming fire, adding that it had exchanged fire with armed people in the south.
Deraa governor Anwar Al Zoabi said that "Israeli occupation army violations and repeated attacks on Syrian territory pushed a group of residents to clash with a military force that tried to penetrate".
The situation led to an escalation by Israeli forces, he said, "with artillery shelling and drone bombardment".
Earlier in the day, the Israeli military said it attacked "remaining military capabilities" at two airbases in Homs province in Syria on Tuesday morning.
Last week Israel also bombed an area near Deraa city, killing three civilians, local authorities said.
At least one person was killed in an Israeli air strike on southern Lebanon late on Monday, state media reported, as air attacks on the country increase.
The air strikes come after Ms Kallas warned during a visit to Jerusalem that Israeli air strikes on Syria on Lebanon threatened to risk further regional escalation.
"A short while ago, the IDF struck military capabilities that remained at the Syrian military bases of Tadmur and T4," the Israeli military said, referring to bases in Palmyra and another 50km west of the city.
"The IDF will continue to act in order to remove any threat posed to the citizens of the State of Israel," it added. Israel said on Friday that it struck the same bases after a war monitor first reported the raids.
On Monday during a visit to Jerusalem, Ms Kallas warned that Israeli strikes on Syria and Lebanon were threatening to worsen the situation. "Military actions must be proportionate, and Israeli strikes into Syria and Lebanon risk further escalation," Ms Kallas said at a joint news conference with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar.
"We feel that these things are unnecessary because Syria is right now not attacking Israel and that feeds more radicalisation that is also against Israel," she added.
Israel has launched hundreds of strikes on military sites since rebels overthrew Bashar Al Assad in December under the pretext that it wants to prevent weapons from the previous regime falling into the hands of the new authorities which it views as jihadists. The Israeli military has also been sent to the UN-patrolled buffer zone in the occupied Golan Heights, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has demanded the demilitarisation of southern Syria.
The Britain-based Observatory, which relies on a network of sources inside Syria, has reported near-daily Israeli military incursions into southern Syria beyond the demarcation line.
When asked about Israel's stance towards Syria's new leaders, Ms Kallas said "of course our worries are the same. They say the right things, will they do the right things?"
Israel continues to carry out strikes in Lebanon in breach of fragile truce that has been in place since November.
Israel is expected to continue its breaches of the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon’s Hezbollah as part of a broader pressure campaign on Beirut, a senior Lebanese military source told The National on Monday. It comes as a top Lebanese official has accused Israel of attempting to lure the country into normalising relations.
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Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
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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.”
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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