Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
Israel's Foreign Minister Gideon Saar has stated that the war in Gaza will continue until the hostages held by Hamas are returned and the Palestinian faction is disarmed.
“The war will not be over until the all the hostages are back and until Hamas is disarmed. This is something very clear. We are serious about the objectives of the war,” Mr Saar said in an interview with Sky News Arabia.
He said there is an international consensus that Hamas cannot rule Gaza any more, but “Hamas is trying to play tricks”.
“We will not allow another October 7 attack,” he said, referring to the 2023 strike that triggered the war, in which Hamas-led fighters stormed southern Israel. They killed about 1,200 people and took 251 hostages, according to Israeli tallies. Since then, Israel has killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, according to local health authorities.
Gaza's health ministry said on Wednesday that at least 1,482 Palestinians have been since killed Israel resumed intense strikes on March 18, ending a two-month ceasefire with Hamas.
The ceasefire allowed humanitarian aid into Gaza, as well as the release of 25 Israeli hostages and the return of the remains of eight others in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian detainees.
Asked about Egypt's reconstruction plan and US President Donald Trump's scheme to displace the Palestinians from Gaza, Mr Saar said people could leave by their own free will.
“I am telling you, we know that a lot of people want to immigrate … so if there are people who are willing to immigrate and we have countries who agree to accept them … it is moral, it is human and it is practical,” he stated.
He said that afterwards, there would be “a transitional period” with a board of international trustees including moderate Arab countries, and below them local Palestinians, to manage the enclave.
“We are not looking to control the civil life of the people of Gaza. Our sole interest in the Gaza Strip is our security,” Mr Saar said, blaming Hamas for starting the war and for continuing it by “refusing to free 59 hostages and rejecting demilitarisation”.
“There is no future for Gaza with Hamas in power,” said the minister.
On Lebanon, Mr Saar said Israel is seeking peace. “I think we do not have any real conflict with the state of Lebanon … the problem is Hezbollah, which is an Iranian representative that took over Lebanon.”
He added: “If we reach … the moment when the Lebanon army and government are stronger than Hezbollah, I think we will have new prospects.”
Israel has continued to launch strikes on Lebanon since a November 27 ceasefire that followed more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of total war. Hezbollah has been left severely weakened in the latest conflict with Israel.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
Various Artists
Habibi Funk: An Eclectic Selection Of Music From The Arab World (Habibi Funk)
AI traffic lights to ease congestion at seven points to Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Street
The seven points are:
Shakhbout bin Sultan Street
Dhafeer Street
Hadbat Al Ghubainah Street (outbound)
Salama bint Butti Street
Al Dhafra Street
Rabdan Street
Umm Yifina Street exit (inbound)
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
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Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
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.”
Europe’s rearming plan
- Suspend strict budget rules to allow member countries to step up defence spending
- Create new "instrument" providing €150 billion of loans to member countries for defence investment
- Use the existing EU budget to direct more funds towards defence-related investment
- Engage the bloc's European Investment Bank to drop limits on lending to defence firms
- Create a savings and investments union to help companies access capital
Omar Yabroudi's factfile
Born: October 20, 1989, Sharjah
Education: Bachelor of Science and Football, Liverpool John Moores University
2010: Accrington Stanley FC, internship
2010-2012: Crystal Palace, performance analyst with U-18 academy
2012-2015: Barnet FC, first-team performance analyst/head of recruitment
2015-2017: Nottingham Forest, head of recruitment
2018-present: Crystal Palace, player recruitment manager
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
