King Charles during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London. PA
King Charles during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London. PA
King Charles during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London. PA
King Charles during the Remembrance Sunday service at the Cenotaph in London. PA

King Charles leads UK's Remembrance ceremony at Cenotaph in London


Matthew Davies
  • English
  • Arabic

Britain's King Charles III has led his country's Remembrance ceremony commemorating those who lost their lives in the two world wars and other conflicts. Tens of thousands of veterans and civilians gathered at the Cenotaph on Whitehall in central London to pay their respects to the fallen.

The king was joined by other members of the royal family and senior politicians for the Remembrance Sunday event, which takes place annually on the closest Sunday to Armistice Day, the anniversary of the day the First World War ended on November 11, 1918.

King Charles, dressed in the Royal Navy uniform of the Admiral of the Fleet, laid the first wreath of the ceremony at the foot of the Cenotaph. Queen Camilla was represented by her equerry, Maj Ollie Plunket, because she is recovering from a chest infection.

Britain's King Charles at the wreath-laying ceremony on Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph, London. AP
Britain's King Charles at the wreath-laying ceremony on Remembrance Sunday at the Cenotaph, London. AP

Prince William, Prince Edward and Princess Anne laid wreaths, followed by Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the country's other political leaders. As the newly elected head of Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, laid a Remembrance wreath for the first time.

Kate, the Princess of Wales, watched from the central balcony of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. It was the second time since the start of the year that the princess, who is recovering from cancer, carried out two consecutive days of public engagements. She attended the Royal British Legion Festival Of Remembrance at the Royal Albert Hall in London on Saturday evening.

Kate, Princess of Wales, stands on a balcony during the service on Sunday. AP
Kate, Princess of Wales, stands on a balcony during the service on Sunday. AP

Dressed in the traditional black, the Princess of Wales wore a netted hat with her hair in a twisted chignon, and a military-style coat featuring black epaulettes and embellished at the neck with a black velvet bow. Her diamond and pearl drop earrings once belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II. As the Colonel-in-Chief of the Queen's Dragoon Guards, the princess also wore her silver regimental brooch, beneath three red poppies.

Thousands of veterans marched past the Cenotaph as the event was broadcast on huge screens in Trafalgar Square at the north end of Whitehall. The Remembrance ceremony was preceded by a two-minute silence, observed at war memorials in villages, towns and cities across Britain.

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Classification of skills

A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation. 

A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.

The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000. 

Leap of Faith

Michael J Mazarr

Public Affairs

Dh67
 

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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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
  • Flexible work arrangements
  • Pension support
  • Mental well-being assistance
  • Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
  • Financial well-being incentives 
What is Reform?

Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.

It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.

Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.

After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.

The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.

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First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus 

FIXTURES

Monday, January 28
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Tuesday, January 29
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Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)

PROFILE BOX

Company name: Overwrite.ai

Founder: Ayman Alashkar

Started: Established in 2020

Based: Dubai International Financial Centre, Dubai

Sector: PropTech

Initial investment: Self-funded by founder

Funding stage: Seed funding, in talks with angel investors

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

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Tamkeen's offering
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Infiniti QX80 specs

Engine: twin-turbocharged 3.5-liter V6

Power: 450hp

Torque: 700Nm

Price: From Dh450,000, Autograph model from Dh510,000

Available: Now

Updated: November 10, 2024, 1:07 PM