The first protest against Donald Trump has already taken place near the historic Windsor Castle, where the US President will stay on Wednesday.
In the second state visit of Mr Trump's split-terms presidency, the US first couple will stay at Windsor Castle as guests of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
The historic fortress is being used to host him while central London's Buckingham Palace, the home of the monarchy, undergoes renovations.
Mr Trump spent his first night at the US ambassador's residence near London Zoo and travels to Windsor on Wednesday.
Before his arrival, about two dozen protesters gathered at Windsor Parish Church, just 200 metres from the castle.
Four people were arrested on suspicion of malicious communications after images of Mr Trump and paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein were projected on to a castle wall. Political campaign group Led By Donkeys shared an image of the stunt to Instagram, with the caption “Hey Donald, welcome to Windsor Castle”.
The tight security surrounding the trip means Mr Trump will not come into contact with the public. From within the estate grounds, it’s unlikely that he will catch sight of any protesters or tourists while he is in Windsor.
Thames Valley police are at the heart of a policing operation for which officers from around the UK have been drafted in to help. The demonstrators on Tuesday night were vociferous in their opinions but not over the top.
Pamela Chadwick, 69, travelled from her home in East London to take part in the demonstration. She told The National she believed “Trump is a dangerous man” and it was a “disgrace” that the UK was “giving him royal banquets and a red carpet”.
“He’s an evil man and it makes me exceedingly angry, which is why I had to come today. It makes me feel ashamed that we’ve actually got the flags out for him.”
Not everyone was receptive to the Trump opponents' messages. Ricky Hodgeson, 63, who is from the area, said he supported the visit, although he admitted “it probably won’t be a popular opinion”.
“I think the UK desperately needs some friends in the world just now because our economy is on the floor just now, and with all the tariffs in the world it’s best to have him on your side just now,” he said.
Mr Hodgeson believes that residents of Windsor “probably quite like it” when world leaders visit the castle: “We had [French President Emmanuel] Macron here a few months ago."
“I know it costs a lot of money to police these events but it creates a bit of excitement and lots of tourists come here,” he added.
Local shop owners told The National it was a case of business as usual, although one souvenir seller near the castle entrance said road closures for the visit were putting off customers.
Ria Mendez, 23, who is also from the town, joked that she wanted to “see if he’s orange, to be honest with you”, but added: “I don’t like his views and his opinions."
“I don’t like the way he’s been sending weapons to Israel to help them commit their genocide,” she said.
Meanwhile, the Metropolitan Police says it is preparing for a significant operation around central London on Wednesday, with as many as 50 protest groups expected to take to the streets of London to march against Mr Trump’s state visit.
More than 1,600 officers will be posted on Wednesday, including 500 from other forces, a statement said.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Men from Barca's class of 99
Crystal Palace - Frank de Boer
Everton - Ronald Koeman
Manchester City - Pep Guardiola
Manchester United - Jose Mourinho
Southampton - Mauricio Pellegrino
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
Without Remorse
Directed by: Stefano Sollima
Starring: Michael B Jordan
4/5
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
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The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere
Director: Scott Cooper
Starring: Jeremy Allen White, Odessa Young, Jeremy Strong
Rating: 4/5
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
Most F1 world titles
7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)
7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)
5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)
4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)
4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)
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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The%20specs
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Scores
Rajasthan Royals 160-8 (20 ov)
Kolkata Knight Riders 163-3 (18.5 ov)
