Thomas Watkins is Washington bureau chief at The National
May 01, 2023
At the ripe age of 59, legendary baseball pitcher Satchel Paige played in his last major league game, setting an ongoing record for the oldest player.
He is credited with this pearl of ageing wisdom: "Age is a case of mind over matter — if you don’t mind, it don’t matter."
That appears to be President Joe Biden's mantra as he seeks a second term in the White House. At 80, Mr Biden is already the oldest American leader and would be 86 at the end of another four-year stint if he were to win next year.
He has been the subject of intense scrutiny about his age. Criticising the octogenarian's perceived mental acuity is now a favourite line of attack for the Republican Party, and many Democrats, even though Donald Trump is hardly a spring chicken at 76.
Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor who is running for president, last week suggested that Mr Biden would not survive a second term.
On Saturday night, he embraced the issue head on, laughing off the fact that polls show most Americans do not want him to run again, with concerns over his age a top reason.
Speaking at the White House Correspondents' Association dinner, an annual jamboree that brings 2,600 of Washington's political and media pooh-bahs together, Mr Biden paid tribute to the First Amendment, written in 1789 by founding father James Madison to guarantee the freedom of speech.
"I believe in the First Amendment – not just because my good friend Jimmy Madison wrote it," Mr Biden said.
He had plenty more to say on his advanced years.
Among the barbs he threw at right-wing cable network Fox News, for whom the president is its bete noire, Mr Biden went after the channel's owner Rupert Murdoch, who is 92.
"Look, I get that age is a completely reasonable issue. It’s on everybody’s mind," Mr Biden said. "You might think I don’t like Rupert Murdoch. That’s simply not true. How could I dislike the guy who makes me look like Harry Styles?"
Several Fox employees laughed at that one, but they were less amused when Mr Biden joked about their network having to pay Dominion $787.5 million in damages after it knowingly spread misinformation about the voting machine maker.
"Last year, your favourite Fox News reporters were able to attend because they were fully vaccinated and boosted. This year, with that $787 million settlement, they’re here because they couldn’t say no to a free meal," Mr Biden said.
He also had a laugh at the expense of CNN and its former host Don Lemon, who was fired after he called Ms Haley, 51, not “in her prime”.
"You call me old? I call it being seasoned," Mr Biden said. "You say I’m ancient? I say I’m wise. You say I’m over the hill? Don Lemon would say that’s a man in his prime."
Headlining comedian Roy Wood Jr also poked fun at Mr Biden's age, saying that the biggest scandal of his presidency was: "Is Joe Biden awake?"
The star-studded dinner is a highlight of the Washington social calendar and traditionally features a speech from the president.
At about $350 a head, the banquet consists of three courses and raises money for journalism scholarships and gives awards to White House reporters.
Mr Trump broke with tradition in declining to attend, and the event was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic.
Aside from addressing his age, Mr Biden used his speech to highlight several journalistic issues including the arrest on what the US says are bogus espionage charges of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich.
The crowd was a who's who of Washington's political elite but also featured celebrities and newsmakers, such as US basketball player Brittney Griner, who was released from Russian prison last year. She received a standing ovation as Mr Biden touted her release.
Basketball player Brittney Griner during the White House Correspondents' Association dinner. Bloomberg
But in an awkward moment for some media outlets in the ballroom, Mr Biden drew disapproval from several guests when he took aim at right-wing media outlets for spreading what he said were lies and misinformation.
"A poison is running through our democracy and parts of the extreme press. The truth buried by lies, and lies living on as truth," he said.
"Lies told for profit and power. Lies and conspiracy and malice repeated over and over again, designed to generate a cycle of anger, hate and even violence."
Mr Biden may not be a popular choice among Democrats and is wildly unpopular among Republicans.
But judging by his pugnacious performance on Saturday, he appears to be ready for a long fight. Don't count the old man out yet.
The annual dinner raises money for WHCA scholarships and honours the recipients of the organisation's journalism awards. Bloomberg
Badr Organisation: Seen as the most militarily capable faction in the Hashd. Iraqi Shiite exiles opposed to Saddam Hussein set up the group in Tehran in the early 1980s as the Badr Corps under the supervision of the Iran Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC). The militia exalts Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei but intermittently cooperated with the US military.
Saraya Al Salam (Peace Brigade): Comprised of former members of the officially defunct Mahdi Army, a militia that was commanded by Iraqi cleric Moqtada Al Sadr and fought US and Iraqi government and other forces between 2004 and 2008. As part of a political overhaul aimed as casting Mr Al Sadr as a more nationalist and less sectarian figure, the cleric formed Saraya Al Salam in 2014. The group’s relations with Iran has been volatile.
Kataeb Hezbollah: The group, which is fighting on behalf of the Bashar Al Assad government in Syria, traces its origins to attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2004 and adopts a tough stance against Washington, calling the United States “the enemy of humanity”.
Asaeb Ahl Al Haq: An offshoot of the Mahdi Army active in Syria. Asaeb Ahl Al Haq’s leader Qais al Khazali was a student of Mr Al Moqtada’s late father Mohammed Sadeq Al Sadr, a prominent Shiite cleric who was killed during Saddam Hussein’s rule.
Harakat Hezbollah Al Nujaba: Formed in 2013 to fight alongside Mr Al Assad’s loyalists in Syria before joining the Hashd. The group is seen as among the most ideological and sectarian-driven Hashd militias in Syria and is the major recruiter of foreign fighters to Syria.
Saraya Al Khorasani: The ICRG formed Saraya Al Khorasani in the mid-1990s and the group is seen as the most ideologically attached to Iran among Tehran’s satellites in Iraq.
(Source: The Wilson Centre, the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation)
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.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
Priority access to new homes from participating developers
Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
Flexible payment plans from developers
Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Moment of the day Pakistan’s effort in the field had hints of shambles about it. The wheels were officially off when Wahab Riaz lost his run up and aborted the delivery four times in a row. He re-measured his run, jogged in for two practice goes. Then, when he was finally ready to go, he bailed out again. It was a total cringefest.
Stat of the day – 139.5 Yasir Shah has bowled 139.5 overs in three innings so far in this Test series. Judged by his returns, the workload has not withered him. He has 14 wickets so far, and became history’s first spinner to take five-wickets in an innings in five consecutive Tests. Not bad for someone whose fitness was in question before the series.
The verdict Stranger things have happened, but it is going to take something extraordinary for Pakistan to keep their undefeated record in Test series in the UAE in tact from this position. At least Shan Masood and Sami Aslam have made a positive start to the salvage effort.
