President Donald Trump's supporters have been quick to cheer his and Vice President JD Vance's castigation of Volodymyr Zelenskyy at the White House. Finally, they say, America's leaders are standing up to the ungrateful Ukrainian President, putting US interests first and pursuing peace in a pragmatic way.
Viewed differently, what unfolded at the tail end of an otherwise cordial meeting was an unmitigated disaster. Not just for Ukraine, but potentially for Europe and America, too.
On Friday, the world watched in real time as Mr Trump and Mr Vance took turns scolding Mr Zelenskyy, once a broadly sympathetic figure in the US who has become the bête noire of the Make America Great Again (Maga) movement. It sees the Ukrainian leader as an upstart tyrant who has siphoned off American treasure to pay for a war he can't possibly win. They even blame Mr Zelenskyy for starting the conflict, a line straight out of Moscow, which launched the invasion of Ukraine three years ago.
The video of what transpired in the Oval Office during 10 jaw-dropping minutes will be studied for decades to come.
Mr Trump had just asked for “one more question” from the press when Mr Vance decided to insert himself into the meeting. He chastised Mr Zelenskyy for not “thanking the President” enough for US support and went on to accuse the Ukrainian leader of being disrespectful for sticking up for himself in a televised meeting – that Mr Trump had insisted on televising.
“It's disrespectful for you to come to the Oval Office to try to litigate this in front of the American media,” Mr Vance said. “You guys are going around and forcing conscripts to the front lines because you have manpower problems, you should be thanking the president for trying to bring an end to this conflict.”
From there, things went downhill fast.
Instead of taking a deep breath and putting on his best diplomatic face, Mr Zelenskyy suggested Mr Vance didn't know what he was talking about because he had never visited Ukraine. The Vice President shot back that such any trip would be a mere “propaganda tour”.
Mr Trump then waded in after Mr Zelenskyy, defending himself in a second language, clumsily said America shouldn't feel insulated from global affairs just because an ocean stands between it and Europe.
“Don't tell us what we're going to feel, because you're in no position to dictate what we're going to feel,” Mr Trump said. “You're gambling with the lives of millions of people. You're gambling with World War Three and what you're doing is very disrespectful to the country.”
Some observers claimed Mr Vance and Mr Trump had only invited Mr Zelenskyy to the White House to ambush him. I doubt this was the case, as Mr Trump has opened up the Oval Office every time a world leader has visited, including French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who this week conducted a charm offensive on Mr Trump to nudge him into Ukraine's corner.
But any goodwill from all that diplomacy evaporated before our eyes on Friday. A rare earth minerals deal that would have allowed the US to recoup some of the money it has spent in Ukraine was left unsigned and Mr Trump reportedly ordered Mr Zelenskyy to leave the White House, saying he could come back “when he is ready for peace”.
Europe and Ukraine are only beginning to digest the seismic implications of what just happened. As of this writing, Mr Trump's position going forward is unclear and shocked European countries were coming to Mr Zelenskyy's defence. After three years of brutal conflict in Ukraine, Mr Trump's attempts to forge a peace deal with Russia appeared to be gaining ground, but now nothing is certain.
It is not unusual for global leaders to have major disagreements, but these are usually fleshed out behind closed doors. The spectacle of the sharply dressed Mr Trump and Mr Vance berating the diminutive Mr Zelenskyy, who was wearing black combat fatigues, will be remembered as a defining moment for our times.
Here were America's two most powerful men ganging up on a wartime leader whose country is being bombed daily by Russia. It will send chills down the spines of every US ally.
The spectacle was met with predictable delight by the Kremlin, with former president Dmitry Medvedev gloating over the admonishment of "insolent pig" Mr Zelenskyy.
At every moment since the Second World War, US presidents have resisted Russian or Soviet aggression. It was always a given, a defining characteristic of the postwar global order that America itself had forged and benefitted from.
Today we saw proof that era is over.
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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
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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