A young reader says he first learnt of the Brussels airport attack on social media.  Yorick Jansens / Reuters
A young reader says he first learnt of the Brussels airport attack on social media. Yorick Jansens / Reuters

Adoption is the best way to acquire a pet



I refer to UAE activists call for ban on sale of puppies and kittens in pet shops (July 18).

I bought my husky from a pet shop. At the time, somebody else wanted to buy the dog but the owner would not sell it to them, knowing that they were going to train it to fight.

So, yes, they must be careful who buys the animals.

However, there are so many abandoned pets that one should adopt from a shelter. Chips should be mandatory for all pets so their owner can be traced if abuse or negligence is suspected.

Randall Mohammed, Dubai

We adopted our cat from Jebel Ali Cats Rescue in Dubai.

We paid Dh500, as she came to us neutered, microchipped and with her vaccines up to date. To do all this would have cost us more.

The lady who was looking after our cat also gave us a week’s supply of cat food.

SM Ange, Sharjah

Specialists want work guarantee

This is a response to your story, UAE in dire need for psychologists (July 18).

As long as health insurers aren’t willing to pay for their services, psychologists won’t come here because there won’t be enough work.

Insurers need to stop opting out of treating basic health. An infected tooth can lead to heart and lung problems. Dental care is still cheaper than intensive care – and I have seen two patients die from abscess bacteria migrating. Insurers need to think long term.

Name withheld by request

There is no need for psychologists since there is plenty of entertainment and retail therapy available in the UAE.

G Priestley, Dubai

Pokemon are chasing data

I have some advice for those people who want to play Pokeman Go (It's all Go in Abu Dhabi: What Pokemon Go taught me about the city, July 17).

Think about the permissions you give. The app requires an excessive number of permissions on a user’s device, including the ability to read your contacts, find accounts on your device and access your camera. The app even requires full access to a user’s Google account.

Secondly, the game’s privacy policy contains such gems as: “We may disclose any information about you (or your authorised child) that is in our possession or control to government or law enforcement officials or private parties.”

Private parties? What could possibly go wrong?

James English, Dubai

I don’t play Pokemon Go and I don’t want to play it. I have no interest in this app.

Asyah Mel, Dubai

A boy’s view of our world

As a child, I have been shocked and traumatised by various images and articles in newspapers and on social media.

Terrorism, extremism, refugees … chaos is devouring everything I see.

On social media, I read about the attack on Brussels airport; the newspaper said terrorists were recruiting young gullible minds through Facebook; at school, we were asked to pray for the deceased in the Peshawar school massacre.

I am just a 10-year-old boy whose knowledge of these horrifying events comes through otherwise normal means of communication.

I wonder what the very word “humanity” has come to mean. To kill each other mercilessly? To wreak terror on the youngest of our kind?

Who are we to call ourselves the smartest species on the planet? I say we aren’t.

The question to ask is: “What have we, children and adults alike, done that is helpful and shows our concern towards someone in need?”

Perhaps you will admit to yourself that the world has become callous and selfish. The important thing to realise is that terror is not the reason for our existence, peace is.

If we believe in the end of terror and the start of peace, so it shall be. We must remember that one cannot extinguish fire using fire itself, and we cannot wipe out violence using violence.

We must unite to eliminate the evil that has been the root cause of great destruction and desperation in our lives.

Aaditya, Dubai

Kashmir needs a lasting solution

Your story Indian troops come under fire for devastating use of pellet guns to quell Kashmir protests (July 18) is disturbing.

Pellet guns should be banned. There are other, non-lethal ways of crowd control. A political solution for Kashmir should be found as soon as possible.

Iffat Malik, Dubai

How to avoid crypto fraud
  • Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
  • Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
  • Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
  • Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
  • Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
  • Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
  • Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.

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.”

Playing records of the top 10 in 2017

How many games the top 10 have undertaken in the 2017 ATP season

1. Rafael Nadal 58 (49-9)

2. Andy Murray 35 (25-10)

3. Roger Federer 38 (35-3)

4. Stan Wawrinka 37 (26-11)

5. Novak Djokovic 40 (32-8)

6. Alexander Zverev 60 (46-14)

7. Marin Cilic 43 (29-14)

8. Dominic Thiem 60 (41-19)

9. Grigor Dimitrov 48 (34-14)

10. Kei Nishikori 43 (30-13)