Cars are left abandoned on a road as residents flee the town of Irpin, Ukraine after days of heavy shelling. Reuters
A Ukrainian soldier helps a family fleeing from Irpin. Reuters
A bus passes the Duke of Wellington statue, which has a traffic cone in the colours of the flag of Ukraine placed on top of it, in Glasgow, Scotland. AP
Ukrainian children sleep at the reception point at the train station in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters
Smoke rises as a Ukrainian soldier stands by the only escape route used by locals to flee from the town of Irpin. Reuters
A man flees from Irpin. Reuters
A screengrab from footage released by the Russian Defence Ministry shows a purported Russian tank unit advancement in the Kyiv region. AFP
People walk on debris of residential buildings damaged by shelling in the Zhytomyr region. Reuters
A damaged residential building after Russian multiple rocket launchers shelled the area in the southern city of Mykolaiv. AFP
Ukrainian soldiers sit in their armoured vehicle after fighting against Russian troops and Russia-backed separatists near Zolote village, Luhansk region. AFP
A woman offers accommodation for people fleeing Ukraine at the main railway station in Berlin, Germany. Getty Images
A soldier holds a helmet as a wedding crown during the ceremony for members of the Ukrainian Territorial Defence Forces Lesia Ivashchenko and Valerii Fylymonov, at a checkpoint in Kyiv. AP
Ukrainian soldiers carry a woman fleeing the town of Irpin. AP
A factory and warehouse burn after being bombarded in Irpin. AP
Ukrainian soldiers near Zolote. AFP
A Ukrainian refugee boy, wearing a blanket on his shoulders, warms his hands with a gas heater shortly after crossing the Siret border into northern Romania. EPA
People demonstrate against the Russian military operation in Ukraine in Buenos Aires, Argentina. EPA
First responders work at the scene after a missile hit a building at Havryshivka Vinnytsia International Airport in Vinnytsia, Ukraine. Reuters
A woman at a checkpoint on the road to Kyiv after her evacuation from a nearby town. AFP
A placard in the Ukrainian colours is held up at an anti-war demonstration the Bebelplatz square in Berlin, Germany. Reuters
A Ukrainian serviceman helps an elderly woman in Irpin, 20 kilometres north-west of the capital Kyiv. AP Photo
Protesters cry during a demonstration in support of Ukraine at the Plaza Catalunya square in Barcelona. AFP
A man walks past a machine gun at a checkpoint next to the last bridge on the road that connects the town of Stoyanka to the outskirts of Ukraine's capital Kyiv. AFP
Ukrainian servicemen put a wounded man on a stretcher in Irpin. AP Photo
People board a train to return to Ukraine after getting supplies in Zahony, Hungary. AP Photo
Balloons in the colors of Ukraine during a demonstration against the Russian attack on Ukraine, in Mainz, Germany. AP
A Ukrainian girl helps to weave a camouflage net for the Ukrainian army, in Odesa. EPA
Molotov cocktails prepared by a group of volunteers in Odesa. Hundreds are made every day. EPA
Ukrainian servicemen assist people fleeing the town of Irpin after crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian air strike. AP Photo
A woman holds a dog while crossing the Irpin River on an improvised path under a bridge that was destroyed by a Russian airstrike, while assisting people fleeing the town of Irpin, Ukraine. AP Photo
Marina Yatsko and her boyfriend Fedor comfort each other at a hospital in Mariupol after her 18-month-old son Kirill was killed by shelling. AP Photo
Ukrainian civilians receive weapons training in a cinema in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP Photo
Residents flee the town of Irpin, near Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo
Ukrainian soldiers carry a sick woman as civilians flee Irpin, on the outskirts of Kyiv, after Russian attacks. AP Photo
Captured Russian soldiers at a press conference in the Interfax news agency in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP Photo
Ukrainians beneath a destroyed bridge in Irpin. AP Photo
A woman fleeing Ukraine on a bus near the border crossing in Korczowa, Poland. AP Photo
A Ukrainian soldier and a militia man help a fleeing family on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, on March 5, 2022. AP Photo
Smoke rises after shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo
People at a hospital during shelling by Russian forces in Mariupol. AP Photo
Displaced Ukrainians at the Resurrection New Athos Monastery in the western Ukrainian city of Lviv. AFP
Raghida Dergham is the founder and executive chairwoman of the Beirut Institute, and a columnist for The National
March 06, 2022
Russia’s is not the only leadership that finds itself in a bind more than a week since the Ukraine war began. Leaders in the West, particularly US President Joe Biden, are struggling to find a way to resolve a crisis that has the potential of spreading beyond Ukraine’s borders into the rest of Europe.
Moscow finds itself in a corner for chiefly two reasons: Ukraine’s forces have robustly defended much of their territory against the Russian military; and western governments have imposed a range of crippling sanctions on the Russian economy in a rare show of unity.
However, the euphoria felt across Europe and North America over these early victories has been replaced, to some extent, by two concerns. One, Russian forces have made inroads into Ukraine, particularly in the south, and two, Moscow has ordered Russia’s military to put its deterrence forces – which include nuclear weapons – on “special alert”. The announcement doesn’t mean that it intends to use its nukes, but western governments have viewed it to be an escalatory step.
The situation, therefore, requires thinking outside the box on the part of the world leaders – and, given America’s position as a superpower, the only leader with the tools to bring about a shift is Mr Biden.
Any attempt on Biden’s part to reach out to Putin will be an act of courage and not weakness
The Biden administration needs to understand that, by engaging in brinkmanship with Moscow, it risks pushing Russia further into a corner that could prove costly for the whole world. The objective should not be to teach its leadership a lesson, but to come up with creative ideas that may appear simple and might even give the wrong impression to the rest of the international community, yet could prevent a larger-scale war.
Any attempt on Mr Biden’s part to reach out to Russian President Vladimir Putin for talks will be an act of courage and not weakness. In fact, the US President should consider inviting Mr Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to an emergency summit that could also involve the leaders of Germany and France. Mr Biden might get critised for it, with some suggesting that this amounts to rewarding Russia for launching its war against Ukraine in the first place. There will be fears that it could further embolden Kremlin.
However, such an invitation could avert a conflict that is much more devastating and widespread than it currently is. Indeed, talks could provide the blueprint necessary to de-escalate the crisis, the off-ramp the Russian leadership may need and, most importantly, the means to pull the world back from the brink.
We no longer live in an era of “conventional” warfare. An information war is under way in Ukraine, so is a cyber-war. And there’s always the danger of their spilling into Europe and the US. But what’s more frightening is the threat of the war going nuclear – not necessarily culminating in the dropping of atom bombs but the use of nuclear warheads or ballistic missiles.
US President Joe Biden arrives to attend mass at St Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington, Delaware, on Saturday. AFP
US Secretary of Defence Lloyd Austin acted responsibly when he cancelled scheduled nuclear missile tests in order to send Russia a message that it did not want to provoke Moscow or further escalate tensions. Mr Austin also explained the Biden administration’s rationale for not giving in to Kyiv’s demand that Nato set up a no-fly zone in Ukraine, as this would effectively mean the US-led western security alliance’s involvement in the war.
The danger of a European war is, of course, real because of either strategic compulsions or accidents on the ground. Moscow could also be angered if Nato member states continue provide weapons to Ukraine – particularly if they send convoys into Ukraine, rather than offloading them at, say, the border with Poland, which is a Nato member.
But the messaging from Washington is clear: Nato does not seek to engage in an armed conflict with Russia.
One way for the Biden administration to de-escalate the crisis could be to remove some of the sanctions the West recently imposed on Russia. While this alone won’t be sufficient to end the crisis, tactical steps will amount to important gestures of goodwill towards Moscow. Ultimately though, the broader settlement will have to include a guarantee of Ukrainian neutrality.
This conflict began with Russia’s demand that Ukraine, once a part of the Russian empire and, along with Russia, a part of the Soviet Union, not join Nato – an anti-Soviet, Cold War-era security alliance. Perhaps a Nato guarantee to keep Ukraine out of its umbrella in perpetuity would be the necessary step towards moving it from under the Russian yoke. There needs to be an acknowledgement that Ukraine cannot and should not be used as a pawn in the broader West-Russia conflict.
This will require political maturity and strategic courage on Mr Biden’s part. It won’t be easy. But by seizing the initiative and reaching out to Moscow for a deal, the US President may be able to settle the debate about his perceived weakness on the world stage. More importantly, by nipping a potential pan-European war in the bud, he will have spared the West of a possibly catastrophic conflict.
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.”
Pot 1: Iran, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, China
Pot 2: Iraq, Uzbekistan, Syria, Oman, Lebanon, Kyrgyz Republic, Vietnam, Jordan
Pot 3: Palestine, India, Bahrain, Thailand, Tajikistan, North Korea, Chinese Taipei, Philippines
Pot 4: Turkmenistan, Myanmar, Hong Kong, Yemen, Afghanistan, Maldives, Kuwait, Malaysia
Pot 5: Indonesia, Singapore, Nepal, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Mongolia, Guam, Macau/Sri Lanka
Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies
Size: 15 full-time employees
Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing
Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
MATCH INFO
Crawley Town 3 (Tsaroulla 50', Nadesan 53', Tunnicliffe 70')
Leeds United 0
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri