Larry King interviews Donald Trump for the Larry King Live show in New York on October 7, 1999. the veteran broadcaster passsed away at the age of 87 on January 23, 2021. AP Photo
Former President Bill Clinton speaks with Larry King on CNN in New York on September 3, 2002, about the Families of Freedom Scholarship Fund. Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Larry King before a taping of The Larry King Show in New York on September 8, 2000. Reuters
Sporting a new hairdo, first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton shows her wedding ring to Larry King on May 5, 1994. Reuters
Larry King interviews President Bill Clinton and Vice President Al Gore at the White House on June 5, 1995. Reuters
Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York, speaks to Larry King during an interview on CNN's Larry King Live programme on November 20, 1997. Reuters
Larry King with his wife Shawn Southwick with their sons Chance and Cannon in Los Angeles on June 1, 2003. AFP
Texas Governor and Republican presidential candidate George W Bush jokes with Larry King after taping an interview at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee on December 16, 1999. AP Photo
Larry King wipes his eyes after laughing at a joke by comedy legend Jerry Lewis during an interview on August 26, 1999. AP Photo
Larry King with former heavyweight champion Mike Tyson on a broadcast of Larry King Live from inside the ring at the MGM Grand Gardens in Las Vegas on August 16, 1995. AP Photo
Texas billionaire Ross Perot talks to Larry King during a commercial break in the live broadcast of CNN's Larry King Live on July 18, 1992. AP Photo
Larry King interviews Uggie, the dog from the film The Artist, before the start of the Friars Club Roast of Betty White in New York on May 16, 2012. Reuters
To become an icon takes many different ingredients. Larry King had them all. To begin, there was that unmistakable appearance. Almost as though he had just stepped in from the bustle of a Wall Street trading floor, he looked like no one else on television: the business shirts, frequently with a white contrasting collar, double cuffed and rolled to the elbow; the ties, often vividly coloured and eccentrically patterned; the braces and of course those large and distinctive glasses, propped in front of those narrowing, inquisitive eyes.
Then there was his interviewing style. It's tempting to view a gig like hosting a chat show as straightforward; two people sitting on set having a genial chat about a few mutually agreed topics, throw in the odd probing question and off you go. Trust me, it is anything but – especially when the range of guests on your show is as wide as those on Larry King Live.
A ramble through some of the famous names during King’s quarter-of-a-century run on CNN illustrates his ability to switch gears from serious political newsmakers to flavour-of-the-month celebrities.
From Bill Clinton to Muammar Qaddafi, via Frank Sinatra, Snoop Dogg, Lady Gaga and Lebron James, King’s skill lay in his ability to gently reel in his subjects, play along with them, then wrongfoot them without them even realising it. Of course, that didn’t mean his guests couldn’t wrongfoot him too – who can forget the kiss on the lips from Marlon Brando at the end of their wide-ranging 1994 exchange?
Jeff Zucker, CNN’s president, summed up King’s appeal in his own tribute to the great broadcaster at the weekend. "His curiosity about the world propelled his award-winning career in broadcasting, but it was his generosity of spirit that drew the world to him," he said. This is a key point: King was naturally generous, and his interviews were warm and inviting. As a result, his show had the magical combination of not only being one everybody wanted to watch, but also one that anyone who was anyone wanted to be on.
What his style also meant was that, combined with CNN's vast global platform, Larry King Live was the perfect stage for unexpected conversations. Perhaps none was more significant than his 1995 interview with Israel's then prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, Palestinian Liberation Organisation leader Yasser Arafat and King Hussein of Jordan.
This was not only an historic moment for the Middle East, but an eye-widening meeting of minds for the entire world. Seeing and listening to these three giants of the region together felt momentous in every sense, and the way their conversation pointed forward optimistically to a yearned-for peace was both uplifting and, it felt, authentic. Not only that – the kind of exchange that might normally take place in a heavily guarded, behind-closed-doors summit was taking place right before our eyes, beamed into millions of living rooms across the globe.
Larry King with Yasser Arafat on CNN's Larry King Live in 1995. Getty Images
King's skill lay in his ability to gently reel in his subjects, play along with them, then wrongfoot them without them even realising it
Of course, as we now know, Rabin was to be assassinated less than six months later, and Hussein’s life was claimed by cancer in 1999. Arafat, too, was to die with no long-term resolution to the Palestinian question in sight. Nevertheless, this was a fleeting moment that the door was held open for real change, and King’s show played a significant part in that.
King’s impact on CNN itself is hard to overstate. On hearing of his death, CNN founder Ted Turner said that waking up to the news “felt like a punch to the gut". He went on to describe King as one of his “closest and dearest friends and, in my opinion, the world's greatest broadcast journalist of all time”.
Turner hired King five years after he founded CNN. Poignantly, he underlined what he believed to be the great man’s impact on the network. "If anyone asked me what are my greatest career achievements in life,” he said, “one is the creation of CNN, and the other is hiring Larry King."
Flowers lie on the Hollywood Walk of Fame star of the late Larry King in Los Angeles on Saturday. King died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre. AP Photo
There were tributes from across CNN’s ranks this weekend on social media, with many echoing the same sentiment: King had time for everyone, he cared for his staff, he mentored and he made sure everyone taking their professional journey with him was more than just along for the ride.
King gave CNN a signature show that became appointment-to-view programming at a time when the network’s future success was by no means guaranteed. Given the talents of Ted Turner, I am sure CNN would still have thrived without Larry King, but I’m equally certain it would not be the same. Rest in peace, sir.
Becky Anderson is the managing editor of CNN Abu Dhabi and host of ‘Connect the World with Becky Anderson’
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Know your Camel lingo
The bairaq is a competition for the best herd of 50 camels, named for the banner its winner takes home
Namoos - a word of congratulations reserved for falconry competitions, camel races and camel pageants. It best translates as 'the pride of victory' - and for competitors, it is priceless
The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
Squads
Pakistan: Sarfaraz Ahmed (c), Babar Azam (vc), Abid Ali, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Sohail, Mohammad Hasnain, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Amir, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Shadab Khan, Usman Shinwari, Wahab Riaz
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
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
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.9" Liquid Retina IPS, 2360 x 1640, 264ppi, wide colour, True Tone, Apple Pencil support
Chip: Apple M1, 8-core CPU, 8-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Memory: 64/256GB storage; 8GB RAM
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, Smart HDR
Video: 4K @ 25/25/30/60fps, full HD @ 25/30/60fps, slo-mo @ 120/240fps
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR, Centre Stage; full HD @ 25/30/60fps
Audio: Stereo speakers
Biometrics: Touch ID
I/O: USB-C, smart connector (for folio/keyboard)
Battery: Up to 10 hours on Wi-Fi; up to 9 hours on cellular
George Sainsbury of the supermarket dynasty, sugar magnate William Park Lyle and actress Dame Gracie Fields were residents in the 1930s when the street was only known as ‘Millionaires’ Row’.
Then came the international super rich, including the last king of Greece, Constantine II, the Sultan of Brunei and Indian steel magnate Lakshmi Mittal who was at one point ranked the third richest person in the world.
Turkish tycoon Halis Torprak sold his mansion for £50m in 2008 after spending just two days there. The House of Saud sold 10 properties on the road in 2013 for almost £80m.
Other residents have included Iraqi businessman Nemir Kirdar, singer Ariana Grande, holiday camp impresario Sir Billy Butlin, businessman Asil Nadir, Paul McCartney’s former wife Heather Mills.
Hunting park to luxury living
Land was originally the Bishop of London's hunting park, hence the name
The road was laid out in the mid 19th Century, meandering through woodland and farmland
Its earliest houses at the turn of the 20th Century were substantial detached properties with extensive grounds
SAUDI RESULTS
Team Team Pederson (-40), Team Kyriacou (-39), Team De Roey (-39), Team Mehmet (-37), Team Pace (-36), Team Dimmock (-33)
Individual E. Pederson (-14), S. Kyriacou (-12), A van Dam (-12), L. Galmes (-12), C. Hull (-9), E. Givens (-8),
G. Hall (-8), Ursula Wikstrom (-7), Johanna Gustavsson (-7)
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.”
1. Kylian Mbappe - to Real Madrid in 2017/18 - €180 million (Dh770.4m - if a deal goes through)
2. Paul Pogba - to Manchester United in 2016/17 - €105m
3. Gareth Bale - to Real Madrid in 2013/14 - €101m
4. Cristiano Ronaldo - to Real Madrid in 2009/10 - €94m
5. Gonzalo Higuain - to Juventus in 2016/17 - €90m
6. Neymar - to Barcelona in 2013/14 - €88.2m
7. Romelu Lukaku - to Manchester United in 2017/18 - €84.7m
8. Luis Suarez - to Barcelona in 2014/15 - €81.72m
9. Angel di Maria - to Manchester United in 2014/15 - €75m
10. James Rodriguez - to Real Madrid in 2014/15 - €75m
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.
The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.
All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.
No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.
