The ability of Benjamin Netanyahu to survive scandal has earned him the sobriquet "magician" among the ranks of his supporters. As The National reported, Mr Netanyahu was as combative as ever on Tuesday, after Israeli police announced that they had recommended formal corruption charges be brought against the prime minister. "I do everything with only one thing in mind, the good of the country", he declared in a 12-minute live address on television.
The recommendation of indictment is the product of a painstaking investigation into two cases – one involving alleged receipt of bribes from a Hollywood mogul and an Australian billionaire, and the other centred on backroom dealings with a newspaper publisher reportedly to obtain favourable coverage – that took almost a year to complete.
It is now up to Israel's attorney general, Avichai Mandelblit, to decide whether to indict Mr Netanyahu. Since Mr Mandelblit owes his career to the prime minister, it far from certain that the process, which can take months, will culminate in charges being entered against Mr Netanyahu, who can be counted upon to use this time to engineer a deadly campaign of mass distraction. As his own former defence minister said last year, Mr Netanyahu will "set the country and the region alight" just to save his skin.
As always, the Palestinians will be used as a convenient alibi. The peace process, already dying, is now at the risk of being irremediably mutilated at the altar of Mr Netanyahu's doomed political career. The United States has ceased to be an honest mediator, throwing its weight behind the extreme right wing of Israeli public opinion that the prime minister both incites and embodies. Never a believer in peace, Mr Netanyahu threatens to become, in his wounded state, its mortal enemy. The magician's reign may be nearing its end – but his maledictions will continue to haunt the Middle East.
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Applicants should send their completed applications - CV, covering letter, sample(s) of your work, letter of recommendation - to Nick March, Assistant Editor in Chief at The National and UAE programme administrator for the Rosalynn Carter Fellowships for Mental Health Journalism, by 5pm on April 30, 2020.
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The local advisory board will consider all applications and will interview a short list of candidates in Abu Dhabi in June 2020. Successful candidates will be informed before July 30, 2020.
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
