Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 13. Reuters
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 13. Reuters
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 13. Reuters
Palestinian children wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen amid shortages of food supplies, in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on February 13. Reuters


Do human rights not apply to people in Gaza?


The National
  • English
  • Arabic

February 16, 2024

In reference to Adla Massoud's report 'No one has enough to eat' in Gaza, UN chief warns (February 13): Hunger is one of the most demeaning realities human beings are forced to endure daily when living through war. Who can help the people of Gaza and when will the killings stop? The UN chief has rightly pointed out "the deliberate policies of denial." Of the 700,000 hungriest people in the world, four in five inhabit that tiny strip of land, he said. The world has just been watching and now more than 28,500 people have been killed. It is astounding to me that there are supposed to be human rights in this world. But it seems like those are not for everyone.

Ahmed Abbi Agote, Kemise, Ethiopia

The world is so evidently failing the people of Gaza. Where is our humanity? I feel for all the Palestinian people living through the daily attacks being displaced repeatedly, and especially the children and the elderly. It is one world. These are our brothers and sisters. I keep waiting to hear about a political solution having been reached. The ceasefire and long-term peace is overdue. I hope and pray for this sorrow to end.

Hamisi Mugoya, Sironko, Uganda

The alternative to Biden

Regarding Jihan Abdalla's report Palestinian Americans in Dearborn say they 'will never forget' Biden's stance on Gaza (February 12): They have valid reason. I can understand why Arab Americans might feel that they "paid for the bullet or the bomb" with their taxes. But is not voting for Biden the right way? It's Hobson's choice unfortunately.

K McLaren, Gloucestershire, UK

Overseas students in the UK are good for the British economy

With regard to Soraya Ebrahimi's piece Rise in overseas students applying to study at UK universities (February 15): This is always a good thing. Students from all around the world have historically always wanted to come to the UK for higher studies. Even so, it's remarkable that the number of overseas applicants, nearly 96,000 students, from non-EU countries climbed to such a record figure.

This will be good for the UK economy – both money-wise, as foreign students pay higher tuition fees, and in providing fresh talent. When students graduate, many are able to get jobs in the country. Companies in the UK benefit from recruiting young talented people who are keen to work hard. This has a positive effect across so many sectors and the economy.

Mohammad Khalid, Manchester, UK

MATCH INFO

Who: UAE v USA
What: first T20 international
When: Friday, 2pm
Where: ICC Academy in Dubai

Bharatanatyam

A ancient classical dance from the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Intricate footwork and expressions are used to denote spiritual stories and ideas.

Five%20calorie-packed%20Ramadan%20drinks
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
  1. Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
  2. Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
  3. Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
  4. Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
  5. Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
  6. The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
  7. Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269

*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year

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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Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants

Updated: February 16, 2024, 7:15 AM