Al Shara in Saudi Arabia and Netanyahu in the US - Trending



Syria’s leader Ahmad Al Shara arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday. It is his first trip overseas since he was declared President last week.

Mr Shara, formerly known as Abu Mohammad Al Jolani, is the head of Hayat Tahrir Al Sham. The group, formerly linked to Al Qaeda and Al Nusra Front, played a leading role in the downfall of former Syrian president Bashar Al Assad in December.

The National’s correspondent Khaled Yacoub Oweis reports: Saudi Arabia is a key regional player and an important US ally. Its support for Mr Al Shara is important and could prove crucial, first in restoring Syria’s position as a significant Arab country and second in bringing financial flows and also curbing, or at least freezing, western sanctions on the country, which could hinder reconstruction from about 14 years civil war that started with a peaceful uprising against the Assad regime.

It is a move thought to signal a shift away from reliance on Iran. At a meeting in Riyadh of western and Arab powers last month, Saudi Arabia called for sanctions on Syria to be lifted – a major boost for the HTS government.

Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is set to meet US President Donald Trump this week. Mr Netanyahu left for the US from Israel on Sunday.

He was last week invited to be the first foreign leader to meet the Mr Trump since he started his second term following his re-election as US President.

Mr Netanyahu said: "In this meeting we’ll deal with important issues, critical issues facing Israel and our region: victory over Hamas, achieving the release of all our hostages and dealing with the Iranian terror axis in all its components – an axis that threatens the peace of Israel, the Middle East and the entire world."

His office said negotiations would begin on Monday for the second phase of the ceasefire in Gaza, which began last month.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman called on Israel and Hamas to begin negotiating the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire. On Sunday, he said Qatar was engaging with Israel and Hamas to prepare for the talks, which should start on Monday.

His country was hoping to see some movement in the “next few days”, he added.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces launched raids on Far’a refugee camp and the town of Tamoun, Tubas governorate, in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Wafa news agency reported. It is the latest escalation of violence in the West Bank since the ceasefire in Gaza was announced.

The military reportedly entered the camp at dawn and raided homes. Israeli bulldozers also blocked the road between Tamoun and the village of Atouf with debris.

Najeh Bani Odeh, Mayor of Tamoun, told Wafa that Israeli forces ordered families to leave their homes and seized their keys.

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Emergency

Director: Kangana Ranaut

Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry 

Rating: 2/5

Cryopreservation: A timeline
  1. Keyhole surgery under general anaesthetic
  2. Ovarian tissue surgically removed
  3. Tissue processed in a high-tech facility
  4. Tissue re-implanted at a time of the patient’s choosing
  5. Full hormone production regained within 4-6 months
Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners

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.”

Game Changer

Director: Shankar 

Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram

Rating: 2/5

War

Director: Siddharth Anand

Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Tiger Shroff, Ashutosh Rana, Vaani Kapoor

Rating: Two out of five stars 

If you go
Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.

When to go: Florida is best experienced during the winter months, from November to May, before the humidity kicks in.

How to get there: Emirates currently flies from Dubai to Orlando five times a week.
Updated: February 03, 2025, 7:12 AM

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