PARIS // English Premier League side Hull City recovered from the loss of an early away goal to beat Slovakian upstarts Trencin 2-1 and qualify for the Europa League play-offs on Thursday.
Hull, who qualified for European competition for the first time in their long history after losing to Arsenal in last season’s FA Cup final, only managed a 0-0 draw in last week’s first leg in western Slovakia and that left them vulnerable to the concession of an away goal in the return.
Read more: Hull City’s first year in top flight could be a hard act to follow, writes Richard Jolly
And Trencin, runners-up in the Slovakian top flight last season, stunned their hosts at the KC Stadium when giant forward Tomas Malec opened the scoring inside two minutes.
That left Steve Bruce’s side needing to score twice without reply to progress but Egyptian Ahmed Elmohamady equalised on the night just before the half-hour mark and substitute Sone Aluko netted the winner with 10 minutes remaining.
The Tigers will discover who awaits them in the play-off round when the draw is made on Friday, when fellow Premier League representatives Tottenham Hotspur enter the competition, with both teams hoping to join Everton in the group stage.
“You’re always worried when there’s 15 minutes to go and you’re thinking about all the hype and euphoria, but you’re about to fall at the first hurdle,” said Bruce.
“But we’ve stuck at it and, not for the first time, we’ve seen them do it. It’s been difficult but we’ve got through it and let’s enjoy the draw tomorrow.”
Meanwhile, Celtic are now Scotland’s only surviving representative in European competition after Aberdeen and Scottish Cup holders St Johnstone were both knocked out on Thursday.
Aberdeen put up a brave fight against Real Sociedad at Pittodrie but went down 3-2 on the night to the Spanish side to lose 5-3 on aggregate.
Meanwhile, the prolific Stevie May scored as St Johnstone drew 1-1 away to Spartak Trnava in Slovakia, but a 2-1 defeat in last week’s first leg cost them dear.
Celtic parachute into the Europa League play-offs after comprehensively losing 6-1 on aggregate to the Polish champions Legia Warsaw in the Champions League third qualifying round.
Elsewhere, PSV Eindhoven, Torino and Lyon were among the teams to progress, although German Bundesliga outfit Mainz were surprisingly beaten by Greek club Asteras, losing 3-1 on the night to go out 3-2 on aggregate.
Europa League third qualifying round, second leg results from Thursday:
At Larnaca, Cyprus
Ermis Aradippou (CYP) 0 Young Boys (SUI) 2
Young Boys win 3-0 on aggregate
At Odessa, Ukraine
Chornomorets Odessa (UKR) 0 RNK Split (CRO) 0
RNK Split win 2-0 on aggregate
At Krasnodar, Russia
FC Krasnodar (RUS) 3 Diosgyor (HUN) 0
Krasnodar win 8-1 on aggregate
At Molde, Norway
Molde (NOR) 1 Zorya Luhansk (UKR) 2
Zorya win 3-2 on aggregate
At Liberec, Czech Republic
Slovan Liberec (CZE) 2 FC Astra (ROM) 3
Astra win 6-2 on aggregate
At Esbjerg, Denmark
Esbjerg (DEN) 2 Ruch Chorzow (POL) 2
Aggregate 2-2, Ruch win on away goals
At Nicosia
Hapoel Kiryat Shmona (ISR) 1 Dinamo Moscow (RUS) 2
Dinamo win 3-2 on aggregate
At Solna, Sweden
AIK (SWE) 0 Astana (KAZ) 3
Astana win 4-1 on aggregate
At Borisov, Belarus
Shakhtyor Soligorsk (BLR) 2-2 Zulte Waregem (BEL)
Shakhtyor win 7-4 on aggregate
At St Poelten, Austria
St Poelten (AUT) 2 PSV Eindhoven (NED) 3
PSV win 4-2 on aggregate
At Poznan, Poland
Lech Poznan (POL) 0 Stjarnan (ISL) 0
Stjarnan win 1-0 on aggregate
At Tbilisi
Chikhura Sachkere (GEO) 2 Neftci PFK (AZE) 3
Neftci win 3-2 on aggregate
At Trondheim, Norway
Rosenborg (NOR) 1 Karabukspor (TUR) 1
Aggregate 1-1, Karabukspor win on away goals
At Cluj-Napoca, Romania
CFR Cluj (ROM) 0 Dinamo Minsk (BLR) 2
Dinamo win 3-0 on aggregate
At Split, Croatia
Hajduk Split (CRO) 3 Shakhter Karagandy (KAZ) 0
Hajduk win 5-4 on aggregate
At Zlate Moravce, Slovakia
Spartak Trnava (SVK) 1 St Johnstone (SCO) 1
Spartak Trnava win 3-2 on aggregate
At Athens
Atromitos (GRE) 1 FK Sarajevo (BIH) 3 after extra time
Sarajevo win 4-3 on aggregate
At Brondby, Denmark
Brondby (DEN) 0 Club Brugge (BEL) 2
Club Brugge win 5-0 on aggregate
At Pilsen, Czech Republic
Viktoria Pilsen (CZE) 1 Petrolul Ploiesti (ROM) 4
Petrolul win 5-2 on aggregate
At Tripoli, Greece
Asteras (GRE) 3 Mainz (GER) 1
Asteras win 3-2 on aggregate
At Turin, Italy
Torino (ITA) 4 Brommapojkarma (SWE) 0
Torino win 7-0 on aggregate
At Lyon, France
Lyon (FRA) 2 Mlada Boleslav (CZE) 1
Lyon win 6-2 on aggregate
At Hull, England
Hull City (ENG) 2 Trencin (SVK) 1
Hull win 2-1 on aggregate
At Hafnarfjoerdur, Iceland
FH Hafnarfjoerdur (ISL) 2 Elfsborg (SWE) 1
Elfsborg win 5-3 on aggregate
At Skopje
Metalurg Skopje (MKD) 0 Omonia Nicosia (CYP) 1
Omonia win 4-0 on aggregate
At Aberdeen, Scotland
Aberdeen (SCO) 2 Real Sociedad (ESP) 3
Real Sociedad win 5-2 on aggregate
At Vila do Conde, Portugal
Rio Ave (POR) 0 IFK Gothenburg (SWE) 0
Rio Ave win 1-0 on aggregate
At Chisinau
Zimbru Chisinau (MDA) 0 Groedig (AUT) 1
Aggregate 2-2, Zimbru win on away goals
At Rijeka, Croatia
Rijeka (CRO) 4 Vikingur (FRO) 0
Rijeka win 9-1 on aggregate
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The Baghdad Clock
Shahad Al Rawi, Oneworld
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Transmission: eight-speed automatic
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Torque: 340Nm
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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.”
Wicked: For Good
Director: Jon M Chu
Starring: Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo, Jonathan Bailey, Jeff Goldblum, Michelle Yeoh, Ethan Slater
Rating: 4/5
Can NRIs vote in the election?
Indians residing overseas cannot cast their ballot abroad
Non-resident Indians or NRIs can vote only by going to a polling booth in their home constituency
There are about 3.1 million NRIs living overseas
Indians have urged political parties to extend the right to vote to citizens residing overseas
A committee of the Election Commission of India approved of proxy voting for non-resident Indians
Proxy voting means that a person can authorise someone residing in the same polling booth area to cast a vote on his behalf.
This option is currently available for the armed forces, police and government officials posted outside India
A bill was passed in the lower house of India’s parliament or the Lok Sabha to extend proxy voting to non-resident Indians
However, this did not come before the upper house or Rajya Sabha and has lapsed
The issue of NRI voting draws a huge amount of interest in India and overseas
Over the past few months, Indians have received messages on mobile phones and on social media claiming that NRIs can cast their votes online
The Election Commission of India then clarified that NRIs could not vote online
The Election Commission lodged a complaint with the Delhi Police asking it to clamp down on the people spreading misinformation
The specs: 2018 Nissan Altima
Price, base / as tested: Dh78,000 / Dh97,650
Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
Power: 182hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Abu Dhabi GP starting grid
1 Lewis Hamilton (Mercedes)
2 Valtteri Bottas (Mercedes)
3 Sebastian Vettel (Ferrari)
4 Kimi Raikkonen (Ferrari)
5 Daniel Ricciardo (Red Bull)
6 Max Verstappen (Red Bull)
7 Romain Grosjean (Haas)
8 Charles Leclerc (Sauber)
9 Esteban Ocon (Force India)
10 Nico Hulkenberg (Renault)
11 Carlos Sainz (Renault)
12 Marcus Ericsson (Sauber)
13 Kevin Magnussen (Haas)
14 Sergio Perez (Force India)
15 Fernando Alonso (McLaren)
16 Brendon Hartley (Toro Rosso)
17 Pierre Gasly (Toro Rosso)
18 Stoffe Vandoorne (McLaren)
19 Sergey Sirotkin (Williams)
20 Lance Stroll (Williams)
What vitamins do we know are beneficial for living in the UAE
Vitamin D: Highly relevant in the UAE due to limited sun exposure; supports bone health, immunity and mood.
Vitamin B12: Important for nerve health and energy production, especially for vegetarians, vegans and individuals with absorption issues.
Iron: Useful only when deficiency or anaemia is confirmed; helps reduce fatigue and support immunity.
Omega-3 (EPA/DHA): Supports heart health and reduces inflammation, especially for those who consume little fish.
