The Tokyo Games is drawing to a close but interest remains high for athletes from the Mena region.
Below are the participants from the region in action at the Olympics on Tuesday.
Artistic Swimming
Tokyo Aquatics Centre
Today we have the technical routine. Egypt’s Hanna Hiekal and Ali Laila will be in the pool, as will Eden Blecher and Shelly Bobritsky from Israel.
Athletics
Olympic Stadium
We have a full morning and evening schedule today at the Olympic Stadium, with medals to be claimed in the women’s long jump, hammer throw, 800m and 200m, as well as the men’s 400m hurdles and pole vault.
In the morning session, Abderrahman Samba of Qatar will be running in the men’s 400m hurdles final. Norway’s Karsten Warholm is a firm favourite for gold, however Samba is one of only three athletes in the field to break the 47 second mark, putting him in strong contention to add to Qatar’s 2020 medal haul.
It is the opening heats of the men’s 200m. Lebanon’s fastest ever man, Noureddine Hadid will be lining up against hot favourite Noah Lyles in his heat. And 100m semi-finalist Femi Ogunode from Qatar will also be looking for a place in the semi-finals.
There are six Mena men looking for a place in the semi-final of the men’s 1500 metres. Steeplechase winner Soufiane El Bakkali will have to be up and ready as he, Abdelatif Sadiki and Anass Essayi will be running for more Moroccan success in the middle distances. Adam Ali Musab and Abirahman Hassan will be representing Qatar and Sadik Mikhou will be running for Bahrain.
Look out for Aliya Bashnak of Jordan who will be running in the first round of the women’s 400m.
In the evening session you can expect to see Abdelrahman Mahmoud of Bahrain and Egyptians Mostafa Hassan and Mohamed Hamza throw for a place in the final of the men’s shotput.
Yaqoub Alyouha of Kuwait will be running in heats of the men’s 110m hurdles.
In the 5000m heats, Soufiyan Bouqantar of Morocco and Bahrainian Birhana Balew will be looking to finish in the top 5 to advance to the final.
Baseball
Yokohama Stadium
Israel will be playing against the Dominican Republic in the round 1 repechage.
Boxing
Kokugican Arena
Imane Khelif of Algeria will be going toe-to-toe with Ireland’s Kellie Anne Harrington in the quarter-final of the women’s light weight (57-60kg) class.
Diving
Tokyo Aquatics Centre
Mohab Ishak from Egypt will be diving in the men’s 3m springboard semi-final.
Handball
Yoyogi National Stadium
As we have reached the men’s quarterfinals, Bahrain will take on France, and Egypt will be up against Germany.
Weightlifting
Tokyo International Forum
Iran’s Ali Hashemi finished in seventh in Rio in the 94kg weight class. This time he will be going for gold in the men’s 109kg class.
Also lifting in group B for a high place will be 21-year old African Championships winner Aymen Bacha of Tunisia.
Wrestling - various
Mukahari Messe
Plenty more action from Mena wrestlers today.
Two Iranian’s will be competing for a bronze medal, Mohammedali Geraei will take on Shohei Yabiku in the men’s Greco-Roman 77kg class, while Mohammadhadi Saravi awaits his opponent in the 97kg class bronze medal fixture.
In the men’s Greco-Roman 77kg class, Tunisia’s Lamjed Maafi will grapple with Rafig Hueynov of Azerbaijan in the repechage.
In the last 16 of the men’s Greco-Roman 87kg class, Egypt’s Mohammed Metwally, and Algeria’s Bachir Sid Azara will be wrestling opponents from Japan and China (respectively) for a quarter-final place.
Meanwhile in the 67 kg weight class, Algeria’s Abdelmalek Merabet will be hoping to beat Hansu Ryu of South Korea so that he can face Egypt’s Mohamed Elsayed in the last 16. Already through are Iran’s Mohammadreza Geraei, and Tunisia’s Nasr Souleyman. He will be taking on Iraqi Aker Al Obaidi who will be representing the Refugee Olympic Team.
The Uefa Awards winners
Uefa Men's Player of the Year: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Uefa Women's Player of the Year: Lucy Bronze (Lyon)
Best players of the 2018/19 Uefa Champions League
Goalkeeper: Alisson (Liverpool)
Defender: Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool)
Midfielder: Frenkie de Jong (Ajax)
Forward: Lionel Messi (Barcelona)
Uefa President's Award: Eric Cantona
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Company%20Profile
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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.”
TV: World Cup Qualifier 2018 matches will be aired on on OSN Sports HD Cricket channel
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Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Tips to keep your car cool
- Place a sun reflector in your windshield when not driving
- Park in shaded or covered areas
- Add tint to windows
- Wrap your car to change the exterior colour
- Pick light interiors - choose colours such as beige and cream for seats and dashboard furniture
- Avoid leather interiors as these absorb more heat
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Timeline
2012-2015
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
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
