Results:
Women:
1. Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) 322.95 points
2. Lysanne Richard (CAN) 285.75
3. Ellie Smart (USA) 277.70
Men:
1. Gary Hunt (GBR) 431.55
2. Constantin Popovici (ROU) 424.65
3. Oleksiy Prygorov (UKR) 392.30
Gary Hunt completed a hat-trick of wins in Abu Dhabi in the Fina High Diving World Cup while Rhiannan Iffland collected her first by taking the women’s title at the Abu Dhabi Sailing and Yacht Club on Saturday.
Hunt led after the penultimate round of the 27-metre dives and had to hold his nerve on the final dive to to seal victory in the capital for a third year in a row.
Joining the Briton on the podium were Romania's Constantin Popovici (silver) and Oleksiy Prygorov of Ukraine (bronze).
The men’s event had to be rescheduled twice as the winds at the capital’s breakwater picked up, but Hunt held his nerve on the final dive to clinch the title.
“I was comfortable with the windy conditions but going in to the final dive as the second last competitor I did have to overcome some nervous moments,” he said.
“I had to get a good score to beat regain the lead. So it was definitely very stressful because those two divers who finished on the podium put up two really good scores on their final dives.
“I had to do the back-triple quad. I was confident with that dive but I still had to go up there and do it, and managed do it well.”
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Gary Hunt, the ‘Michael Jordan’ of diving, claims gold at 2017 Fina High Diving World Cup in Abu Dhabi
Rio runners-up find gold in Abu Dhabi at 2017 Fina 10-kilometre Marathon Swimming World Cup
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After ending the year with a gold medal, Hunt, 34, says he is yet to decide on his 2019 schedule but hoped to return to the capital.
“I haven’t really finalised what my plans are for next year," he said. “Abu Dhabi seems a lucky place for me and I would certainly want to be back. I feel stronger than ever and more consistent than ever, but I’m not getting any younger, so I want to make most of these last years that I’ll compete.”
Iffland, also competing for the third time in Abu Dhabi, went one better than her second-place finish in 2017.
“To win the World Cup for the first time was really good achievement for me,” said the Australian.
“It’s always hard to win at this level, so it’s fantastic feeling. The weather was fine when we competed so that didn’t have much impact on the divers.
“It must have been challenging for the men when the winds picked up but we didn’t have any of that.
“This is the final competition for the year and I’ll take a break and start preparing for both the World Cup and the World Championship next year.”
Canadian Lysanne Richard, the 2016 winner and ninth last year, took silver and the American newcomer Ellie Smart won bronze after a close tussle with Briton Jessica Macaulay and 44-year-old American Ginger Huber, the oldest women competitor.
Farage on Muslim Brotherhood
Nigel Farage told Reform's annual conference that the party will proscribe the Muslim Brotherhood if he becomes Prime Minister.
"We will stop dangerous organisations with links to terrorism operating in our country," he said. "Quite why we've been so gutless about this – both Labour and Conservative – I don't know.
“All across the Middle East, countries have banned and proscribed the Muslim Brotherhood as a dangerous organisation. We will do the very same.”
It is 10 years since a ground-breaking report into the Muslim Brotherhood by Sir John Jenkins.
Among the former diplomat's findings was an assessment that “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” has “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
The prime minister at the time, David Cameron, who commissioned the report, said membership or association with the Muslim Brotherhood was a "possible indicator of extremism" but it would not be banned.
A Cat, A Man, and Two Women
Junichiro Tamizaki
Translated by Paul McCarthy
Daunt Books
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The alternatives
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• PayPal is probably the best-known online goods payment method - usually used for eBay purchases - but can be used to receive funds, providing everyone’s signed up. Costs from 2.9 per cent plus Dh1.2 per transaction.
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.”
Results:
Women:
1. Rhiannan Iffland (AUS) 322.95 points
2. Lysanne Richard (CAN) 285.75
3. Ellie Smart (USA) 277.70
Men:
1. Gary Hunt (GBR) 431.55
2. Constantin Popovici (ROU) 424.65
3. Oleksiy Prygorov (UKR) 392.30
