Wales 1-1 Georgia
WAL: Bale 10’
GEO: Okriashvili 57’
Man of the Match: Valeri Kazaishvili (Georgia)
There are times when it has been grossly unfair to portray Wales as a one-man side.
Euro 2016 was one such as individual excellence and collective resolve underpinned their surprise surge to the semi-finals.
Yet shorn of the two Welshmen named in the team of the tournament in France, the injured Aaron Ramsey and Joe Allen, their reliance on one man was laid bare. Gareth Bale still delivered for his country, but it was not enough.
Georgia, the minnows who had lost to Austria and the Republic of Ireland, secured an unexpected draw in Cardiff and their excellent second-half display arguably merited victory. After dropping four points in as many days, Wales go into November’s clash with Serbia needing to impose their authority on Group D.
They have led three times against Austria and Georgia and been pegged back on every occasion. Their players were wearing black armbands as they mourned Mel Charles, one of the finest centre-backs in the 1958 World Cup, and the thought was that, after ending 58 years to appear in a second major tournament, they would belatedly grace the global showpiece again in 2018. They still should, but an improvement is required to end their exile.
This underlined the significance of Allen, the passer who can dictate the rhythm, and Ramsey, whose energy can render him a catalyst. Instead, they possessed just one. Wales were without two of their three best footballers, but they still benefited from the presence of the outstanding British player of his generation.
Bale is a footballer who is capable of great virtuosity, but he has shown this week that he can excel in prosaic fashion. He troubled Austria with his long throws on Thursday. Three days later, he headed in Joe Ledley’s corner in the manner of a giant centre-half, not an electric winger.
It was his 25th goal for his country; Ian Rush’s national record of 28 is now tantalisingly close. Bale almost had a 26th in the second half, his free kick skimming the roof of the net. By then, however, Wales had been pegged back.
They had started at speed but, after going behind, Georgia grew into the game. Jano Ananidze’s free kick clipped the top of Wayne Hennessey’s bar. Then when Wales began the second half in subdued mode, the visitors levelled. Valeri Kazaishvili crossed, Tornike Okriashvili ran in behind Neil Taylor and headed beyond a stranded Hennessey.
It was a deserved reward for their improvement.
Wales’ response was to bring on Hal Robson-Kanu, who has only had 17 minutes of club football since his glorious goal against Belgium in July, followed by David Cotterill, who has not found the net for Birmingham in five months, and Emyr Huws, who has only started once for Cardiff this season. Each is an attack-minded player, but none belongs in the class of the much-missed Allen and Ramsey.
And, despite Bale’s free kick, Georgia came closer to a winner. Hennessey had to dive to his right to tip away an Ananidze dipper. When Bale lost the ball, Levan Mchedlidze was sent charging clear. The striker’s composure deserted him at the crucial moment and he shot wide. Valerian Gvilia directed a shot just past the post and Kazaishvili rattled the bar with Hennessey beaten.
Wales were ragged as Georgia counter-attacked with menace.
They came perilously close to extending a 100 per cent record. Georgia had won all three previous encounters with the Welsh and a 5-0 defeat in 1994 represented a nadir for Chris Coleman.
Defender then, manager now, Coleman has discovered that Georgia remain a bogey side. The cost of their defiance may be considerable.
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Barings Bank
Barings, one of Britain’s oldest investment banks, was
founded in 1762 and operated for 233 years before it went bust after a trading
scandal.
Barings Bank collapsed in February 1995 following colossal
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Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
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You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
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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.”
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
The Year Earth Changed
Directed by:Tom Beard
Narrated by: Sir David Attenborough
Stars: 4
