Follow the latest development in Syria here
Flights are suspended at Damascus International Airport following the collapse of the Syrian government.
On Sunday, Syria's Sham FM radio reported that the airport in the capital city had been evacuated and all flights halted after the city fell to rebel forces overnight.
A representative of Fly & More Travel, a Dubai travel agent for Cham Wings Airlines, confirmed the news. “For now, there are no flights. We are awaiting further information from our company regarding the resumption of services,” the representative told The National on Sunday morning.
Online information from Dubai International Airport, shows that Cham Wings's flight number RB517 scheduled to land in Dubai at 6.40pm on Sunday from Damascus was cancelled. Flight RB 515 operating the same route on Monday also shows as cancelled.
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 corroborates news of the airport's closure, with the latest data showing no aircraft landing or departing from Damascus. AFP has reported that Syrian military and security forces had left Damascus airport.
Video shared on social media on Sunday showed travellers hurrying through security checkpoints and running towards departure gates at Damascus airport before flights were grounded.
Middle East Airlines, the national airline of Lebanon, announced changes to departure times on flights operating between Beirut and Dubai on Monday. The airline cited “changes in the flight route avoiding Syrian airspace” as the reason, with flights departing up to an hour earlier than scheduled. The airlines' other scheduled flights are operating as normal.
While many airlines in the Middle East have long since suspended flights to Syria because of unrest, some other airlines continued to operate, including Cham Wings, a private Syrian airline, as well as Syrian Air, the country's national airline.
On Sunday, a flydubai representative confirmed that the closure of Damascus International Airport is not affecting its operations. “There is no impact to our flight schedule.
Etihad Airways, the national airline of the UAE, also confirmed that there were no changes to its flight schedule.
UAE airlines, including major carriers Emirates and Etihad Airways, already adhere to a long-standing directive from the General Civil Aviation Authority to avoid Syrian airspace.
The shutdown of the airport in Syria's capital city comes five days after flights were suspended at Aleppo airport in the north of the country, also because of fighting in the country as rebel forces advanced.
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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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.”
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
The Lowdown
Us
Director: Jordan Peele
Starring: Lupita Nyong'o, Winston Duke, Shahadi Wright Joseqph, Evan Alex and Elisabeth Moss
Rating: 4/5
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
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In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
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Paris Can Wait
Dir: Eleanor Coppola
Starring: Alec Baldwin, Diane Lane, Arnaud Viard
Two stars
Scoreline
UAE 2-1 Saudi Arabia
UAE Mabkhout 21’, Khalil 59’
Saudi Al Abed (pen) 20’
Man of the match Ahmed Khalil (UAE)
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
