More UAE medical volunteers head to Gaza to treat wounded Palestinians at field hospital

More medical workers have left the UAE for Gaza to help treat Palestinians injured in the continuing conflict with Israel.

Seven volunteers make up the fourth batch who will join other doctors and nurses to care for the injured.

It brings the total number of UAE medical volunteers to 35, after nine volunteers were flown to Gaza last week.

In the past two weeks, the UAE's field hospital in the Gaza Strip has tended to more than 443 patients, offering treatment from first-aid to life-saving surgery, state news agency Wam reported.

The hospital opened on December 2 as part of the Gallant Knight 3 humanitarian operation ordered by President Sheikh Mohamed.

It includes operating rooms equipped to perform general, paediatric and vascular surgery, as well as intensive care rooms for adults and children, an anaesthesia department and specialised clinics including internal medicine, dentistry, orthopaedics, psychiatry, family medicine, paediatrics and gynaecology.

Israel launched its attacks after the Hamas militant group that rules Gaza killed about 1,200 people and took more than 200 hostages in raids on southern Israel on October 7.

The Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza says Israel's response has killed more than 20,000 people, mostly women and children.

A sixth special flight carrying dozens of patients and their companions landed in Abu Dhabi early on Tuesday.

The plane was carrying 61 people "in the most urgent need of medical assistance, accompanied by 71 members of their families", Wam reported.

The patients were brought for treatment to hospitals in Abu Dhabi, including Sheikh Shakhbout Medical City.

UAE medical flight sets off to collect Gaza patients – in pictures

Medical staff boarding a UAE plane headed for Al Arish, Egypt, from Abu Dhabi International Airport. All photos: Pawan Singh / The National
The plane will bring back cancer patients and wounded people for treatment in the Emirates
The aircraft has been fitted with hospital beds
The UAE has committed to providing free medical care for 1,000 injured children and another 1,000 Palestinians with cancer
Doctors and nurses from local hospitals volunteered to be part of the operation

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo

Power: 247hp at 6,500rpm

Torque: 370Nm from 1,500-3,500rpm

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 7.8L/100km

Price: from Dh94,900

On sale: now

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Abu Dhabi World Pro 2019 remaining schedule:

Wednesday April 24: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-6pm

Thursday April 25: Abu Dhabi World Professional Jiu-Jitsu Championship, 11am-5pm

Friday April 26: Finals, 3-6pm

Saturday April 27: Awards ceremony, 4pm and 8pm

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Founders: Abdulmajeed Alsukhan, Turki Bin Zarah and Abdulmohsen Albabtain.

Based: Riyadh

Offices: UAE, Vietnam and Germany

Founded: September, 2020

Number of employees: 70

Sector: FinTech, online payment solutions

Funding to date: $116m in two funding rounds

Investors: Checkout.com, Impact46, Vision Ventures, Wealth Well, Seedra, Khwarizmi, Hala Ventures, Nama Ventures and family offices

The biog

Marital status: Separated with two young daughters

Education: Master's degree from American Univeristy of Cairo

Favourite book: That Is How They Defeat Despair by Salwa Aladian

Favourite Motto: Their happiness is your happiness

Goal: For Nefsy to become his legacy long after he is gon

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THE SPECS

Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder

Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)

Power: 141bhp

Torque: 250Nm

Price: Dh64,500

On sale: Now

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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.”

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Labour dispute

The insured employee may still file an ILOE claim even if a labour dispute is ongoing post termination, but the insurer may suspend or reject payment, until the courts resolve the dispute, especially if the reason for termination is contested. The outcome of the labour court proceedings can directly affect eligibility.

- Abdullah Ishnaneh, Partner, BSA Law