Al Mabhouh killed hours after arrival



DUBAI // Mahmoud al Mabhouh was murdered within five hours of arriving in the country, the Dubai Police chief said yesterday. Initial forensic reports indicate that al Mabhouh, a senior Hamas leader who was found dead in his hotel room on January 20, was paralysed with an electric shock before being suffocated, said Lt Gen Dahi Khalfan Tamim.

Other potential causes of death, including poison, are also being examined, said Gen Tamim, who added that the final forensic report would be released in about a month. Al Mabhouh entered the country at 3.15pm on January 19 and was dead before 9pm, he said. His killers had been in the country less than 24 hours before the killing and left before his body was discovered the next day in his hotel, the Al Bustan Rotana in Al Garhoud, police have previously said.

Al Mabhouh used his real passport to enter the UAE, according to Hamas, even though he owned several others with aliases. He was in the country for several days of official Hamas business; the Palestinian militant group declined to be more specific about the purpose of his visit. Hamas also said al Mabhouh was travelling without his usual contingent of bodyguards, who were due to arrive later on January 19, according to Talal Nasser, a Hamas spokesman.

Police would not say how many suspects they had identified, but indicated they believed the perpetrators arrived in the country using passports from western European countries. The authenticity of the documents has not been confirmed. "Most likely the passports are authentic, as they had passed through several European countries, and if they were fake they would have been discovered," Gen Tamim said.

Al Mabhouh, 50, was a founder of Hamas's military wing, the Ezzedeen al Qassam Brigades. He was wanted by the Israeli government in connection with the kidnappings of two Israeli soldiers in 1989. Hamas has accused the Mossad, the Israeli foreign intelligence service, of carrying out the assassination. The Israeli government has declined to comment on the claims. An Israeli defence official told the Associated Press yesterday that al Mabhouh played "a central role in smuggling weapons from Iran to Gaza militants".

The involvement of the Mossad has not been ruled out by Dubai Police, although officials said on Saturday that currently they were only investigating individuals. "It is only logical to expect [Mossad] to stand behind the murder, but we are not sure that they have carried out the crime," Gen Tamim said. Dubai Police are working closely with Interpol and other countries to track down the suspects, he added. He declined to disclose any further details of the investigation.

Police have said they would not co-operate with Hamas on the investigation, and would deal only with the Palestinian Authority, which governs most of the Palestinian Territories. Yesterday, Gen Tamim met with Hussein Abdul Khaleq, the Palestinian consul general in Dubai, to discuss the latest developments. Mr Khaleq could not be reached for comment. "We are working day and night to pursue the perpetrators," Gen Tamim told the consul general, according to a Dubai Police statement.

Khairi al Oraidi, the Palestinian ambassador, said yesterday that the embassy was waiting for the results of the investigation. It was also serving as a liaison between the UAE and the Palestinian Authority, which is based in Ramallah, in the West Bank. "Because [al Mabhouh] is a Palestinian national and was in the UAE, the embassy is authorised to follow up on his case," Mr al Oraidi said. "We have confidence in the UAE authorities and are sure the investigation will find the truth and we are ready to co-ordinate and support them with whatever they ask us."

wissa@thenational.ae * With additional reporting by Zoi Constantine

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Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia

The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.

It is expected to attract 25 million visits

Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.

More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020

The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area

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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.”

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.


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