• A streak of light is seen as a rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel. Israel killed three senior Hamas commanders in an air strike on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the clearest signal yet that Israel is intent on eliminating the group’s military leadership after a failed attempt on the life of its top commander this week. Amir Cohen / Reuters
    A streak of light is seen as a rocket is launched from the northern Gaza Strip towards Israel. Israel killed three senior Hamas commanders in an air strike on the Gaza Strip on Thursday, the clearest signal yet that Israel is intent on eliminating the group’s military leadership after a failed attempt on the life of its top commander this week. Amir Cohen / Reuters
  • An Israeli firefighter extinguishes fire after rockets fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza strip hit a field near the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Israel and Palestinian militants resumed fire across the Gaza border, sparking panic across the war-torn enclave and halting truce talks. Menahem Kahana / AFP
    An Israeli firefighter extinguishes fire after rockets fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza strip hit a field near the southern Israeli city of Sderot. Israel and Palestinian militants resumed fire across the Gaza border, sparking panic across the war-torn enclave and halting truce talks. Menahem Kahana / AFP
  • Shi’ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State take part in field training in Najaf. Ahmad Mousa / Reuters
    Shi’ite volunteers, who have joined the Iraqi army to fight against militants of the Islamic State take part in field training in Najaf. Ahmad Mousa / Reuters
  • Palestinians wait behind a plastic sheet separating them from the crate of a destroyed house following an Israeli military strike in the center of Gaza City. Thomas Coex / AFP
    Palestinians wait behind a plastic sheet separating them from the crate of a destroyed house following an Israeli military strike in the center of Gaza City. Thomas Coex / AFP
  • Tarek al-Rifi, center, the father of one of the three children from the Al-Rifi family killed in an Israeli military strike, reacts at Gaza city’s Al-Shifa hospital on August 21, 2014. Three senior Hamas commanders and four children were among at least 15 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Israel stepped up air strikes on day 45 of the bloody conflict. Roberto Schmidt / AFP
    Tarek al-Rifi, center, the father of one of the three children from the Al-Rifi family killed in an Israeli military strike, reacts at Gaza city’s Al-Shifa hospital on August 21, 2014. Three senior Hamas commanders and four children were among at least 15 Palestinians killed in Gaza as Israel stepped up air strikes on day 45 of the bloody conflict. Roberto Schmidt / AFP
  • Palestinian gather around the rubble of a building destroyed following an Israeli military strike in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The armed wing of Hamas announced that three of its senior commanders were killed in a pre-dawn Israeli air strike in southern Gaza that medics said killed seven people. Thomas Coex / AFP
    Palestinian gather around the rubble of a building destroyed following an Israeli military strike in Rafah in the south of the Gaza Strip. The armed wing of Hamas announced that three of its senior commanders were killed in a pre-dawn Israeli air strike in southern Gaza that medics said killed seven people. Thomas Coex / AFP
  • Syrian refugees enjoy a sunny day in Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. More than 40 per cent of Syria’s pre-war population of 22.4 million has been displaced by the conflict, with 2.8 million taking refuge in other countries in the region. Erdem Sahin / EPA
    Syrian refugees enjoy a sunny day in Bosphorus in Istanbul, Turkey. More than 40 per cent of Syria’s pre-war population of 22.4 million has been displaced by the conflict, with 2.8 million taking refuge in other countries in the region. Erdem Sahin / EPA
  • A relatives of senior Hamas commander Raed al-Atar, one of three senior Hamas commanders killed in an Israeli military strike, mourns during his funeral in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Israeli warplanes killed three top Hamas commanders in southern Gaza inflicting a heavy blow on the movement’s armed wing after failing to kill its top military chief. Mahmud Hams / AFP
    A relatives of senior Hamas commander Raed al-Atar, one of three senior Hamas commanders killed in an Israeli military strike, mourns during his funeral in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Israeli warplanes killed three top Hamas commanders in southern Gaza inflicting a heavy blow on the movement’s armed wing after failing to kill its top military chief. Mahmud Hams / AFP
  • Iraqi volunteers from the Yazidi sect learn how to handle a weapon during a training camp at the Serimli military base, which is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), in Qamishli, northeastern Syria on the border with Kurdistan. Youssef Boudlal / Reuters
    Iraqi volunteers from the Yazidi sect learn how to handle a weapon during a training camp at the Serimli military base, which is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), in Qamishli, northeastern Syria on the border with Kurdistan. Youssef Boudlal / Reuters
  • A relatives of senior Hamas commander Raed al-Atar, one of three senior Hamas commanders killed in an Israeli military strike, mourns during his funeral in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Israeli warplanes killed three top Hamas commanders in southern Gaza inflicting a heavy blow on the movement’s armed wing after failing to kill its top military chief. Mahmud Hams / AFP
    A relatives of senior Hamas commander Raed al-Atar, one of three senior Hamas commanders killed in an Israeli military strike, mourns during his funeral in the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah. Israeli warplanes killed three top Hamas commanders in southern Gaza inflicting a heavy blow on the movement’s armed wing after failing to kill its top military chief. Mahmud Hams / AFP

Region in focus - August 22, 2014


  • English
  • Arabic

The best images of the last seven days from around the Gulf and across the Middle East.

While you're here
CREW
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At Eternity’s Gate

Director: Julian Schnabel

Starring: Willem Dafoe, Oscar Isaacs, Mads Mikkelsen

Three stars

COMPANY%20PROFILE
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'The%20Alchemist's%20Euphoria'
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Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side

8 There are eight players per team

There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.

5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls

Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs

B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run

Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs

Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

David Haye record

Total fights: 32
Wins: 28
Wins by KO: 26
Losses: 4

The specs

AT4 Ultimate, as tested

Engine: 6.2-litre V8

Power: 420hp

Torque: 623Nm

Transmission: 10-speed automatic

Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)

On sale: Now

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.”

Director: Jon Favreau

Starring: Donald Glover, Seth Rogen, John Oliver

Rating: 2 out of 5 stars

Auron Mein Kahan Dum Tha

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Shantanu Maheshwari, Jimmy Shergill, Saiee Manjrekar

Director: Neeraj Pandey

Rating: 2.5/5

WITHIN%20SAND
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RESULTS

2pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,000m
Winner: AF Mozhell, Saif Al Balushi (jockey), Khalifa Al Neyadi (trainer)

2.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m
Winner: Majdi, Szczepan Mazur, Abdallah Al Hammadi.

3pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: AF Athabeh, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.

3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: AF Eshaar, Bernardo Pinheiro, Khalifa Al Neyadi

4pm: Gulf Cup presented by Longines Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 (D) 1,700m
Winner: Al Roba’a Al Khali, Al Moatasem Al Balushi, Younis Al Kalbani

4.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 (D) 1,200m
Winner: Apolo Kid, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muahiri

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
  • The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
  • The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
  • The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
  • The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info

Who: India v Afghanistan
What: One-off Test match, Bengaluru
When: June 14 to 18
TV: OSN Sports Cricket HD, 8am starts
Online: OSN Play (subscribers only)