DUBAI // Prosecutors have requested the death penalty for a herder who confessed to killing a man in an argument over the sale of a camel.
The Sudanese herder, SA, 24, yesterday confessed in the Dubai Criminal Court of First Instance to killing his compatriot, Mohammed Abbas Babikir, but denied it was premeditated.
SA was seen arguing with Babikir on December 9 last year at a farm near the Dubai-Al Ain highway.
He told prosecutors the argument was about his share of the profits in a camel sale.
Mohammed Abdel Bagy, 26, another Sudanese herder, said he was standing about 100 metres away and was witness to the argument.
"When I saw the two physically fighting I ran across to break them apart," said Mr Abdel Bagy.
"When I reached them I saw Mohammed on the floor bleeding profusely and holding his stomach, and SA standing next to him holding a small knife that was covered in blood."
Forensic reports show Babikir was stabbed twice - once in the stomach and once in the heart.
Mr Abdel Bagy told prosecutors Babikir had died in his arms.
"I laid his head on a rock and watched him spit out blood while taking his last breaths," he said.
Another herder from Sudan, Al Siddig Mohammed Ali, 42, grabbed SA when he saw Babikir had died.
"I was on the other side of the farm when I saw Mohammed Abdel Bagy running," Mr Ali said.
"I followed him, then I saw the Babikir lying dead and S A holding a knife covered in blood, so I grabbed him and took the knife away from him and called a friend to come and try to revive the victim."
His compatriot, Hayder Ajab, 42, told prosecutors that he picked up Babikir, placed him in his car and drove it out to the motorway to meet the ambulance and police responding to the call.
A police officer who interrogated SA told prosecutors he confessed to the killing, claiming he had a financial dispute with Babikir.
Camel herding and breeding is a lucrative enterprise that can generate millions in profits.
Khaled Salim Al Alwai from Public Prosecution asked Judge Maher Salam Al Mahdi to impose the death penalty on SA.
The court is scheduled to reconvene on February 22.
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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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A “medium-sized company” can either have staff of 51 to 200 employees or 101 to 250 employees, and a turnover less than or equal to Dh200m or Dh250m, again depending on whether the business is in the trading, manufacturing or services sectors.
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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Wicked: For Good
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