Wedding celebrations seem to have been one of the biggest casualties in the travel crisis which has seen hundreds of thousands of passengers unable to reach their destinations.
One newly married couple, trapped in Dubai because of the volcanic ash cloud covering much of Europe, thought they would miss out on their own wedding reception and the renewal of their vows in the UK. But they were able to join the party - virtually - thanks to a live videolink set up by their Dubai hotel.
Sean Murtagh, 24, and his Australian bride, Natalie, 30, were married in Brisbane, Australia, three weeks ago. Sean's family in the UK and Ireland could not make it to the wedding in Australia, so his mother arranged a second reception in London. The couple landed in Dubai on Thursday morning only to be told there would be no connecting flight to London.
"I was gutted," Natalie said. "I broke down into tears. I couldn't believe it. I wanted to meet all my in-laws and I was really looking forward to this.
"My mother went ahead and she is there, too, as is my maid of honour. I've also got some Australian friends who live in London but couldn't make it home for the wedding."
Their luck turned when Sean asked reception staff at the Millennium Airport Hotel if he could get an internet video link-up in their room.
"Once the management heard about it, they pulled out all the stops," Sean said. "They brought in their IT guys and the other people who have been stranded here have been helping us out. I have borrowed a pair of trousers and a shirt and everybody is coming up to us and congratulating us."
Last night, 80 guests in London celebrated with the newlyweds and about 60 of their new friends via the live videolink. The hotel provided a cake and flowers.
Alex Conroy is another traveller delayed in the UAE. The cancellation of her flight back to Manchester in England means that she will miss one of the most important days in her best friend's life. "I should be back in Bolton right now for my friend's wedding. I'm heartbroken," said the 26-year-old IT recruitment consultant from Wigan.
Together with her husband, Gareth, 32, a surveyor, their two-week trip to Brisbane, Australia, has come with an unexpected cost.
"We should have been back in plenty of time to get ready for the wedding. I am so upset. It is awful. I have been looking forward to this for ages.
"One of the bridesmaids lives in Ireland so I don't know if she is going to be able to make it, too. It is just a shame as I wanted to be there so much."
Ian Thomas, 32, from Australia, is due to be the best man at the nuptials of one of his lifelong friends next week, but now his attendance has been thrown into doubt.
"The wedding is taking place in Poland," he said. "My friend is trying to sort out a bus for about 20 people to take them over from Brighton to the Netherlands so they can then drive to Poznan, in Poland, where the wedding is being held.
"We have been looking at all kinds of ideas about how to try and get there," said Mr Thomas, who has just set out on a six-week holiday with his fiancée, Rachel Wallis.
"Right now, I would be happy just to get anywhere in southern Europe, where we can get on a train," added Ms Wallis.
Peter Rosswag, 47, from Wiesbaden, in Germany, said he travels regularly in the Gulf region and had arrived from Jeddah late on Friday.
He hoped to fly to Frankfurt early this morning; he said he heard that the airport there would open at about 2am.
"You have to be relaxed about these things. If you are a business traveller you don't get as hot-tempered as the tourist travellers."
However, many tourists appeared happy to relax and enjoy an extra few days of unexpected holiday, with the lodging being paid for by the airlines Etihad and Emirates.
Akhlaq Undre, 58, a businessman from Manchester, England, was returning from a two-month holiday in India when his connecting flight from Abu Dhabi to the UK was cancelled.
"I am quite happy to be here," he said. "It feels like a free holiday and I am in no hurry to get back home and get back to work, thank you very much. I have been very pleased with the way Etihad has treated us. We have free accommodation and free meals."
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
RESULT
Arsenal 0 Chelsea 3
Chelsea: Willian (40'), Batshuayi (42', 49')
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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.”
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The specs: 2018 Renault Megane
Price, base / as tested Dh52,900 / Dh59,200
Engine 1.6L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission Continuously variable transmission
Power 115hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque 156Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 6.6L / 100km
Bawaal%20
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Explainer: Tanween Design Programme
Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.
The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.
It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.
The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.
Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”
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