Mounted police patrol Bondi Beach in Sydney. More than five million people in the Australian city and surrounding areas entered a 14-day lockdown on Saturday, June 26. EPA
Dog owners speak along a deserted street in Ankara. Dog walking is permitted during lockdowns in Turkey. AP
Officials check the vaccination certificates of people entering The Avenues Mall, the largest shopping centre in Kuwait. AFP
Artists perform Shakespeare's 'The Tempest' at Thorington Theatre in the Woods, near Southwold, Britain, after coronavirus restrictions were relaxed. Reuters
A woman receives the Sinovac shot as Thailand's resort island of Phuket vaccinates its population, before the July 1 deadline to end strict quarantine for overseas visitors. Reuters
Vera Kuznetsova receives a vaccine dose at home in the village of Loznoye in Volgograd, Russia. Reuters
Demonstrators calling for nightclubs to reopen gather during the Save Our Scene protest in London. Reuters
Health officials announced on Sunday that one in three Covid-19 infections in the UAE stemmed from the highly contagious Delta variant.
Delta is the name given to the variant first detected last October in India.
It prompted a devastating surge in case numbers in the country and is also responsible for more than 90 per cent of new infections in the UK, according to Public Health England.
A potentially more transmissible mutation of Delta was recently discovered in India, identified as Delta Plus.
The World Health Organisation says the mutation could prove to be more deadly as time goes on.
But what is the new strain and how does it differ from Delta, already described a variant of concern by the WHO.
What is the Delta variant?
The WHO has given names to coronavirus variations in an effort to remove any stigma associated with the countries where they were first detected.
Greek letters have been assigned to the strains in the order they were designated variants of concern, starting at Alpha for the strain first detected in the UK last year.
The Delta variant was first recorded in India and is 60 per cent more infectious than the Alpha strain, according to the British authorities.
Doctors have said it affects patients differently to the original coronavirus.
Common symptoms include fever, headaches and a runny nose. At first, it appears more like a head cold, with a sore throat and sneezing.
Delta does not seem to affect patients' sense of smell.
If you have any symptoms, the authorities recommend regular testing for Covid-19, to prevent the disease spreading among the community.
Roy Cooper / The National
What is the Delta Plus variant?
Delta Plus is a mutated version of Delta, which is also known as B.1.617.2.
It has been named 'Plus' locally, but its official name is Delta-AY.1.
The Delta strain is characterised by the K417N mutation in the spike protein of the Sars-CoV-2 virus that causes the Covid-19 disease.
This mutation is also present in the Beta variant, first found in South Africa.
There are concerns the variant could be 50 per cent more transmissible than other strains, but epidemiologists have said more sequencing needs to be done.
“There is speculation regarding higher transmissibility and infectivity of the Delta Plus variant, but there is no definitive data to support this,” said Binay Panda, a professor of biotechnology at Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi.
Delta mutation 'becoming more deadly'
Dr Soumya Swaminathan, the WHO's chief scientist, admitted there were concerns about the new strain.
"The reason it's been called Plus is because it has another mutation, which is also seen in the Beta and Gamma variants, which could potentially also impact the antibody killing off the virus," she said.
"So there's a bit of concern that this strain may be becoming even more deadly, because it's now going to become resistant to drugs and vaccines.
"The good thing is that there are still very few cases that have been described globally, so we can track what is happening.
"We need more studies to see whether this Delta variant with this additional mutation has any other properties. We are tracking that and are collecting that information."
Where is Delta Plus spreading?
Exhausted ambulance crew members on Covid-19 duties collapse on a bench at a crematorium grounds in Guwahati, north-east India. AFP
Health workers inoculate an elderly man against Covid-19 coronavirus in his village, in the Sundarbans area, 100 kilometres south of Kolkata, in eastern India. AFP
Pedestrians with and without masks walk along La Bola, in Ronda, Andalusia, in southern Spain, after the government eased Covid-19 restrictions. Reuters
A nurse pushes Covid-19 patient in a wheelchair at Honorio Delgado Hospital in Arequipa, Peru. Due to surge of Delta variant cases, the city is under lockdown. AP Photo
Cars queue at a drive-through Covid-19 testing centre at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Sydney and surrounding areas have gone into lockdown for two weeks following a surge of Delta variant cases. EPA
People queue to register for the AstraZeneca Covid-19 coronavirus vaccine in Denpasar, on Indonesia's resort island of Bali. AFP
A man sits in the observation area after receiving a Covid-19 vaccine at a mobile bus clinic in Los Angeles, California. The US will miss President Joe Biden's goal of delivering at least one coronavirus vaccine dose to 70 percent of adults by the 4th of July holiday. Getty Images
The earliest case of Delta Plus was in India from a sample taken on April 5.
The Indian authorities said there have now been 50 cases and three deaths across three states, including Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Madhya Pradesh. The cases were found by sequencing 45,000 samples.
As a consequence, India's richest state, Maharashtra, has tightened lockdown restrictions.
The Indian Health Ministry said Delta Plus showed increased transmissibility and advised states to increase testing.
The spread was mostly very localised, said Balram Bhargava, director general of the Indian Council of Medical Research.
However, at least 12 other countries have reported cases of Delta Plus, including the US, UK, Japan, Russia and China, he said.
Portugal's Health Minister Marta Temido, said they had detected 24 cases on June 23.
Britain said its first five cases were sequenced on April 26 and they were contacts of individuals who had travelled from, or transited through, Nepal and Turkey.
Why is Delta Plus a cause for concern?
Studies are taking place to test the effectiveness of India's vaccines against the Delta Plus variant. AFP / Punit PARANJPE
As with all variants, the concern is that they could be more transmissible or more deadly.
Immunologists also worry about vaccines' effectiveness against new variants.
Shahid Jameel, a senior Indian virologist, said K417N was known to reduce the effectiveness of a cocktail of therapeutic monoclonal antibodies, medicines like the newly available Sotrovimab, which help the body fight Covid-19 infections.
Studies are taking place to test the effectiveness of India's vaccines against the Delta Plus variant, including AstraZeneca’s Covishield and Bharat Biotech International's Covaxin.
"We should have the results in about 7 to 10 days' time whether the vaccine is working against the Delta Plus," Mr Bhargava said.
The WHO said it was tracking the variant.
"For the moment, this variant does not seem to be common, currently accounting for only a small fraction of the Delta sequences. Delta and other circulating variants of concern remain a higher public health risk as they have demonstrated increases in transmission," it said.
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
This month, Dubai Medical College launched the Middle East’s first master's programme in addiction science.
Together with the Erada Centre for Treatment and Rehabilitation, the college offers a two-year master’s course as well as a one-year diploma in the same subject.
The move was announced earlier this year and is part of a new drive to combat drug abuse and increase the region’s capacity for treating drug addiction.
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.”
The details
Heard It in a Past Life
Maggie Rogers
(Capital Records)
3/5
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 201hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 8.7L/100km
Price: Dh133,900
On sale: now
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
Future markets: Saudi Arabia, potentially Kuwait and other GCC countries
SPECS
Nissan 370z Nismo
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Transmission: seven-speed automatic
Power: 363hp
Torque: 560Nm
Price: Dh184,500
How to turn your property into a holiday home
Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
Research equivalent Airbnb homes in your location to ensure competitiveness.
Post on all relevant platforms to reach the widest audience; whether you let personally or via an agency know your potential guest profile – aiming for the wrong demographic may leave your property empty.
Factor in costs when working out if holiday letting is beneficial. The annual DCTM fee runs from Dh370 for a one-bedroom flat to Dh1,200. Tourism tax is Dh10-15 per bedroom, per night.
Check your management company has a physical office, a valid DTCM licence and is licencing your property and paying tourism taxes. For transparency, regularly view your booking calendar.
Sunrisers Hyderabad v Kolkata Knight Riders, Friday, 5.30pm
Who are the Sacklers?
The Sackler family is a transatlantic dynasty that owns Purdue Pharma, which manufactures and markets OxyContin, one of the drugs at the centre of America's opioids crisis. The family is well known for their generous philanthropy towards the world's top cultural institutions, including Guggenheim Museum, the National Portrait Gallery, Tate in Britain, Yale University and the Serpentine Gallery, to name a few. Two branches of the family control Purdue Pharma.
Isaac Sackler and Sophie Greenberg were Jewish immigrants who arrived in New York before the First World War. They had three sons. The first, Arthur, died before OxyContin was invented. The second, Mortimer, who died aged 93 in 2010, was a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma. The third, Raymond, died aged 97 in 2017 and was also a former chief executive of Purdue Pharma.
It was Arthur, a psychiatrist and pharmaceutical marketeer, who started the family business dynasty. He and his brothers bought a small company called Purdue Frederick; among their first products were laxatives and prescription earwax remover.
Arthur's branch of the family has not been involved in Purdue for many years and his daughter, Elizabeth, has spoken out against it, saying the company's role in America's drugs crisis is "morally abhorrent".
The lawsuits that were brought by the attorneys general of New York and Massachussetts named eight Sacklers. This includes Kathe, Mortimer, Richard, Jonathan and Ilene Sackler Lefcourt, who are all the children of either Mortimer or Raymond. Then there's Theresa Sackler, who is Mortimer senior's widow; Beverly, Raymond's widow; and David Sackler, Raymond's grandson.
Members of the Sackler family are rarely seen in public.
MATCH INFO
What: Brazil v South Korea When: Tonight, 5.30pm Where: Mohamed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi Tickets:www.ticketmaster.ae
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8
Power: 503hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 685Nm at 2,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Price: from Dh850,000
On sale: now
What is a Ponzi scheme?
A fraudulent investment operation where the scammer provides fake reports and generates returns for old investors through money paid by new investors, rather than through ligitimate business activities.
