When Kidus Gebre-Gzabiher last spoke to his father two weeks ago, he begged to give part of his kidney to save his life. The 60-year-old, living in Mekelle in Ethiopia’s Tigray region, said he needed time to consider the offer and asked his son to call back the next day.
That was the last his son heard from him.
Shortly after they hung up the phone, the Ethiopian government shut down phone lines and internet access in Tigray, leaving thousands with no way to reach family and friends as a deadly conflict erupted in Tigray, the northernmost region of Ethiopia.
From his home in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia's capital, the 25-year-old computer scientist has watched the latest conflict in a nation of more than 110 million reach its third week, killing hundreds and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes for neighbouring Sudan.
"My father is sick. All his supplements are regularly shipped from Addis Ababa and with all transportation interrupted… I worry for his well-being and whether he has made it," he told The National, adding that he has been unable to send the medication for his father's kidney failure by mail.
The telecommunications blackout in Tigray has made it practically impossible for people to contact their family members
“I am close to my father. He ensured I received a good education so that I follow in his footsteps and have a career,” he said, adding his father retired from his position in public service earlier this year.
“At his time of need and in retirement after serving for long and becoming a grandfather, he certainly does not deserve such fate.”
UNHCR has warned of a “full-scale humanitarian crisis unfolding” after more than 30,000 people crossed the border to neighbouring Sudan to escape the fighting. Many others, including elderly people and young children, are stranded in the region as Ethiopian forces march on the capital, Mekelle.
The conflict between the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People's Liberation Front began on November 4, after the country’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed ordered a military offensive against the TPLF state government.
The federal government accused the TPLF, a political party which controls Tigray, of holding an illegal election and attacking a military base. The TPLF has said that Mr Abiy lacks a mandate to lead the country after he postponed elections due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Henok Tsegaye, a 33-year-old teacher came to Addis Ababa from Axum in Tigray a day before the conflict began to pick up a wedding ring; he is now stranded in the capital with no information on the fate of his family.
"I feel hopeless, every sound and ending reminds me of my mother and fiancée. I cry and pray but I always come to the dead-end that I cannot help them," he told The National.
His mother depends on him financially and after being cut off for more than two weeks, he does not know whether she will try to reach Sudan and find refuge like so many others.
He has also been unable to contact his fiancée, whom he hoped to marry early next year. He lost his father in the Ethiopian-Eritrean war two decades ago.
Ethiopia was governed by the Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front under which the TPLF were a dominant force for 27 years. But one-time chairman of the EPRDF and Ethiopia’s current Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed did away with the old structure and created a new political party, Prosperity Party, which the TPLF refused to be part of.
TPLF leaders have since complained of being unfairly imprisoned and blamed for Ethiopia’s difficulties for present and past.
“As fighting continues, we are seeing a devastating humanitarian crisis unfold, not just within Ethiopia but across its borders, the head of the International Red Cross delegation to Ethiopia, Katia Sorin, said.
“Thousands are crossing into Sudan seeking safety, and an untold number are displaced from their homes inside Ethiopia. The telecommunications blackout in Tigray has made it practically impossible for people to contact their family members, causing fear and anguish on the whereabouts and safety of their loved ones.”
Ethiopia’s military said it was planning to surround Mekelle on Sunday and warned civilians to flee.
"Save yourself. A directive has been communicated for you to dissociate yourself from this junta, after that there will be no mercy,” military spokesman Dejene Tsegaye told state broadcasters.
Mr Tsegaye continues to live in fear of the outcome.
“I have always wanted to protect my mother from harm, from the moment she lost her own husband and my father and my beautiful fiancée whom I hoped I would start a family with.
“With their fate unknown, I feel like a dead-man walking”.
Brief scores:
QPR 0
Watford 1
Capoue 45' 1
21 Lessons for the 21st Century
Yuval Noah Harari, Jonathan Cape
History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
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 specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Turkish Ladies
Various artists, Sony Music Turkey
Guns N’ Roses’s last gig before Abu Dhabi was in Hong Kong on November 21. We were there – and here’s what they played, and in what order. You were warned.
- It’s So Easy
- Mr Brownstone
- Chinese Democracy
- Welcome to the Jungle
- Double Talkin’ Jive
- Better
- Estranged
- Live and Let Die (Wings cover)
- Slither (Velvet Revolver cover)
- Rocket Queen
- You Could Be Mine
- Shadow of Your Love
- Attitude (Misfits cover)
- Civil War
- Coma
- Love Theme from The Godfather (movie cover)
- Sweet Child O’ Mine
- Wichita Lineman (Jimmy Webb cover)
- Wish You Were Here (instrumental Pink Floyd cover)
- November Rain
- Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden cover)
- Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door (Bob Dylan cover)
- Nightrain
Encore:
- Patience
- Don’t Cry
- The Seeker (The Who cover)
- Paradise City
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
