Chengdu, the capital of the south-western province of Sichuan, was sealed on September 1 after Covid cases were detected. EPA
Chengdu, the capital of the south-western province of Sichuan, was sealed on September 1 after Covid cases were detected. EPA
Chengdu, the capital of the south-western province of Sichuan, was sealed on September 1 after Covid cases were detected. EPA
Chengdu, the capital of the south-western province of Sichuan, was sealed on September 1 after Covid cases were detected. EPA

China extends Covid lockdown in Chengdu city


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China extended a lockdown in most of Chengdu on Thursday, to stem infections among the megacity's 21 million residents.

The capital of the south-western province of Sichuan, which has recently battled heatwaves, power cuts and an earthquake, was sealed on September 1 after cases were detected.

It was the largest Chinese city to be hit with curbs since Shanghai earlier in the year.

While the lockdown was expected to be lifted on Wednesday, officials said late in the day the virus still posed a risk in some areas.

Of the city's 21.2 million residents, 16 million are under lockdown.

Chengdu has mostly been reporting fewer than 200 new infections a day, Reuters reported, citing authorities.

On Thursday, 116 new local infections were reported, more than half of which showed no symptoms, AFP reported, citing figures from the provincial health commission.

Residents of areas under lockdown will be tested every day and those who test positive will be quarantined. Those in areas deemed high-risk are not allowed out of their homes.

Some residents were unable to flee when a strong earthquake in a nearby part of Sichuan reverberated through the city earlier this week.

Businesses in Chengdu have been forced to close, with Swedish carmaker Volvo last week suspending production at a plant in the city that employs about 3,000 people.

China reported 1,334 new domestic infections on Thursday, the majority of which were asymptomatic, the National Health Commission said.

  • Rescuers carry survivors across a makeshift bridge after an earthquake shook China's south-western province of Sichuan on Monday. AP
    Rescuers carry survivors across a makeshift bridge after an earthquake shook China's south-western province of Sichuan on Monday. AP
  • A building destroyed by the quake in Sichuan province's Luding county. EPA
    A building destroyed by the quake in Sichuan province's Luding county. EPA
  • The quake triggered landslides on the road heading into Luding county. AP
    The quake triggered landslides on the road heading into Luding county. AP
  • The quake hit about 43 kilometres south-east of the city of Kangding, in Sichuan province, at a depth of 10km. AP
    The quake hit about 43 kilometres south-east of the city of Kangding, in Sichuan province, at a depth of 10km. AP
  • Children sit at playground in the city of Yaan, after being moved outside as a precaution. Xinhua News Agency/AP
    Children sit at playground in the city of Yaan, after being moved outside as a precaution. Xinhua News Agency/AP
  • Relief supplies are distributed to residents in Moxi, a town in Luding county, after the quake. AP
    Relief supplies are distributed to residents in Moxi, a town in Luding county, after the quake. AP
  • Medical workers move patients to safety at Renmin Hospital, in Yaan city, after the quake struck. Xinhua News Agency/AP
    Medical workers move patients to safety at Renmin Hospital, in Yaan city, after the quake struck. Xinhua News Agency/AP
  • The earthquake was Sichuan's biggest since August 2017, when a magnitude 7.0 quake hit Aba prefecture. AP
    The earthquake was Sichuan's biggest since August 2017, when a magnitude 7.0 quake hit Aba prefecture. AP
  • Survivors are helped across a river by rescuers after the quake. AP
    Survivors are helped across a river by rescuers after the quake. AP
  • Rescuers and locals remove boulders from the road in Luding county after the quake triggered landslides. EPA
    Rescuers and locals remove boulders from the road in Luding county after the quake triggered landslides. EPA
  • Rescuers move people to safety in Luding county on Tuesday. EPA
    Rescuers move people to safety in Luding county on Tuesday. EPA
  • Rescuers head into Luding county after the earthquake. EPA
    Rescuers head into Luding county after the earthquake. EPA
  • Rescuers move people by boat in Luding county, the epicentre of the quake. EPA
    Rescuers move people by boat in Luding county, the epicentre of the quake. EPA

Earthquake toll

Meanwhile, the death toll from the earthquake that struck south-west China rose to 82, state media reported on Thursday.

The magnitude 6.6 quake had hit about 43 kilometres south-east of the city of Kangding in Sichuan province at a depth of 10 kilometres on Monday.

State broadcaster CCTV said that 46 people died in Ganzi prefecture near the epicentre, while 36 deaths were reported in neighbouring Ya'an city.

More than 270 were injured, while the number of missing remained at 35, CCTV reported.

The national weather service said moderate rain would continue in the affected earthquake area on Thursday and Friday, with some localised heavy showers.

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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The specs: 2019 Audi Q8
Price, base: Dh315,000
Engine: 3.0-litre turbocharged V6
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 340hp @ 3,500rpm
Torque: 500Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
 

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The story of Edge

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.

It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.

Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.

Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab

 

UJDA CHAMAN

Produced: Panorama Studios International

Directed: Abhishek Pathak

Cast: Sunny Singh, Maanvi Gagroo, Grusha Kapoor, Saurabh Shukla

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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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Name: Yousef Al Bahar

Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994

Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers

Key findings of Jenkins report
  • Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
  • Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
  • Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
  • Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
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Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
Updated: September 08, 2022, 7:46 AM