Minutes after entering the Iman Zaman mosque in west Kabul, 13-year-old Murtaza was an orphan, his parents among the victims of a suicide bomber who entered the mosque as the congregation were in the middle of Friday prayers.
“I had just stepped outside the mosque when I heard the blast,” he told the The National. “All I remember is seeing the bodies being brought out and hearing gunfire.”
His account of the next 24-hours is at times incoherent. He remembers searching for his mother and father among the bodies lining the bloodied corridors. On Saturday, he helped to bury them in a mass grave but beside each other. At 13, Murtaza is now the head of his household, responsible for his three sisters.
“We are still in our house as of now, but I don’t know who will look after us later,” he said.
Murtaza's plight was tweeted by Khalid Ahmad Noori, a senior producer for the BBC World Service based in Kabul.
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Read more: Afghanistan is the US's new Vietnam
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The attack began at 1.30pm when worshippers were in the middle of prayers. A suicide bomber blew himself up at the door, killing the guards and clearing the way for two gunmen who then waged a four-hour gun battle inside.Several survivors said the gunmen made their way to the women’s side of the mosque and killed female worshipers.
The interior ministry told The National that 24 civilians and four policemen were killed and more than 50 people were injured, but survivors and witnesses say they saw many more casualties - as many as 40.
The attack was claimed by ISIL, a relatively recent arrival in Afghanistan's conflict that has been attempting to establish itself in the region. Its timing and location ensured maximum casualties. it is the fourth time this year that a Shiite place of worship has been targeted in Kabul, following attacks in October and November 2016 and in June this year. Beyond Kabul, 14 people were killed last October in Balkh and more than 50 earlier this month in Herat.
All were claimed by ISIL.
As it loses ground in Iraq and Syria, ISIL is growing stronger roots in Afghanistan with a very distinct anti-Shia terror model. They have also attacked demonstrations by the Hazara community, a predominantly Shia ethnic group in Afghanistan. The timing of Friday's attack is also significant, coming less than a month before the Muharram, a sacred time for Shiites, raising fears of more to come.
The Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission condemned attacks on all holy places as "explicitly contrary to all the provisions of the sacred religion of Islam, international humanitarian law and domestic laws,” and urged the Afghan government to bring the perpetrators to justice. The interior ministry has promised more security at sensitive locations.
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Read more: Afghans bury Kabul mosque attack dead as toll rises to 28
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Meanwhile, political activists such as Abdul Nasir Folad are mobilising condemnation from both Sunnis and Shia. “This Shia-Sunni conflict is not inherent to Afghanistan; this is a foreign fight brought from the outside by the terrorists who call themselves Daesh,” Mr Folad said.
With others, he helped organise a candlelit vigil on Saturday at the site of the attack after the mass funeral. More than 500 people attended, both Shiites and Sunnis from a cross section of Kabul’s society.
“They keep attacking the Shias over and again, in an attempt to divide Afghanistan. The harder they try, the harder we will resist,” Mr Folad said.
In fact, sectarian violence is not entirely new to Afghanistan. The Taliban has also been known to target minority groups. The ethnic conflict between the predominantly Hazara minorities and the mostly Sunni Pashtuns Pashtun majority goes back Abdur Rahman Khan, known as the Iron Amir, who forced Shias on pain of death to convert to Sunni Islam, a policy that culminated in a Hazara uprising in 1891.
More than a century later, there are fresh attempts to stir ethnic tension. Hikmat Yousufzai, a Sunni who attended Saturday’s vigil, sees a political conspiracy in the latest killings. “The weaker we are, the stronger they [the insurgents] feel. We cannot allow them to divide us on ethnic or religious lines. The latest attacks reiterate an urgent need for the government to recognise that the minority population is a vulnerable target of terrorist groups.”
Young Murtaza is also determined. "I am not afraid to go to the mosque,” he said. “As long as Hazrat Ali [first imam of the Shiite faith] is with us, I will never stop going.”
Smart words at Make Smart Cool
Make Smart Cool is not your usual festival. Dubbed “edutainment” by organisers Najahi Events, Make Smart Cool aims to inspire its youthful target audience through a mix of interactive presentation by social media influencers and a concert finale featuring Example with DJ Wire. Here are some of the speakers sharing their inspiration and experiences on the night.
Prince Ea
With his social media videos accumulating more half a billion views, the American motivational speaker is hot on the college circuit in the US, with talks that focus on the many ways to generate passion and motivation when it comes to learning.
Khalid Al Ameri
The Emirati columnist and presenter is much loved by local youth, with writings and presentations about education, entrepreneurship and family balance. His lectures on career and personal development are sought after by the education and business sector.
Ben Ouattara
Born to an Ivorian father and German mother, the Dubai-based fitness instructor and motivational speaker is all about conquering fears and insecurities. His talk focuses on the need to gain emotional and physical fitness when facing life’s challenges. As well managing his film production company, Ouattara is one of the official ambassadors of Dubai Expo2020.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, second leg result:
Ajax 2-3 Tottenham
Tottenham advance on away goals rule after tie ends 3-3 on aggregate
Final: June 1, Madrid
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
Hotel Data Cloud profile
Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
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.”
Cricket World Cup League Two
Oman, UAE, Namibia
Al Amerat, Muscat
Results
Oman beat UAE by five wickets
UAE beat Namibia by eight runs
Fixtures
Wednesday January 8 –Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 – Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 – UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre 4-cylinder petrol
Power: 154bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Transmission: 7-speed automatic with 8-speed sports option
Price: From Dh79,600
On sale: Now
Sanju
Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
Cast: Ranbir Kapoor, Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal, Anushka Sharma, Manish’s Koirala, Dia Mirza, Sonam Kapoor, Jim Sarbh, Boman Irani
Rating: 3.5 stars
The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto
Price: From Dh39,500
Engine: 1.2L inline four-cylinder
Transmission: Four-speed auto
Power: 86hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 122Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.0L / 100km
Day 1 results:
Open Men (bonus points in brackets)
New Zealand 125 (1) beat UAE 111 (3)
India 111 (4) beat Singapore 75 (0)
South Africa 66 (2) beat Sri Lanka 57 (2)
Australia 126 (4) beat Malaysia -16 (0)
Open Women
New Zealand 64 (2) beat South Africa 57 (2)
England 69 (3) beat UAE 63 (1)
Australia 124 (4) beat UAE 23 (0)
New Zealand 74 (2) beat England 55 (2)
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