Russia launched its largest drone attack yet on Ukraine, targeting Kyiv on Saturday, the day Ukrainians commemorated the 1932-1933 Holodomor famine.
The attack, which began in the early hours, involved 75 drones – 71 of which were shot down by Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described it as “wilful terror”.
It led Ukraine to retaliate and launch a "massive attack" on Russia overnight into Sunday, with the Russian Defence Ministry reporting it had shot down at least 24 drones and two missiles across four regions, including Moscow.
It also said Russian air defences had shot down two Ukrainian S-200 surface-to-air missiles that had been adapted to hit land targets. The missiles were shot down over the Sea of Azov, the ministry said.
Sergei Sobyanin, mayor of the Russian capital, said on his Telegram channel several drones had targeted Moscow, calling it a “massive attack”. Three airports in the Moscow area were forced to impose flight restrictions that were later lifted.
In Tula region, south of the capital, one person was injured when a drone hit an apartment in a residential building.
The overnight strikes were the heaviest in Russia in two months and the first time Moscow has been targeted since the summer.
The attacks followed Russian strikes against Ukraine on Saturday as the nation marked the 90th anniversary of the year-long Soviet-era famine known as the Holodomor, orchestrated by Josef Stalin.
The intensity of the Russian attacks receded early on Sunday, with another nine drones reported to have been shot down by Ukraine’s Air Force.
Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko said five people were injured, including an 11-year-old girl, during the attack on Saturday and the city suffered severe damage.
In a post shared on Telegram, he said a children's nursery was also on fire after being hit drone fragments.
Serhii Popko, head of the Kyiv city administration, said it was "the most massive air attack by drones on Kyiv" in the war so far.
The Ukrainian Energy Ministry said the drone attack cut off power to an overhead line.
“As a result, 77 residential buildings and 120 facilities in the central part of the city lost power,” it said in a statement, adding that work was under way to restore service.
Air force chief Mykola Oleschuk praised the defensive role of “mobile fire” units, which accounted for nearly 40 per cent of the downed drones.
The Ukrainian military destroyed eight of nine attack drones launched overnight by Russia, the air force said on Sunday.
There were no immediate reports of damage or about where the remaining drone had struck.
The overnight attack was launched from the south-east.
In a Telegram post, Mr Zelenskyy condemned the attacks.
“The Russian leadership is proud of the fact that it can kill,” he said.
He drew parallels between the Holodomor and Russia's current invasion.
More than 30 countries and international organisations recognise the famine, during which at least seven million people died, as genocide committed by the Soviet Union. Russia denies this, attributing the famine to drought.
The target of Saturday's drone attack remains unclear, but Ukraine has been warning of potential Russian efforts to destroy its energy system.
“It looks like tonight we heard the overture. The prelude to the winter season,” Serhiy Fursa, a prominent Ukrainian economist, wrote on Facebook.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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.”
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
