The Frankland & Long Newton Prison in County Durham will be the first in Britain to have a separate section for inmates convicted extremist terrorism. APS (UK) / Alamy Stock Photo
The Frankland & Long Newton Prison in County Durham will be the first in Britain to have a separate section for inmates convicted extremist terrorism. APS (UK) / Alamy Stock Photo

Britain’s jailed extremists to be kept apart from other prisoners



LONDON // Some of Britain's most prominent convicted extremist terrorists have been isolated in a separate jail wing for the first time in an attempt to prevent the recruitment and radicalisation of other prisoners.

Frankland Prison in Durham, which holds Michael Adebolajo, killer of the soldier Lee Rigby, and extremist recruiter Anjem Choudary, was reported to have set up a "jail within a jail" in a move that has provoked warnings that the terrorists will be given a special status.

Inmates at the prison include the Yorkshire Ripper Peter Sutcliffe, serving a whole life sentence for the murders of 13 women and attempted murders of seven others.

Newspapers reports tagged the “separation centre” as a "jihadi jail'. The isolated unit’s first inmates includes both Adebolajo and Choudary. Two further units are expected to be opened at Full Sutton prison near York, and Long Lartin in Worcestershire over the coming months as part of the government’s efforts to combat radicalisation within the prison system.

Inmates will be reviewed every three months and returned to general prison population if their threat level has reduced sufficiently.

The separation centres represent a change in the UK’s tactics for combating dangerous offenders, who until now have been dispersed throughout the prison population.

The change in strategy comes after a review last year of Islamist extremism in prisons by Ian Acheson, a former prison governor, suggested that these dangerous extremists “need to be completely incapacitated from being able to proselytise to the rest of the prison population”.

Prisons minister Sam Gyimah said: “ Extremism must be defeated wherever it is found. The most dangerous and subversive offenders are now being separated from those they seek to influence and convert - an absolutely crucial element of our wider strategy to tackle extremism in prisons and ensure the safety of the wider public.”

However, fears remain that these separation centres will grant extremist terror offenders a unique status within the prison system.

“A policy of concentration may inadvertently help to create the kind of hierarchical organisation that the terrorists found it impossible to create outside,” warned Professor Peter Neumann, a counter-terrorism expert at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation and Political Violence, King’s College London.

Despite supporting the new system, Lord Carlile, a former independent reviewer of counter-terrorism legislation, said: "It gives them special status in their own minds and also creates leadership structures which may not be healthy. Yes the unit should be available but it doesn’t mean that every terrorist prisoner should be held in one of those units.”

A survey by the BBC revealed that 109 people have now been convicted of terrorism offences relating to Syria and Iraq since 2014. Of those convicted, more than 85 per cent have never been to Syria or Iraq.

“We need to be acutely aware that if people can’t go to Syria - and we have seen this in some of the cases we have prosecuted - they may plan a sort of an attack here instead or they may do more to radicalise other people here to attack so we need to be very aware of that,” said the director of public prosecutions, Alison Saunders.

In addition to separation centres, more than 4,500 front-line police officers have been given the latest specialist counter-extremism training in order to identity and challenge extremist views. This has been implemented as standard training for all new prison service recruits.

From Zero

Artist: Linkin Park

Label: Warner Records

Number of tracks: 11

Rating: 4/5

Explainer: Tanween Design Programme

Non-profit arts studio Tashkeel launched this annual initiative with the intention of supporting budding designers in the UAE. This year, three talents were chosen from hundreds of applicants to be a part of the sixth creative development programme. These are architect Abdulla Al Mulla, interior designer Lana El Samman and graphic designer Yara Habib.

The trio have been guided by experts from the industry over the course of nine months, as they developed their own products that merge their unique styles with traditional elements of Emirati design. This includes laboratory sessions, experimental and collaborative practice, investigation of new business models and evaluation.

It is led by British contemporary design project specialist Helen Voce and mentor Kevin Badni, and offers participants access to experts from across the world, including the likes of UK designer Gareth Neal and multidisciplinary designer and entrepreneur, Sheikh Salem Al Qassimi.

The final pieces are being revealed in a worldwide limited-edition release on the first day of Downtown Designs at Dubai Design Week 2019. Tashkeel will be at stand E31 at the exhibition.

Lisa Ball-Lechgar, deputy director of Tashkeel, said: “The diversity and calibre of the applicants this year … is reflective of the dynamic change that the UAE art and design industry is witnessing, with young creators resolute in making their bold design ideas a reality.”

Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Rating: 4/5
Most F1 world titles

7 — Michael Schumacher (1994, ’95, 2000, ’01 ’02, ’03, ’04)

7 — Lewis Hamilton (2008, ’14,’15, ’17, ’18, ’19, ’20)

5 — Juan Manuel Fangio (1951, ’54, ’55, ’56, ’57)

4 — Alain Prost (1985, ’86, ’89, ’93)

4 — Sebastian Vettel (2010, ’11, ’12, ’13)

Kanguva
Director: Siva
Stars: Suriya, Bobby Deol, Disha Patani, Yogi Babu, Redin Kingsley
Rating: 2/5
 
Profile of Bitex UAE

Date of launch: November 2018

Founder: Monark Modi

Based: Business Bay, Dubai

Sector: Financial services

Size: Eight employees

Investors: Self-funded to date with $1m of personal savings

Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes

Dunbar
Edward St Aubyn
Hogarth

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.”

Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
 
Started: 2020
 
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
 
Based: Dubai, UAE
 
Sector: Entertainment 
 
Number of staff: 210 
 
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Jewel of the Expo 2020

252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome

13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas

550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome

724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses

Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa

Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site

The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants

Al Wasl means connection in Arabic

World’s largest 360-degree projection surface

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SPECS

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Power: 630hp
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Transmission: 8-speed Tiptronic automatic
Price: From Dh599,000
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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
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UAE rugby in numbers

5 - Year sponsorship deal between Hesco and Jebel Ali Dragons

700 - Dubai Hurricanes had more than 700 playing members last season between their mini and youth, men's and women's teams

Dh600,000 - Dubai Exiles' budget for pitch and court hire next season, for their rugby, netball and cricket teams

Dh1.8m - Dubai Hurricanes' overall budget for next season

Dh2.8m - Dubai Exiles’ overall budget for next season