Officials in Britain and Europe have all but given up hope of a special summit this month to agree the terms of the country’s departure from the bloc in March next year.
Briefing the EU’s Foreign Ministers on Monday morning, Michel Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator, said talks remain “intense” adding that “an agreement has not been reached yet”. One British official told reporters on Monday that the possibility of a summit was receding. “There’s no breakthrough at the moment,” the official said.
Sterling dropped to an 11-day low of $1.285, a decline of almost one per cent on the day, as uncertainty rose over the ability of the two sides to complete the deal.
“Some key issues remain under discussion, in particular a solution to avoid a hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland,” he added.
Ireland's Foreign Minister Simon Coveney also attested to the significance of the current stage of negotiations, describing them as being at "a very critical and sensitive stage".
"The withdrawal agreement must include a legally operable backstop for avoiding a hard border that must be in place unless and until another solution is found," he added.
Gernot Blümel, Austria’s minister for the EU, emphasised the unity of the EU member states regarding negotiations."In these final stages of the negotiations, ministers showed again today that we are determined to keep the unity of the EU 27. We have reconfirmed our trust in the negotiator. And we support his efforts to continue working towards a deal,” he said.
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Mr Barnier’s comments come as disarray sweeps all sides of divide in British politics. Theresa May’s government is scrambling to shore up support for any parliamentary vote on the final brexit deal.
Last week saw the resignation of her transport minister Jo Johnson, who called for a second public vote on the issue – more than 50 of her MPs have publicly said they would vote against the so called Chequers arrangement.
Pouring further scorn on the Prime Minister's negotiation efforts, Mr Johnson told a British newspaper on Monday "We are being presented with a ridiculous choice: ‘my way or the highway’ vassalage with the Prime Minister’s deal, or the chaos of ‘no deal’.”
Mrs May’s Northern Irish allies, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) have also said they would vote against any deal that would see an invisible border in the Irish sea.
Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown also added to the increasing pressure on Mrs May, he told an audience in London that he believed there would be a second referendum.
Disenchantment with the looming deal in Northern Ireland goes beyond just the DUP, with a cross party delegation of Northern Irish political leaders arriving in London on Monday to demonstrate united front against any sort of hard border between Northern Ireland and the Republic, and rally against the DUP’s positions in Brexit negotiations.
The border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which will remain in the European Union is essentially invisible under the present circumstances, and critics of Brexit say it’s re-imposition could put the Northern Irish peace agreement in jeopardy.
Michelle O'Neil, vice president of Sinn Fein, said a majority of elected politicians from the region were against Brexit and the DUP were intentionally misrepresenting local views.
“They [DUP] do not speak for the majority of the people," she told a press conference held by four leaders of political parties in the province. “We collectively represent majority of people in NI – 50 seats in NI assembly.
“There is no good to come from Brexit, nothing positive in Brexit for people in the north.
“We requested to meet with the PM, she refused to meet the pro-remain parties, it’s about her relationship with the DUP.”
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
Korean Film Festival 2019 line-up
Innocent Witness, June 26 at 7pm
On Your Wedding Day, June 27 at 7pm
The Great Battle, June 27 at 9pm
The Witch: Part 1. The Subversion, June 28 at 4pm
Romang, June 28 at 6pm
Mal Mo E: The Secret Mission, June 28 at 8pm
Underdog, June 29 at 2pm
Nearby Sky, June 29 at 4pm
A Resistance, June 29 at 6pm
The specs
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Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
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As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
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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MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Ukraine 2 (Yaremchuk 06', Yarmolenko 27')
Portugal 1 (Ronaldo 72' pen)
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre, twin-turbocharged V8
Transmission: nine-speed automatic
Power: 630bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh810,000
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
