Boris Johnson has announced the UK's roadmap out of lockdown restrictions that end on December 2.
Addressing the House of Commons, the prime minister unveiled a string of relaxed measures that balance the competing interests of kick-starting the country’s battered economy and controlling the virus.
The new measures are likely to include a reprieve for families over Christmas – mirroring moves being considered by European leaders.
Here’s a look at the UK’s new Covid rules:
Christmas 'amnesty'
England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are considering a coronavirus amnesty over Christmas.
Under the proposal, which is expected to be signed off later in the week, three households will reportedly be allowed to gather for Christmas but they will not be allowed to meet with anyone else.
The reprieve will last for five days, from Christmas Eve to December 28.
Travel and overnight stays will be permitted throughout the UK.
Ireland, France, Germany, Italy and Spain are among the European nations considering relaxed restrictions over Christmas.
However, British health authorities said last week that an amnesty was risky, with five days of reduced restrictions potentially leading to 25 days of harsh measures.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon sounded a cautious note on the easing of rules at Christmas.
She said any relaxation would be “slight and careful” with details “still to be finalised”.
Return of tier system
England will return to the tier system after lockdown ends on December 2.
But the alert system will look different from before, with a number of tougher restrictions.
Pubs and restaurants in Tier 3 areas will stay shut except for takeaway food.
In Tier 2 areas, only pubs serving “substantial” meals can open.
Last orders will be called at 10pm but customers have an extra hour to drink up.
Gyms and non-essential shops in all areas will be allowed to reopen under the tier system.
Spectator sport will return in areas under Tier 1 and 2 restrictions in a "limited" capacity.
Quarantine cut
The quarantine period upon arriving in the UK has been slashed in half.
Under a new test-and-release programme, travellers returning from “high risk” countries will be allowed to leave quarantine if they test negative for a test provided by a private firm.
The test would be administered on the fifth day with results returned within 24 to 48 hours.
This means people could leave six days after arrival.
If they test positive, however, travellers have to remain in isolation for the full 14 days.
Mass testing
Mass testing will be introduced in areas with the highest rates of infection.
Areas that are classed as Tier 3 – or “very high” risk – would be eligible to bring in the army to help with mass testing.
The proposal builds on a mass testing programme introduced in Liverpool this month.
The government said mass testing there led to a substantial fall in cases.
Self-isolation scrapped
Close contacts of people who test positive for coronavirus will no longer be required to self-isolate for 14 days.
Mr Johnson, who is in self-isolation after he met an MP who caught the virus, announced that close contacts can take a rapid test each day for seven days.
People have to isolate only if they test positive.
Liverpool is ready to trial the new system.
If successful, this system could be used across the NHS, in care homes and by the whole population from January, Downing Street said.
It said new measures will also focus on care home residents, who are unable to receive visitors indoors because of social distancing rules.
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.”
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
The Bio
Favourite vegetable: “I really like the taste of the beetroot, the potatoes and the eggplant we are producing.”
Holiday destination: “I like Paris very much, it’s a city very close to my heart.”
Book: “Das Kapital, by Karl Marx. I am not a communist, but there are a lot of lessons for the capitalist system, if you let it get out of control, and humanity.”
Musician: “I like very much Fairuz, the Lebanese singer, and the other is Umm Kulthum. Fairuz is for listening to in the morning, Umm Kulthum for the night.”
Specs
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Range: 400km
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Torque: 175Nm
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