• A section of the border wall in El Paso, Texas, US, during a sandstorm, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Reuters
    A section of the border wall in El Paso, Texas, US, during a sandstorm, as seen from Ciudad Juarez, Mexico. Reuters
  • Ariana Lamcellari, 4, holds a sign at a protest against gender violence, in Dublin, Ireland, after the issue was highlighted by the kidnapping and murder of British woman Sarah Everard, in London, England. Reuters
    Ariana Lamcellari, 4, holds a sign at a protest against gender violence, in Dublin, Ireland, after the issue was highlighted by the kidnapping and murder of British woman Sarah Everard, in London, England. Reuters
  • An employee of Christie's auction house in London, England, stands by Magritte's artwork 'Le Mois des Vendanges', which has a value estimate of £10 million to £15m ($14m to $21m). Christie's forthcoming 20th Century Art sale will include works from Picasso and Magritte, among others. AP
    An employee of Christie's auction house in London, England, stands by Magritte's artwork 'Le Mois des Vendanges', which has a value estimate of £10 million to £15m ($14m to $21m). Christie's forthcoming 20th Century Art sale will include works from Picasso and Magritte, among others. AP
  • A fire rages near the rural community of Los Lirios, on the border of northern states Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico. At least 400 people have been evacuated in the area. EPA
    A fire rages near the rural community of Los Lirios, on the border of northern states Coahuila and Nuevo Leon, Mexico. At least 400 people have been evacuated in the area. EPA
  • Protesters test a makeshift sling shot before facing off against police, during a crackdown by security forces on demonstrations against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar. AFP
    Protesters test a makeshift sling shot before facing off against police, during a crackdown by security forces on demonstrations against the military coup, in Yangon, Myanmar. AFP
  • A single spectator sits in an empty stand, due to Covid-19 restrictions, as he watches the third Twenty20 international cricket match between India and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, India. AFP
    A single spectator sits in an empty stand, due to Covid-19 restrictions, as he watches the third Twenty20 international cricket match between India and England at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, India. AFP
  • A giant sand portrait by WaterAid charity and artists Sand In Your Eye of Ansha, 12, from Frat, in Ethiopia, adorns Whitby beach in Whitby, England. Ansha has to walk for hours each day to collect dirty water from a river. Getty
    A giant sand portrait by WaterAid charity and artists Sand In Your Eye of Ansha, 12, from Frat, in Ethiopia, adorns Whitby beach in Whitby, England. Ansha has to walk for hours each day to collect dirty water from a river. Getty
  • Visitors at the Old National Gallery in Berlin, Germany. While museums have been closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, those in Berlin are reopening, as lockdown measures are gradually eased. EPA
    Visitors at the Old National Gallery in Berlin, Germany. While museums have been closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, those in Berlin are reopening, as lockdown measures are gradually eased. EPA
  • An aerial view of the construction site of the central business district of Egypt's new administrative capital, 45 kilometers east of Cairo. Government ministries are due to relocate there. EPA
    An aerial view of the construction site of the central business district of Egypt's new administrative capital, 45 kilometers east of Cairo. Government ministries are due to relocate there. EPA
  • Icelandic horses play in their paddock at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany. AP
    Icelandic horses play in their paddock at a stud farm in Wehrheim near Frankfurt, Germany. AP
  • A girl wearing a face mask as protection against Covid-19 visits the Aquarium of the Pacific on its first day of reopening to the public, in Long Beach, California, US. AP
    A girl wearing a face mask as protection against Covid-19 visits the Aquarium of the Pacific on its first day of reopening to the public, in Long Beach, California, US. AP
  • Visitors view Gutman's Cave, that has been illuminated in green for St Patrick's Day, in Sigulda, Latvia. Around 670 sites in 66 different countries take part in Tourism Ireland's annual initiative to add a green tint to famous buildings and sites. EPA
    Visitors view Gutman's Cave, that has been illuminated in green for St Patrick's Day, in Sigulda, Latvia. Around 670 sites in 66 different countries take part in Tourism Ireland's annual initiative to add a green tint to famous buildings and sites. EPA
  • Sonia, a migrant from Honduras, walks down a dirt road with her children Jefferson, 9, Scarlet, 7, and David, 6, after they crossed the Rio Grande into the US from Mexico on a raft, in Penitas, Texas. Reuters
    Sonia, a migrant from Honduras, walks down a dirt road with her children Jefferson, 9, Scarlet, 7, and David, 6, after they crossed the Rio Grande into the US from Mexico on a raft, in Penitas, Texas. Reuters
  • People watch a starling murmuration at dusk on the beach at Blackpool, England. Reuters
    People watch a starling murmuration at dusk on the beach at Blackpool, England. Reuters
  • A woman with an umbrella walks on the promenade in the city of Durres, Albania, as a storm brews in the background. AFP
    A woman with an umbrella walks on the promenade in the city of Durres, Albania, as a storm brews in the background. AFP

From a sandstorm in Texas to a lone cricket spectator in India - today's best pictures


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More galleries from The National:

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The specs

Engine: 2.3-litre, turbo four-cylinder

Transmission: 10-speed auto

Power: 300hp

Torque: 420Nm

Price: Dh189,900

On sale: now

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The specs

Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8

Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm

Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm

Transmission: 8-speed auto

Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km

Price: Dh380,000

On sale: now 

What can you do?

Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses

Seek professional advice from a legal expert

You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor

You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline

In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support

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Who's who in Yemen conflict

Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government

Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council

Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south

Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory

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Gulf Under 19s final

Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The story of Edge

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.

It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.

Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.

Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab

 

Iftar programme at the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding

Established in 1998, the Sheikh Mohammed Centre for Cultural Understanding was created with a vision to teach residents about the traditions and customs of the UAE. Its motto is ‘open doors, open minds’. All year-round, visitors can sign up for a traditional Emirati breakfast, lunch or dinner meal, as well as a range of walking tours, including ones to sites such as the Jumeirah Mosque or Al Fahidi Historical Neighbourhood.

Every year during Ramadan, an iftar programme is rolled out. This allows guests to break their fast with the centre’s presenters, visit a nearby mosque and observe their guides while they pray. These events last for about two hours and are open to the public, or can be booked for a private event.

Until the end of Ramadan, the iftar events take place from 7pm until 9pm, from Saturday to Thursday. Advanced booking is required.

For more details, email openminds@cultures.ae or visit www.cultures.ae

 

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.”

Avatar: Fire and Ash

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana

Rating: 4.5/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

1987

1954

1921

1888

The President's Cake

Director: Hasan Hadi

Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem 

Rating: 4/5

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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)

Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits

Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine

Storage: 128/256/512GB

Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4

Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps

Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID

Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight

In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter

Price: From Dh2,099