Members of Iraq's Kataib Hezbollah militia hold a picture of Iranian general Qassem Suleimani before his funeral procession in Baghdad on January 4, 2020. Reuters
People attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major General Qassem Suleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis, who were killed in an air strike at Baghdad airport. WANA via Reuters
Qassem Suleimani former commander of the Quds Force, one of five branches of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). AP
A picture published by the media office of the Iraqi military's joint operations forces on their official Facebook page shows a destroyed vehicle on fire following a US strike on January 3, 2020 on Baghdad international airport road in which top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed along with eight others, including the deputy head of Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force. Early Friday, a volley of US missiles hit Baghdad's international airport, striking a convoy belonging to the Hashed al-Shaabi, an Iraqi paramilitary force with close ties to Iran. Soleimani was killed in the US strike on the Iraqi capital's airport, according to Hashed, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. AFP
A file handout picture released by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on October 1, 2019, shows Qasem Soleimani, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General and commander of the Quds Force, speaking during an interview with members of the Iranian leader's bureau in Tehran. A US strike killed top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani and the deputy head of Iraq's Hashed al-Shaabi military force at Baghdad's airport early on January 3, 2019, the Hashed announced. AFP
Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and president Hassan Rouhani pray near the coffin of Qassem Suleimani in Tehran. Reuters
Iraqi cleric and Iranian-backed militia leader Moqtada Al Sadr with Qassem Suleimani in Tehran in September 2019. Mr Sadr said Iraqi militias must refrain from military action after Iran attacked US targets in Iraq with missiles on Wednesday in retaliation for Suleimani's killing. EPA
(FILES) This file handout photo released on March 27, 2015 by the official website of the Centre for Preserving and Publishing the Works of Iran's supreme leader, shows the commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, Gen. Qassem Soleimani, attending a religious ceremony in Tehran to commemorate the anniversary of the death of the daughter of Prophet Mohammed. Top Iranian commander Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US strike on Baghdad's international airport on January 3, 2019, Iraq's powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force has said, in a dramatic escalation of tensions between Washington and Tehran. AFP
A funeral procession for General Suleimani in Iran. The general who also fought in the Iran-Iraq War received a multi-city commemoration. Office of the Iranian Supreme Leader via AP
Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani, centre, was killed in an air strike near Baghdad airport raising tensions in the Middle East. AP
A file photo of the commander of Iranian Revolutionary Guard's Quds Force, Major General Qassem Suleimani. AFP
A year after Qassem Suleimani's killing, can the US-Iraq relationship be repaired?
Experts: Joe Biden's incoming administration will focus more on diplomacy to improve ties
The killing of top Iranian general Qassem Suleimani a year ago placed a heavy strain on relations between Iraq and the US.
But as president-elect Joe Biden prepares to take office next month there is room for improvement, experts said.
Suleimani was killed alongside top Iraqi militia leader Abu Mahdi Al Muhandis by a US air strike at Baghdad airport on January 3. This gave renewed impetus to Iranian allies in Iraq, raising the spectre of civil strife in a country torn by years of sectarian conflict
"There is mistrust between both sides, the US feels that Iraqi political leaders are not doing enough to protect its troops and diplomatic missions in the country and accusing some sides of conducting these attacks," Sajad Jiyad, a Baghdad-based fellow with the Century Foundation, told The National.
Washington breached Baghdad’s sovereignty by killing a senior official without permission, Mr Jiyad said. “There is still mistrust between them.”
The US embassy in Baghdad, as well as American troops stationed around the country, have faced dozens of attacks since then, seen as part of an extended response to the killing.
The relationship between the two, and the US presence in the country, is based on an agreement signed in 2008. It called for close defence co-operation to deter threats to Iraqi “sovereignty, security and territorial integrity".
In 2011, Washington withdrew its forces from Iraq, eight years after leading the invasion that toppled dictator Saddam Hussein and set off a bitter sectarian conflict.
Thousands of American soldiers were redeployed to the country from 2014 onwards as part of a coalition battling ISIS.
A year of tensions - in pictures
An exhibition, calling for an end to executions in Iran, in Trafalgar Square on October 10, 2020 in London, England. The exhibition, held by Anglo-Iranian communities in the UK, marked the World Day against the Death Penalty. Getty Images
Qassem Suleimani, Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General and commander of the Quds Force. A US strike killed the top Iranian commander and the deputy head of Iraq's PMU military force at Baghdad's airport early on January 3, 2019. AFP
A destroyed vehicle on fire following a US strike on January 3, 2020 on Baghdad international airport road in which top Iranian commander Qassem Suleimani was killed along with eight others, including the deputy head of Iraq's powerful PMU paramilitary force. AFP
Iranian people attend a funeral procession for Iranian Major-General Qassem Suleimani, head of the elite Quds Force, and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, in Tehran, Iran January 6, 2020. Reuters
Mourners attend a funeral ceremony for Iranian General Qassem Suleimani. The processions mark the first time Iran honoured a single man with a multi-city ceremony. Not even Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who founded the Islamic Republic, received such a processional with his death in 1989. AP
Rockets launched from Iran against the US military base in Ein-al Asad in Iraq, on January 8, 2020, days after the General Qassem Suleimani was killed by a US drone strike in Baghdad. EPA
Ties between Baghdad and Washington were tense, in what became known as post-ISIS Iraq. The question looming was “to which extent was the US going to use Iraq as a battleground for regional politics, in particular with Iran”, said Renad Mansour, senior research fellow and Iraq expert at Chatham House.
In recent years, especially after President Donald Trump assumed office in 2016, Iraq has been vital to Washington’s strategy of containing the expansion and power of the Iranian regime.
The Trump administration’s “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran weakened its economy but did not stop Tehran from pushing its agenda in the region, including supporting its proxies in Yemen and Syria.
"It put Iraq in the line of fire," Mr Mansour told The National.
"Baghdad felt stuck between its powerful neighbour – which it could not alienate – and the US, the most powerful external actor [apart from] Iran,” he said.
“It strained Baghdad-Washington relations."
Shortly after the attack Iraq’s parliament voted for the departure of foreign troops from Iraq, and the US and other coalition troops have been leaving as part of a drawdown.
Looking ahead
With the new administration to take office in January, experts say the US will not increase its engagement with Iraq to the level it once was.
“I believe 2021 will be a different year for US-Iraqi relations, the change of administration in Washington will have a big effect on that,” said Abbas Kadhim, director of the Iraq initiative at the Atlantic Council.
There will be an increase in diplomatic co-operation between the two. Baghdad will receive less demands and threats from Washington, he said.
Political leaders in Baghdad face many challenges and would need to figure a way to sort out the country's internal issues, and to determine what kind of relationship it would have with Washington.
“The government needs to sort out the relations with political and non-state actors, who are using arms and not showing strong co-ordination with the commander in chief, while getting its act together economically, financially, and politically,” Mr Abbas said.
Mr Biden’s administration will clarify what the US wants from Iraq and vice versa.
“There will be a change with Biden, which will be more positive going forward. The potential to improve ties is there but 2020 has been a difficult year,” Mr Jiyad said.
Leaders in Baghdad are "optimistic that relations will improve with Biden with the support he has promised with the economic crisis and reducing tensions with Iran," he said.
Tuan Phan of SimplyFI.org lists five signs you have been mis-sold to:
1. Your pension fund has been placed inside an offshore insurance wrapper with a hefty upfront commission.
2. The money has been transferred into a structured note. These products have high upfront, recurring commission and should never be in a pension account.
3. You have also been sold investment funds with an upfront initial charge of around 5 per cent. ETFs, for example, have no upfront charges.
4. The adviser charges a 1 per cent charge for managing your assets. They are being paid for doing nothing. They have already claimed massive amounts in hidden upfront commission.
5. Total annual management cost for your pension account is 2 per cent or more, including platform, underlying fund and advice charges.
Types of bank fraud
1) Phishing
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
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.”
Usain Bolt's time for the 100m at major championships
2008 Beijing Olympics 9.69 seconds
2009 Berlin World Championships 9.58
2011 Daegu World Championships Disqualified
2012 London Olympics 9.63
2013 Moscow World Championships 9.77
2015 Beijing World Championships 9.79
2016 Rio Olympics 9.81
2017 London World Championships 9.95
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
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Where can I submit a sample?
Volunteers can now submit DNA samples at a number of centres across Abu Dhabi. The programme is open to all ages.
