Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sought to form a right-wing governing coalition on Thursday after winning the Israeli election despite a strong challenge from a centrist alliance.
The results from Tuesday's vote came despite corruption allegations against Mr Netanyahu, 69, and kept him on course to this year become Israel's longest-serving prime minister.
The allegations are likely to play an important role in coalition negotiations as many analysts expect him to demand pledges from partners to stay in his government if he is indicted.
Mr Netanyahu will rely in part on politicians of the nationalist right, who are opposed to a Palestinian state, to form his government.
His current government is already regarded as the most right-wing in Israel's history, and his next is expected to be similar if not even further to the right.
Mr Netanyahu, in a campaign pledge just three days before polling day, vowed to begin annexing settlements in the occupied West Bank.
Applying sovereignty there on a large scale could effectively end remaining hopes for a two-state solution with the Palestinians.
Mr Netanyahu's pledge was widely seen as an appeal to the far right and it appears to have worked.
He boosted the number of parliamentary seats for his Likud party, while smaller, far-right parties struggled.
The Likud said late on Wednesday that Mr Netanyahu "will form a right-wing government and he is already in advanced negotiations with the national camp partners".
He had only one public event scheduled for Thursday. Israel is expected to land its first spacecraft on the moon and Mr Netanyahu was planning to watch it from the control room.
The election was seen as a referendum on the veteran prime minister, who has built a reputation as guarantor of Israel's security and economic growth, but whose divisive right-wing populism and alleged corruption led to calls for change.
The results reflected his deft political skills, Israel's shift to the right and wide satisfaction with Mr Netanyahu's achievements, but also the fact that many voters are fed up with him.
The centrist Blue and White alliance put together by former military chief Benny Gantz will finish with a similar number of seats to the Likud even though it came together less than two months before the polls.
But Mr Gantz's alliance, which conceded defeat on Wednesday night, could not take enough right-wing votes to unseat Mr Netanyahu.
The results showed that the Likud, together with other right-wing parties allied to the prime minister, would hold about 65 of 120 seats in Parliament.
Final official results are expected to be announced by Friday.
President Reuven Rivlin, who must ask one of the candidates to form a government, has little choice but to pick Mr Netanyahu after consultations with party heads next week.
Intensive coalition negotiations could drag on for days or even weeks.
Mr Netanyahu has been Prime Minister for a total of more than 13 years.
But "King Bibi", as some have called him, now faces the prospect of becoming the first sitting prime minister to be indicted.
The attorney general has announced that he intends to charge Mr Netanyahu with bribery, fraud and breach of trust pending a hearing.
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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Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B
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Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
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