RAMALLAH, WEST BANK // With less than two weeks before Kadima, Israel's ruling party, chooses a new leader, Palestinians should be paying as close attention as Israelis.
But although Palestinian lives are to a very large degree shaped by Israeli government policies, few people here seem much engrossed by the vote on Sept 17 that will likely determine the identity of the next Israeli prime minister.
"Israeli politics dictates our everyday lives," said Peter Nasser, 31, a Ramallah restaurateur. "It's important what goes on in Israel because it has implications for us. But we've realised that whoever is in power, it's all the same strategy. So our interest has dwindled."
It is an apathy borne of despondency rather than disinterest. Palestinians might have been keen on Ehud Barak winning the premiership in 1999 because they thought an agreement could be easier struck with him than Benjamin Netanyahu, who was the Likud prime minister then. But times have changed.
"In the post-Arafat, post-Sharon world, there is a lack of leadership on both sides," said Mahdi Abdul Hadi, a Palestinian analyst, referring to former leaders Yasser Arafat, now dead, and Ariel Sharon, in a coma since 2004.
"Those who are running for political posts in Israel are not leaders, they are political animals fighting for their personal agendas. There is nothing to distinguish between them."
On the face of it, this may seem a broad strokes analysis, with the differences between the various personalities in Israeli politics so often commented on. Tzipi Livni, the Israeli foreign minister and favourite to replace Ehud Olmert, the prime minister, as leader of Kadima, also heads the current negotiations with the Palestinians to which she appears committed.
These are negotiations that her immediate competitor within Kadima, Shaul Mofaz, the transport minister and a former army chief of staff, is less involved in and less obviously committed to. They are negotiations toward which her likely future foe, Mr Netanyahu, the right-wing leader of the Israeli opposition, is distinctly cool to.
Ms Livni maintains a strong lead over Mr Mofaz, with 40 per cent of Kadima members saying they will vote for her and only 20 per cent for Mr Mofaz. Such a lead would be enough for her to win the party leadership contest outright in the first round on Sept 17. But if she wins the primaries and fails to form a new coalition government, new elections are expected in Israel some time next spring, a year ahead of schedule.
Nevertheless, Palestinian observers expect little change on the ground or with respect to negotiations.
"Livni may try to continue the present dialogue with the Palestinian Authority, as opposed to Mofaz or Netanyahu," said George Giacaman, a Palestinian analyst. "There is a difference, but it is minimal.
"The problem is that the various Israeli parties have short-term interests in mind, local and not strategic ? Unless there is an external push and if left to their own, Israeli political parties will not advance the political process. No Israeli leader will be able to put forward a proposal that is acceptable to the Palestinian side and hence no agreement will be forthcoming."
Another problem is that the negotiations that started in Annapolis, Maryland, in November do not seem to have curtailed a unilateral Israeli strategy that was strongly pursued by Mr Sharon and championed by Mr Olmert.
That unilateral strategy has seen Israel withdraw its troops and remove settlers from the Gaza Strip and pursue the building of a separation barrier in and around the West Bank. The route of this barrier, which dips in and out of occupied territory to include Israeli settlements and all of East Jerusalem, is increasingly openly being considered a de facto border, with Israeli officials now publicly worrying only about settlements to the east of that barrier.
As such, settlement building to the west of the barrier has continued apace, in spite of Palestinian protestations, international condemnation and, indeed, the negotiations.
"People have come to realise that Israel is taking the West Bank, inch by inch," Mr Abdul Hadi said. "Israel intends to end the thesis of a two-state solution. It makes no difference who leads the country."
It may also explain why talk of negotiations or Israeli politics elicits such strong cynicism among Palestinians.
"Ehu-tzipi-yahu," said Ehab Abu Tareq, 36, an electrician, contracting the names of Mr Olmert, Ms Livni and Mr Netanyahu. "They are all one person. There is no difference [between them] and none of them is any good for us or peace."
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Voiss turns words to speech
The device has a screen reader or software that monitors what happens on the screen
The screen reader sends the text to the speech synthesiser
This converts to audio whatever it receives from screen reader, so the person can hear what is happening on the screen
A VOISS computer costs between $200 and $250 depending on memory card capacity that ranges from 32GB to 128GB
The speech synthesisers VOISS develops are free
Subsequent computer versions will include improvements such as wireless keyboards
Arabic voice in affordable talking computer to be added next year to English, Portuguese, and Spanish synthesiser
Partnerships planned during Expo 2020 Dubai to add more languages
At least 2.2 billion people globally have a vision impairment or blindness
More than 90 per cent live in developing countries
The Long-term aim of VOISS to reach the technology to people in poor countries with workshops that teach them to build their own device
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.”
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
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
