Nadhim Zahawi has been appointed as UK Education Secretary, reward for his work as vaccines minister.
The 54-year-old, born in Baghdad, Iraq's capital, was last November given responsibility for the UK’s coronavirus vaccination campaign.
He replaces Gavin Williamson, who was sacked after criticism of his handling of school closures, exams and university admissions during the pandemic.
Among other changes in Prime Minister Boris Johnson's reshuffle, Liz Truss replaced Dominic Raab as Foreign Secretary.
Also a business minister, Mr Zahawi was a public face of the government’s vaccination plans.
Born into an Iraqi-Kurd family, Mr Zahawi and his relatives fled Saddam Hussein’s regime for the UK when he was 9. He was educated at a private school in south-west London before studying chemical engineering at University College London.
In the 1990s, Mr Zahawi worked as an aide to former Conservative politician Jeffrey Archer, supporting the latter’s campaign to help Kurds oppressed by the Saddam regime.
In August 2014, Mr Zahawi went to Iraq to visit refugee camps for those affected by the rapid advance of ISIS in the northern half of the country.
“The worst day of my life was in 1991, when we met the Kurdish refugees who had fled Saddam Hussein's attacks, and this was equal to that,” he told the Independent in 2014.
“I met a Yazidi man who was slightly younger than I am with his two children. I instinctively said, 'Where is your wife?' He said, 'I had to leave my wife behind because she was giving birth the moment ISIL entered the village. She said, 'Take the two children and save their lives. Don't worry. I'll do what I've got to do.'
“Tears started rolling down his cheeks, I didn't know what say to him. It's impossible to try to comprehend that level of pain for any family.”
He also helped to organise a 2015 visit to Iraqi Kurdistan by then mayor of London Mr Johnson.
Mr Zahawi was among those caught up by former president Donald Trump's decision to stop travellers from several Middle Eastern countries from entering the US.
Despite holding British citizenship, Mr Zahawi was barred because he was born in Iraq.
A supporter of Brexit, he is also a successful businessman and is believed to be one of the wealthiest members of the House of Commons.
In 2000, he co-founded YouGov, a market research firm that now has operations in Europe, North America, the Middle East and Asia-Pacific.
He stepped down as chief executive in 2010 upon his election as MP for Stratford-on-Avon and has previously served as a junior education minister.
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Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
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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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