Humza Yousaf urges UK to press Israel for truce deal with Hamas

Live updates: Follow the latest news on Israel-Gaza

Scotland’s First Minister Humza Yousaf has urged Britain to call for a ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group that controls the Gaza Strip, where his parents in-law are “trapped”.

The leader of the Scottish National Party piled pressure on Foreign Secretary James Cleverly to use positive British-Israeli relations to push for civilians in the densely populated Palestinian territory to be given safe passage out.

Gaza is under an Israeli air, sea and land blockade.

It is feared tens of thousands of civilians in Gaza could die if Israel’s army continues its bombing and launches a ground assault, which it is expected to do.

In a letter to Mr Cleverly on Tuesday, Mr Yousaf appealed to him to intervene in a bid to persuade Israel’s government to open a humanitarian corridor.

“Too many innocent people have already lost their lives as a consequence of these completely unjustifiable and illegitimate attacks by Hamas,” Mr Yousaf wrote.

“However, innocent men, women and children cannot, and should not, pay the price for the actions of a terrorist group.”

He spoke on Monday about how his wife's parents were stuck in Gaza after a visit to her 93-year-old grandmother.

“As a close friend and ally of Israel, I therefore ask the UK government to call on the government of Israel to ensure innocent civilians are protected, and to put in place an immediate ceasefire to allow the safe passage of civilians through the Rafah border,” he said in his letter.

Palestinians leave Al Karama neighbourhood in Gaza City to safer areas after Israeli air strikes. AFP

Israeli air strikes and artillery hit the area near the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Tuesday, Egyptian officials said. It was the third in 24 hours.

Explosions on Monday forced authorities to suspend operations.

The crossing is the only one in Gaza not controlled by the Israeli authorities and the sole exit route for 2.3 million Palestinians living in the strip.

Mr Yousaf also called for essential supplies to be taken into Gaza, after Israel's Defence Minister Yoav Gallant ordered a “complete siege” on the territory, saying Israeli authorities would cut electricity and block the entry of food, water and fuel.

The Scottish National Party leader, born in Glasgow to Pakistani immigrants, said Israel “should open a humanitarian corridor into Gaza to allow supplies, including food, fuel, water and medical supplies, for those civilians who are trapped, helpless and cannot leave.”

Mr Yousaf's wife said she feels like she is “just living in a nightmare” after her parents became trapped.

Nadia El-Nakla told the BBC that her parents, Elizabeth and Maged El-Nakla, “continually” tell her “they feel like they are going to die”.

“There is no electricity from 2pm their time, which was just a few hours ago," she said. "No electricity means no hospital supplies, it means no food. You can’t even preserve the food that you have.

“I don’t know what it means for them in the long-term, I don’t know what’s about to happen to them.

“For me, my number one is my family being safe.”

Hamas’s large-scale attack on Israel, launched in the early hours of Saturday, left more than 1,200 people dead, including about 260 young revellers at the Supernova music festival near the Gaza border.

Israel has responded by striking Hamas targets in Gaza, killing more than 1,000 people.

Mr Yousaf’s call came as Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar urged Israel to show “restraint” in its response to Hamas’s attacks.

“From Ireland’s point of view, we are saying to Israel that yes you have a right to defend yourself, you’re surrounded by enemies who want to end your existence, but any response must be proportionate,” Mr Varadkar told the Irish broadcaster RTE.

He said while there is “a lot of solidarity internationally for Israel at the moment”, there is a risk that this could “fall apart if Israel goes too far in terms of its actions in Gaza".

“There’s a risk then of violence flaring up in the West Bank, in Lebanon and other places so we’re very much calling for restraint,” Mr Varadkar said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the bombardment was “only the beginning” of his military’s response to the terrorist assault.

Antony Blinken, the US Secretary of State, is expected to visit Israel later on Wednesday.

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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

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Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years

If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.

2. E-invoicing in the UAE

Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.

3. More tax audits

Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.

4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime

Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.

5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit

There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.

6. Further transfer pricing enforcement

Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.

7. Limited time periods for audits

Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.

8. Pillar 2 implementation

Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.

9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services

Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.

10. Substance and CbC reporting focus

Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.

Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer

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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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Global Fungi Facts

• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil

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Why seagrass matters

Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality

Scoreline

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Rating: 3.5/5

Humza Yousaf urges UK to press Israel for truce deal with Hamas

Scotland's First Minister says innocent civilians including children should not pay the price for Gaza conflict

Israel-Gaza war latest – in pictures

I Care A Lot

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

Five personal finance podcasts from The National

While you're here:

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Why seagrass matters

Scoreline

Humza Yousaf urges UK to press Israel for truce deal with Hamas

Scotland's First Minister says innocent civilians including children should not pay the price for Gaza conflict

Israel-Gaza war latest – in pictures

I Care A Lot

Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

KLOPP%20AT%20LIVERPOOL

Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026

Five&nbsp;personal&nbsp;finance&nbsp;podcasts&nbsp;from&nbsp;The&nbsp;National

While you're here:

You might also like

Global Fungi Facts

The%20specs

Why seagrass matters

Scoreline

Five personal finance podcasts from The National