• Hundreds of people dance to music played through wireless headsets at the Secret Sunrise dance and yoga session in Johannesburg, South Africa. Kim Lubdbrook / EPA
    Hundreds of people dance to music played through wireless headsets at the Secret Sunrise dance and yoga session in Johannesburg, South Africa. Kim Lubdbrook / EPA
  • Smoke bombs explode near a South Korean army K-2 tank during a live-fire drill in Yangpyeong, South Korea. Lim Hun-jung / Yonhap via AP
    Smoke bombs explode near a South Korean army K-2 tank during a live-fire drill in Yangpyeong, South Korea. Lim Hun-jung / Yonhap via AP
  • Protesters clash with police during a demonstration against the building of a mine in Artvin, north-eastern Turkey. Yasin Akgul / AFP Photo
    Protesters clash with police during a demonstration against the building of a mine in Artvin, north-eastern Turkey. Yasin Akgul / AFP Photo
  • Australian dog trainer and former surfing champion Chris de Aboitiz rides a wave with his dogs Millie, top, and Rama off Sydney’s Palm Beach. Jason Reed / Reuters
    Australian dog trainer and former surfing champion Chris de Aboitiz rides a wave with his dogs Millie, top, and Rama off Sydney’s Palm Beach. Jason Reed / Reuters
  • South Korea’s Black Eagles aerobatics team perform at the Singapore Air Show. Edgar Su / Reuters
    South Korea’s Black Eagles aerobatics team perform at the Singapore Air Show. Edgar Su / Reuters
  • A 6-month old female giant panda cub plays with a soft-toy panda at the Giant Panda Conservation Center at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Joshua Paul / AP Photo
    A 6-month old female giant panda cub plays with a soft-toy panda at the Giant Panda Conservation Center at the National Zoo in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Joshua Paul / AP Photo
  • Flamingos in Divjaka-Karavasta lagoon National Park in Albania. Armando Babani / EPA
    Flamingos in Divjaka-Karavasta lagoon National Park in Albania. Armando Babani / EPA
  • An Algerian football fan waves a Palestinian flag as he shows his support during a friendly match between the Palestinian and Algerian Olympic football teams at the du 5 Juillet 1962 stadium in Algiers. Ramzi Boudina / Ruters
    An Algerian football fan waves a Palestinian flag as he shows his support during a friendly match between the Palestinian and Algerian Olympic football teams at the du 5 Juillet 1962 stadium in Algiers. Ramzi Boudina / Ruters
  • Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill visits Russia’s Bellingshausen scientific station on the Island of Waterloo in the Antarctic. Igor Palkin / Moscow Patriarchate / AFP Photo
    Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill visits Russia’s Bellingshausen scientific station on the Island of Waterloo in the Antarctic. Igor Palkin / Moscow Patriarchate / AFP Photo
  • Luis Suarez lies on the ground after a failed shot on goal during Barcelona’s match against Sporting Gijón. Miguel Riopa / AFP Photo
    Luis Suarez lies on the ground after a failed shot on goal during Barcelona’s match against Sporting Gijón. Miguel Riopa / AFP Photo
  • Family members and relatives mourn outside a morgue in Ankara a day after a car bombing targeted military vehicles killed 28. Adem Altan / AFP Photo
    Family members and relatives mourn outside a morgue in Ankara a day after a car bombing targeted military vehicles killed 28. Adem Altan / AFP Photo
  • A kite vendor named James flies a kite at rush hour while wearing the Ugandan flag in Kampala. Isaac Kasamani / AFP Photo
    A kite vendor named James flies a kite at rush hour while wearing the Ugandan flag in Kampala. Isaac Kasamani / AFP Photo
  • Fourteen-year-old Donald Trump supporters Kaylie Kilpatrick, right, and her friend James Hanna, wearing Trump wigs during a campaign rally in Sumter, South Carolina. Jim Watson / AFP Photo
    Fourteen-year-old Donald Trump supporters Kaylie Kilpatrick, right, and her friend James Hanna, wearing Trump wigs during a campaign rally in Sumter, South Carolina. Jim Watson / AFP Photo

World in focus — best photos for February 18, 2016


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A look at the best photos from around the world.

North Pole stats

Distance covered: 160km

Temperature: -40°C

Weight of equipment: 45kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 0

Terrain: Ice rock

South Pole stats

Distance covered: 130km

Temperature: -50°C

Weight of equipment: 50kg

Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300

Terrain: Flat ice
 

Indoor cricket in a nutshell

Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sept 16-20, Insportz, Dubai

16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership

Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.

Zones

A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full

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.”

Packages which the US Secret Service said contained possible explosive devices were sent to:

  • Former first lady Hillary Clinton
  • Former US president Barack Obama
  • Philanthropist and businessman George Soros
  • Former CIA director John Brennan at CNN's New York bureau
  • Former Attorney General Eric Holder (delivered to former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz)
  • California Congresswoman Maxine Waters (two devices)
FFP EXPLAINED

What is Financial Fair Play?
Introduced in 2011 by Uefa, European football’s governing body, it demands that clubs live within their means. Chiefly, spend within their income and not make substantial losses.

What the rules dictate? 
The second phase of its implementation limits losses to €30 million (Dh136m) over three seasons. Extra expenditure is permitted for investment in sustainable areas (youth academies, stadium development, etc). Money provided by owners is not viewed as income. Revenue from “related parties” to those owners is assessed by Uefa's “financial control body” to be sure it is a fair value, or in line with market prices.

What are the penalties? 
There are a number of punishments, including fines, a loss of prize money or having to reduce squad size for European competition – as happened to PSG in 2014. There is even the threat of a competition ban, which could in theory lead to PSG’s suspension from the Uefa Champions League.

While you're here
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