Muhammad Ali soaked in familiar chants along with a rendition of Happy Birthday on Saturday night, as the former boxing champ's coming 70th birthday was celebrated in his Kentucky hometown.
As friends and admirers mingled in the lobby of the Muhammad Ali Center, Ali walked slowly to a second-floor balcony and watched the crowd for around two minutes.
The three-time world heavyweight champion, who is battling Parkinson's disease, leaned against a rail and waved to the crowd. Ali walked on his own but was at times assisted by his wife Lonnie. After the brief appearance, Ali went inside to his party. The guest list numbered 350 for the private event, which doubled as a US$1,000-per-person (Dh3,673) fund-raiser for the Ali Center, the six-year-old cultural and education complex designed to be a legacy to his social activism.
The guest list included Ali's trainer Angelo Dundee, the former heavyweight champion Lennox Lewis and three American hikers who had been jailed in Iran. (Ali, perhaps the most prominent US Muslim, lobbied for their release.) The rocker John Mellencamp headlined the entertainment. Ali turns 70 tomorrow, and the party in his hometown is the first of five planned in the coming months.
"He's glad he's here to turn 70," said Lonnie. "But he wants to be reassured he doesn't look 70."
* AP
Gaza train art gathers steam
Underground train travel to bypass a chaotic traffic system? Welcome to Gaza, one of the world's most crowded places, where a conceptual art installation expresses this tantalising idea. The Palestinian artist Mohamed Abusal erected luminous red metro signs in 50 different, and often unlikely places, across the Gaza strip, the dusty coastal territory measuring 40 square kilometres and home to some 1.6 million people. A map with seven lines connecting different parts of the enclave was designed and printed to accompany the project, which was so carefully conceived that some Gazans were tricked into thinking that a real railway system was under construction. The artist dreams of his metro system being accessible to all, running on sustainable energy supplied by Egypt, immune to Israeli bombardments and blockades, not beholden to the region's political twists and turns, nor with men and women segregated. The photo exhibition of the project is running at the French cultural centre in Gaza City until tomorrow.
* AFP
J Lo and Marc Anthony reunite
Jennifer Lopez and Marc Anthony are together again - at least to promote their new project. The stars, who split up last summer, appeared on stage on Saturday to promote a new music series they are doing together. Q'Viva! The Chosen premières in the US later this month. Anthony reached down to offer his hand and help Lopez climb three stairs to the stage, and later admired her bling. They sat side by side on directors' chairs. They answered only two questions at a news conference. Before leaving, Lopez told a reporter that "we have a great time working together".
* AP
Beyoncé and Jay-Z donate baby gifts to charity
It seems like new parents Beyoncé and Jay-Z have received so many gifts in honour of their daughter, Blue Ivy, that they have decided to donate most of them to charities for young mothers.
The gossip website PerezHilton.com reported that Oprah gave the family a huge trunk of children's books. Close friends P Diddy, Kanye West, Rihanna and Mariah Carey have also sent in "luxurious baby treats".
The Daily Star reported, however, that the couple will be keeping one present: a diamond dummy. "A close friend of theirs in the music industry gave them a diamond-encrusted Cartier dummy [pacifier] - it must have cost $20,000. Blue has officially got her first piece of bling!"
Blue Ivy is the youngest person ever to appear on the Billboard charts, after her father recorded the song Glory, 48 hours after her birth.
Virgin Megastore to feature Nervecell and Mahmoud Kaabour
The Dubai-based metal band Nervecell, who have opened for Guns 'N Roses and Metallica, will be presented with a Plaque of Recognition and Silver Record on Thursday morning at Mall of the Emirates for reaching the status of All Time Best Selling Metal Band and Top 3 Best Selling UAE Artist (International Repertoire). The award ceremony will take place at Virgin Megastore.
Later that same Thursday, at the Virgin Megastore in the Dubai Mall, the filmmaker Mahmoud Kaabour will be present at the DVD launch of his film Teta, Alf Marra (Grandma, a Thousand Times). The movie, about transgenerational family love and the rebirth of Beirut's old music, has been screened to packed audiences at more than 40 festivals worldwide and won six international awards, including the New York Times Critics' Pick. A complimentary poster will be on offer with any purchase of the DVD or soundtrack.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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.”
Champions League Last 16
Red Bull Salzburg (AUT) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Sporting Lisbon (POR) v Manchester City (ENG)
Benfica (POR) v Ajax (NED)
Chelsea (ENG) v Lille (FRA)
Atletico Madrid (ESP) v Manchester United (ENG)
Villarreal (ESP) v Juventus (ITA)
Inter Milan (ITA) v Liverpool (ENG)
Paris Saint-Germain v Real Madrid (ESP)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company profile
Name: Infinite8
Based: Dubai
Launch year: 2017
Number of employees: 90
Sector: Online gaming industry
Funding: $1.2m from a UAE angel investor
Emiratisation at work
Emiratisation was introduced in the UAE more than 10 years ago
It aims to boost the number of citizens in the workforce particularly in the private sector.
Growing the number of Emiratis in the workplace will help the UAE reduce dependence on overseas workers
The Cabinet in December last year, approved a national fund for Emirati jobseekers and guaranteed citizens working in the private sector a comparable pension
President Sheikh Khalifa has described Emiratisation as “a true measure for success”.
During the UAE’s 48th National Day, Sheikh Khalifa named education, entrepreneurship, Emiratisation and space travel among cornerstones of national development
More than 80 per cent of Emiratis work in the federal or local government as per 2017 statistics
The Emiratisation programme includes the creation of 20,000 new jobs for UAE citizens
UAE citizens will be given priority in managerial positions in the government sphere
The purpose is to raise the contribution of UAE nationals in the job market and create a diverse workforce of citizens
'Dark Waters'
Directed by: Todd Haynes
Starring: Mark Ruffalo, Anne Hathaway, William Jackson Harper
Rating: ****
