A guard tower overlooking the border fence encircling Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, which lies on the Strait of Gibraltar, surrounded by Morocco. AFP
A guard tower overlooking the border fence encircling Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, which lies on the Strait of Gibraltar, surrounded by Morocco. AFP
A guard tower overlooking the border fence encircling Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta, which lies on the Strait of Gibraltar, surrounded by Morocco. AFP
Crossings will be initially limited to residents of Europe's passport-free Schengen area and their family members. They will be expanded to cross-border workers by the end of the month.
The Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla sit on the northern shores of Morocco's Mediterranean coast. Together they form the EU's only land borders with Africa.
Thursday's announcement came as Madrid and Rabat are working to mend relations after a months-long spat, mainly over migrants coming from Morocco.
The two cities have long been a flashpoint in the diplomatic relations between both countries.
Madrid asserts that both territories are integral parts of Spain. The two cities were granted self-government and regarded autonomous in 1995.
Tensions soared in the summer of last year after thousands of migrants crossed into Ceuta from Morocco through land borders and the city’s main maritime entry point in the south. Spain then deployed troops to restore order and sent back a large number of migrants to Morocco.
The European country says it will deal firmly with illegal crossings and crack down on people smuggling gangs.
A man is held by soldiers of the Spanish Army at the border of Morocco and Spain at the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. A record 6,000 migrants entered Ceuta illegally on Monday, 1,500 of whom were minors. AP Photo
A Spanish soldier helps a migrant as troops are deployed along the coast in Ceuta. EPA
Migrants manage to grab onto a boat of the Moroccan authorities near the coast of Fnideq in an attempt to cross over to Ceuta. EPA
A Spanish Civil Guard holds onto a migrant who swam onto the Spanish enclave of Ceuta. AFP
A Spanish soldier stands in front of Moroccan migrants. Reuters
Red Cross members and Spanish soldiers carry a migrant into an ambulance. AFP
Spanish officers try to stop people swimming into Spanish territory at Ceuta. AP Photo
Moroccan migrants climb up a rocky cliffside in the northern town of Fnideq as they attempt to cross the border from Morocco to Ceuta. AFP
Moroccan migrants walk into shallow waters in the northern town of Fnideq. AFP
Two migrants are met by a Spanish civil guard in Ceuta. Reuters
Hundreds of young Moroccans wait to cross the border with Spain. EPA
About 3,000 Moroccan citizens illegally entered Spain's north African enclave of Ceuta. AFP
Spain says it will return anyone from the country who illegally enters its north African enclave by water. AFP
Before the pandemic, Ceuta and Melilla used to attract traders and workers as local economics depend on the cross-border movement of goods. Most of the migrants are said to be from Morocco.
Spain’s decision to open the borders of Ceuta and Melilla with Morocco also comes after signs of a thaw in relations over Western Sarah, a former Spanish colony claimed by Morocco in 1976.
On March 18, the Spanish government announced publicly and for the first time its support to a 2007 initiative taken by Morocco to grant the disputed Western Sarah autonomy.
It described the Moroccan plan as the “serious and credible” effort taken so far to resolve the dispute.
That decision was a reversal of Spain’s longstanding position of neutrality on the region, a sparsely populated desert area situated on the northwest coast of Africa.
Moroccan King Mohammed VI, centre, with Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, second left, Crown Prince Moulay Hassan, second right, Prince Moulay Rachid, the king's brother, right, and Morocco's Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, left, before an Iftar meal at the King Royal residence in Sale, Morocco, in April 7. Royal Palace/AP
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI decided then to send back the Moroccan ambassador to Spain 10 months after she was recalled and hosting Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez in an April visit to Rabat.
Morocco administers around 80 per cent of the 266,000 square kilometres of the sparsely populated desert region with the remainder held by the Algerian supported the self-declared Sahrawi Arab Republic founded by the Polisario Front.
The Polisario waged a guerrilla war against Moroccan troops until a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1991.
Rabat is offering to grant Western Sahara autonomy, while Polisario is demanding a referendum on full independence.
The breakaway state is not recognised by the UN and Morocco’s claim to the region is supported by a number of Arab and African states.
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
MATCH INFO
AC Milan v Inter, Sunday, 6pm (UAE), match live on BeIN Sports
Moral education needed in a 'rapidly changing world'
Moral education lessons for young people is needed in a rapidly changing world, the head of the programme said.
Alanood Al Kaabi, head of programmes at the Education Affairs Office of the Crown Price Court - Abu Dhabi, said: "The Crown Price Court is fully behind this initiative and have already seen the curriculum succeed in empowering young people and providing them with the necessary tools to succeed in building the future of the nation at all levels.
"Moral education touches on every aspect and subject that children engage in.
"It is not just limited to science or maths but it is involved in all subjects and it is helping children to adapt to integral moral practises.
"The moral education programme has been designed to develop children holistically in a world being rapidly transformed by technology and globalisation."
Quarter-finals
Saturday (all times UAE)
England v Australia, 11.15am
New Zealand v Ireland, 2.15pm
Sunday
Wales v France, 11.15am
Japan v South Africa, 2.15pm
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Sole survivors
Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre Power: 150hp Torque: 250Nm Price: From Dh139,000 On sale: Now
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.
The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran.
Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf.
"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said.
Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer.
The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy.
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.”
