The more blood is shed in Syria, the less likely it is that a peaceful solution can be reached
It is clear by now that the Arab observers' mission in Syria is stalling, Abdallah Iskandar, the managing editor of the pan-Arab newspaper Al Hayat, wrote in its columns.
Until now, the observers have not achieved any of the targets of their mission, he said.
Meanwhile, the crisis continues growing, the violence against protesters is intensifying and the number of casualties is on the rise.
At the same time, it doesn't seem as if the authorities in Damascus have any interest at all in facilitating the monitors' mission.
And nothing so far indicates that the report that the mission leader handed to the Arab ministerial committee yesterday contains any conclusive information regarding the future of the mission.
In fact, the issue will most likely be lost in the maze of Arab interactions between those who want to push for the internationalisation of the crisis by resorting to the UN Security Council, on one side, and those who believe that the observers' mission still hasn't reached a dead end, on the other hand.
"However, all that doesn't alter the fact that no changes have occurred in the situation since before the Arab delegation arrived in Damascus," said the writer.
"Violence remains the government's priority and the official Syrian stance, for the eleventh month running, still wagers that more oppression will eventually quell the protest movements."
Last week Khalid Mishaal, the Hamas leader and Syria's closest ally, who is supposed to support its position, stated that it is time to resort to a political solution for the continuing crisis. This must be seen as a matter of great significance.
Mr Mishaal is well aware of the internal situation in Syria. If his statement reflected a personal conviction, this means that the crisis has reached a critical phase, which requires the Syrian authorities to reassess their entire strategy in dealing with it.
And if Mr Mishaal was expressing his attitude as the leader of an Islamic Brotherhood organisation, then Syria will have to review all of its internal and regional calculations in the way it deals with the crisis.
"The hollow persistence by the regime in blaming the situation on a conspiracy theory and on armed gangs is no longer a useful approach. This position can lead only to prolonging the plight of the people and the regime alike," the writer added. "It is a declaration of slow suicide rather than a solution."
In the meantime, the more bloodshed there is in the streets, the more unlikely will be the arrival of any hoped-for peaceful solution that could save Syria and give it back its regional standing.
Peace talks are more than just exploratory
Are the Palestinian stuck once again in the negotiations vortex? That was the question asked by Hussam Kanafani, a contributing opinion writer, in the Emirati daily Al Khaleej.
"It is the question on the minds of Palestinians themselves, who observed the recent meeting in Amman between the PLO negotiators and the occupation authorities," he said.
Despite the apparent frustration of the Palestinian negotiators following the first meeting, they seemed adamant on holding additional meetings, both public and secret. This in itself raises another set of questions about the concept and the purpose of secret meetings.
Many questions remain unanswered as confusion sets in, especially following the statement by PA chief negotiator Saeb Erekat, who confirmed that the meetings can't be construed as a return to direct talks and are mostly exploratory.
"This is quite ironic, for if two sides of a conflict sitting together at one table to exchange ideas, documents and plans isn't a direct negotiation meeting, what is?" asked the writer.
Exploratory meetings, by definition, aren't long-lasting. They don't require weeks and don't entail documents, plans and charts - and they certainly don't include the direct interference of the US. This is no exploration; this is clearly a disguised return to negotiations.
Israel's isolation would lead to its dissipation
In contrast to the natural forward movement of history, the state of Israel is building walls to isolate it from its surrounding in a desperate attempt to preserve a so-called "racial purity", commented the Dubai-based newspaper Al Bayan in an editorial entitled The Illusions of Barriers.
"Instead of honouring its peace commitments, Israel constructs tall concrete walls, as if the other side harbours an enemy that must be avoided at any cost."
Israel's policy can't ward off the danger it fears for long, for not seeing an enemy doesn't mean that the enemy doesn't exist.
Surely, Israel's attempts to avoid dissipating into its geographic surroundings will not pay off in the long run. The transformations taking place throughout the world will eventually outweigh the raison d'être of the Jewish state.
"What about the electronic walls that protect the alleged 'purity' of the state against communication with the world? How can a wall hinder the influx of information, news and ideas?" asked the paper.
No amount of wall building will solve Israel's problem. A wall could postpone its fate for some time, but reality, reason and the experiences of peoples prove that history goes forward and nothing can stop its progress.
* Digest compiled by Racha Makarem
rmakarem@thenational.ae
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
Tips for job-seekers
- Do not submit your application through the Easy Apply button on LinkedIn. Employers receive between 600 and 800 replies for each job advert on the platform. If you are the right fit for a job, connect to a relevant person in the company on LinkedIn and send them a direct message.
- Make sure you are an exact fit for the job advertised. If you are an HR manager with five years’ experience in retail and the job requires a similar candidate with five years’ experience in consumer, you should apply. But if you have no experience in HR, do not apply for the job.
David Mackenzie, founder of recruitment agency Mackenzie Jones Middle East
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The Book of Collateral Damage
Sinan Antoon
(Yale University Press)
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Scorebox
Dubai Hurricanes 31 Dubai Sports City Eagles 22
Hurricanes
Tries: Finck, Powell, Jordan, Roderick, Heathcote
Cons: Tredray 2, Powell
Eagles
Tries: O’Driscoll 2, Ives
Cons: Carey 2
Pens: Carey
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
Ruwais timeline
1971 Abu Dhabi National Oil Company established
1980 Ruwais Housing Complex built, located 10 kilometres away from industrial plants
1982 120,000 bpd capacity Ruwais refinery complex officially inaugurated by the founder of the UAE Sheikh Zayed
1984 Second phase of Ruwais Housing Complex built. Today the 7,000-unit complex houses some 24,000 people.
1985 The refinery is expanded with the commissioning of a 27,000 b/d hydro cracker complex
2009 Plans announced to build $1.2 billion fertilizer plant in Ruwais, producing urea
2010 Adnoc awards $10bn contracts for expansion of Ruwais refinery, to double capacity from 415,000 bpd
2014 Ruwais 261-outlet shopping mall opens
2014 Production starts at newly expanded Ruwais refinery, providing jet fuel and diesel and allowing the UAE to be self-sufficient for petrol supplies
2014 Etihad Rail begins transportation of sulphur from Shah and Habshan to Ruwais for export
2017 Aldar Academies to operate Adnoc’s schools including in Ruwais from September. Eight schools operate in total within the housing complex.
2018 Adnoc announces plans to invest $3.1 billion on upgrading its Ruwais refinery
2018 NMC Healthcare selected to manage operations of Ruwais Hospital
2018 Adnoc announces new downstream strategy at event in Abu Dhabi on May 13
Source: The National
ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024
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Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
START-UPS%20IN%20BATCH%204%20OF%20SANABIL%20500'S%20ACCELERATOR%20PROGRAMME
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INFO
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
Boulder shooting victims
• Denny Strong, 20
• Neven Stanisic, 23
• Rikki Olds, 25
• Tralona Bartkowiak, 49
• Suzanne Fountain, 59
• Teri Leiker, 51
• Eric Talley, 51
• Kevin Mahoney, 61
• Lynn Murray, 62
• Jody Waters, 65
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
Company Profile
Company name: Yeepeey
Started: Soft launch in November, 2020
Founders: Sagar Chandiramani, Jatin Sharma and Monish Chandiramani
Based: Dubai
Industry: E-grocery
Initial investment: $150,000
Future plan: Raise $1.5m and enter Saudi Arabia next year