Men at a mosque maintain distance during a lockdown of Sindh province, in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 April 2020.  Shahzaib Akber/ EPA
Men at a mosque maintain distance during a lockdown of Sindh province, in Karachi, Pakistan, 19 April 2020.  Shahzaib Akber/ EPA

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Coronavirus: should mosques stay open during Ramadan?

Our readers have their say on praying at home versus in the mosque, horses on the street, US protests and a new way of life

Letters to the editor

April 20, 2020

I write to you in reference to Ben Farmer's article Coronavirus: Pakistan lifts bans on mosque prayers for Ramadan (April 19): they should open the mosque but for a limited number of people. Rules to maintain distance must be obeyed and everyone must wear masks. Also, children and old people should not be allowed in the mosque.

Rukhsana Waseem, Dubai 

The virus is highly contagious and it does not pick and choose who it will infect. I absolutely hate that we are restricted from the mosque but this is about our overall health and well-being. We can pray with our families and still enjoy Ramadan activities. It will not be with the community but at least it's something.

Feda Jarad, Abu Dhabi 

We need to get used to the new normal

With reference to Damien McElroy's piece Coronavirus: What is the risk in extending a lockdown indefinitely? (April 18): extending lockdowns indefinitely will have adverse psychological impact on people. Daily wage earners will face desperate times. As lockouts are lifted, we have to understand that life can never go back to the earlier normal, till a vaccine is found, which may take up to 18 months. So our current way of living and working, with some relaxations, may be the new normal.

We may have to wear masks outside our homes, practice social distancing, avoid large groups at work or recreation, etc. Even if bars and restaurants are permitted to re-open, we may have to sit at appropriate distances. Cars, trains and planes, may have to carry fewer passengers. Schools and colleges may continue holding classes online. Offices may have to operate with reduced manpower with many staff members working from home. Getting part-time domestic help may become a problem and we may have to learn to do more ourselves in terms of basic functions like cleaning, cooking, etc. Thus, the world post-lockdown world could be more demanding and we may not return to our earlier way of living – for some more months.

Rajendra Aneja, Dubai 

Horses on the street are a sight for sore eyes – and ears

In reference to a video posted on The National's Facebook page, Dubai Police horses patrol the streets to keep residents safe from Covid-19. I hope they pass by Muhaishnah, my daughter would be thrilled to see the cops riding horses on the streets.

Sayed Aish Sayed, Dubai

Protests, health care workers and a sad state of affairs in the US

Regarding the report Coronavirus latest: Protests erupt in US over stay at home orders (April 20): protests in the US demanding that the Trump administration lift stay at home orders, which they say is against their rights, is incomprehensible. The US has the most number of deaths due to coronavirus and yet people are demanding to be allowed to leave their homes – it's a sad state of affairs that health care workers had to counter protests. It shows the protesting US citizens' narrow understanding of risk.

K Ragavan, Bengaluru, India

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
 
  • Grade 9 = above an A*
  • Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
  • Grade 7 = grade A
  • Grade 6 = just above a grade B
  • Grade 5 = between grades B and C
  • Grade 4 = grade C
  • Grade 3 = between grades D and E
  • Grade 2 = between grades E and F
  • Grade 1 = between grades F and G
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

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.”

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 

The White Lotus: Season three

Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

How to wear a kandura

Dos

  • Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion 
  • Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
  • Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work 
  • Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester

Don’ts 

  • Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal 
  • Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying