Bath
This sleeping giant finally woke up last season, impressing en route to third in the league. But it remains to be seen how badly they will be affected by the departure of their captain Steve Borthwick and playmaker Olly Barkley. They have brought in the lock Stuart Hooper from Leeds and centre Shontayne Hape from the rugby league side Bradford Bulls to fill the gap and they should have enough continuity not to fall too far back down the table. The key to their success will be the half-back partnership of South African duo Michael Claassens and Butch James.
Predicted finish: Fourth
Bristol
They pulled off a coup at the end of last season by snatching Adrian Jarvis from Harlequins. One of the form fly-halves in the Premiership, until now he has been overlooked by England. His new employers will be looking to him to add attacking flair to their defensive platform although his cause will not be helped by the injury to scrum-half Shaun Perry, whose shoulder surgery means he will miss the first three months of the season. The club do not look to have the squad to match the bigger names in the league, although they will not be hit by England call-ups as only one of their players, Jason Hobson, made the England elite or Saxons squads.
Predicted finish: Tenth
Gloucester
Gloucester topped the Premiership at the end of the regular season but missed out on a place in the play-off final. There was no denying they had electric backs last season but they lacked experience and, at times, looked lightweight. That ought to be resolved by the arrival Barkley, who made a surprise west-country move from Bath and will line up with his England teammate Mike Tindall at centre. The All Black prop Greg Somerville adds further experience to the pack and they should be challenging at the top of the table.
Predicted finish: Third
Harlequins
In Nick Evans, Quins might well have signed the best fly-half in world rugby right now. There is a school of thought in New Zealand that he is actually better than the first-choice All Blacks No 10 Daniel Carter. Either way, Evans is a more than capable replacement for the Bristol-bound Jarvis, and should help raise Quins to the next level. The boss Dean Richards, who shaped the wonder years at Leicester, is an astute coach, who has built up an impressive squad to push the top sides in the Premiership on a regular basis. The other major new signing, Epi Taione, ought to add some bone-crunching muscle to the team.
Predicted finish: Fifth
Leicester
It shows the high standards that the Tigers set that last season - when they were runners-up in the play-off final - was deemed a disappointment and the coach Marcelo Loffreda was sacked after just one season in charge. They have a world-class replacement in Heyneke Meyer, who was harshly overlooked for the post of South Africa boss and will want to prove a point after moving to England. Meyer's countryman Derick Hougard and the England centre Toby Flood are the two big signings of the summer and the 2007-8 season blip looks set to be a thing of the past. Expect Leicester to be firing on all cylinders.
Predicted finish: First
London Irish
There will be worried faces at the Exiles following the departure of Brian Smith to become England's attack coach. Smith turned the club from conservative battlers to one of the most attacking sides in the Premiership, which was perhaps best shown as they upstaged more established sides in a cracking Heineken Cup run last season. Their main hope is that Smith's mindset will have been instilled in Toby Booth and Mike Catt. Other big exits include the No 8 Juan Leguizamon, who has been snapped up by Stade Francais and is a hard one to replace.
Predicted finish: Ninth
Newcastle
They look favourites for the drop to National League One come the end of the season and are seemingly a club in disarray. Of their big three in the backline, two have quit the club, with Flood moving to Leicester and Mathew Tait heading to Sale. They may have held on to Jonny Wilkinson, but his injury record combined with possible England duty means the club cannot rely on him to keep them in the Premiership. Their pack remains too weak to front up to the bigger packs and it could end up being a long season at Kingston Park.
Predicted finish: 12th
Northampton
A season in National League One seems to have done Saints the world of good. Gone is the belief that they deserve a place at rugby's top table. They have kept some of their star names - the influential fly-half Carlos Spencer is still on their books and ought to provide the required star turns. But their summer spending has been less about big names and more about building a squad to stay up. Neil Best joined from Ulster and the ever-improving Ben Foden moved from Sale.
Predicted finish: Eighth
Sale
One of the tougher sides to predict in the Premiership, Philippe Saint-Andre's side can be world beaters one day and hopeless wannabes the next. In Luke McAlister, they have the calibre of player to build a team around but he cannot do it all on his own and much will be expected of Charlie Hodgson. The arrival of Wales scrum-half Dwayne Peel and the England utility back Tait ought to give Sale one of the most exciting backlines in the game but it remains to be seen whether they can fizz like they have in the past.
Predicted finish: Seventh
Saracens
Despite the multi-millions that Nigel Wray has pumped into the club, they have never quite lived up to their potential. The signs appeared to be different last season where they looked a match for the top sides before slipping to a disappointing eighth with a poor run-in. With coach Eddie Jones, they have the perfect platform to finally live up to their billing. Their pack has been given a powerful boost by the arrival of the lock Steve Borthwick and Welsh back-row forward Michael Owen.
Predicted finish: Sixth
Wasps
The London club have such an appetite for silverware, but the Premiership champions - who beat Leicester in last season's play-off final - will have to do it without Lawrence Dallaglio, who hung up his boots after that success. The club have bagged an equally experienced replacement in the French stalwart Serge Betsen, while their other stand-out signing is Mark Robinson, an impressive New Zealand-born scrum-half who has joined from Northampton. They might start slowly but expect them to get better as the season goes on.
Predicted finish: Second
Worcester
A total of 16 players have left Sixways this summer as Mike Ruddock has done his best to streamline his squad for the coming campaign. The Warriors may well have spent too much of their wage cap on bringing in the Australia full-back Chris Latham from Queensland Reds, however influential a player he might be. The major plus for Worcester is that they always seem to be at their best at Sixways and, should they manage to improve their away form this season, they could survive the relegation battle which looks set to go to the wire at the end of the season. But it will be close.
Predicted finish: 11th
sports@thenational.ae
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Result
Qualifier: Islamabad United beat Karachi Kings by eight wickets
Fixtures
Tuesday, Lahore: Eliminator 1 - Peshawar Zalmi v Quetta Gladiators
Wednesday, Lahore: Eliminator 2 – Karachi Kings v Winner of Eliminator 1
Sunday, Karachi: Final – Islamabad United v Winner of Eliminator 2
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.”
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
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
MATCH INFO
Champions League quarter-final, first leg
Manchester United v Barcelona, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE)
Match on BeIN Sports
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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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
2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
SM Town Live is on Friday, April 6 at Autism Rocks Arena, Dubai. Tickets are Dh375 at www.platinumlist.net
Match statistics
Abu Dhabi Harlequins 36 Bahrain 32
Harlequins
Tries: Penalty 2, Stevenson, Teasdale, Semple
Cons: Stevenson 2
Pens: Stevenson
Bahrain
Tries: Wallace 2, Heath, Evans, Behan
Cons: Radley 2
Pen: Radley
Man of the match: Craig Nutt (Harlequins)
The%20specs
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
