DUBAI // Dozens of skydivers leapt from an aircraft circling high over Dubai yesterday to help thousands of people affected by the humanitarian crisis in Yemen.
The group of mostly nervous first-timers, in tandem with instructors, took part in the UN World Food Programme (WFP) backed Jump for Yemen initiative that helped to raise Dh63,000 - enough to feed 28,000 people for a day.
"I am so excited to do this," said Reva Kassis, 23, a Lebanese expatriate who was experiencing skydiving for the first time. "It is my lifetime dream. I'll do it for a good cause," she said as she waited to board the aircraft dressed in a T-shirt that read: "I jumped for Yemen!"
Ms Kassis was among 70 people and WFP officials who signed up for the 13,000-feet jump over Skydive Dubai in Dubai Marina.
The first group of five took off at about 11am and were quickly out of the aircraft as it flew over the Palm Jumeirah before their instructors opened the parachutes, landing smoothly on the grassy dropzone. From boarding the plane to landing, the entire experience lasted about 20 minutes.
Each tandem jump was sold for Dh900, about half the usual price, by Skydive Dubai on the deals website Groupon UAE on February 4.
"The idea was to raise enough funds to feed 28,000 people a day," said Elise Bijon, WFP spokeswoman, who also skydived.
"Seventy people was the limit set by Skydive Dubai. The jumps were sold out in a day. Many were disappointed they couldn't participate. We hope we can do this again."
According to the WFP, more than 10 million people, or almost half of Yemen's population, is either hungry or "on the edge" of hunger.
The agency said child malnutrition rates were among the highest in the world with more than two million youngsters under five affected. Another one million children are already acutely malnourished.
Delicia Murugan, 24, said she had been inspired to skydive because it helped such a good cause.
"I signed up for a combination of reasons. I really wanted to do this, plus it is for charity, which is a big bonus," said the South African.
Another first-time jumper said she snapped up the offer as soon as it was announced. "It was a good deal for a good cause," said Vaishali Shah, 24.
The jumps were stopped for about an hour in the afternoon because visibility dropped below 3,000 metres. They resumed at about 3pm with the remaining 20 people parachuting safely to the ground.
Alan Gayton, general manager at Skydive Dubai, said they would consider organising similar initiatives for charity.
In its 2013 Yemen Humanitarian Response Plan, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, said its funding requirements had significantly risen by 22 per cent with the country urgently needing around US$716million (Dh2.6billion) in aid.
Yemen is one of the poorest countries in the world with nearly half of its 24 million people living in poverty. About 7 million do not have the money for three meals a day, according to Oxfam.
pkannan@thenational.ae
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Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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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.
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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.”
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
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More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
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Second ODI
England 322-7 (50 ovs)
India 236 (50 ovs)
England win by 86 runs
Next match: Tuesday, July 17, Headingley
