German diplomat and EU deputy foreign policy chief Helga Schmid has been named as the new head of the world's largest security body.
The Bavarian, who has served as secretary-general of the EU's European External Action Services (EEAS) since 2016, will leave her position this month when her four-year mandate runs out. She will be the first woman to lead the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), based in Vienna.
The OSCE was established during the Cold War to foster relations between the Soviet and the West. Today it monitors elections, reports on human rights and press freedom, and is engaged in the diplomatic resolution of conflicts, including in Nagorno-Karabakh and Belarus.
The international security body, which represents 57 member states, filled an unprecedented leadership vacuum during virtual meetings on Thursday and Friday, after it failed to reappoint four of its top leaders in July.
US ambassador to the OSCE James Gilmore said Ms Schmid, a career diplomat, was "very well-known in Washington".
The Munich-born diplomat, who also speaks fluent English and French, has been working for the EEAS since its inception in 2010.
Perhaps her most impressive feat was as one of the architects of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action – the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers that froze Tehran's nuclear weapons capability in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. Ms Schmid had been working on the accord since the talks between Tehran and the E3 began in 2003, when she was then-German foreign minister Joschka Fischer's chief of staff.
She later led the US team on nuclear talks with Iran from 2011. Ms Schmid was the lead author of the 100-page treaty which was successfully concluded in 2015.
Western diplomats agree that the technically minded Ms Schmid was one of the key players in the negotiations, helping to hammer out the agreement as well its five annexes.
Despite the deal being under threat, after US President Donald Trump pulled out of it in 2018 and with tensions simmering between Iran and the West, Ms Schmid has said that the signatories have "a collective responsibility" to preserve it.
She has also said any resolution to the Syria crisis could only last if achieved through a political process led by Damascus.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has said Ms Schmid would be "a great asset" to the security bloc because of her negotiating nous and her many years as a seasoned diplomat - it was Mr Maas who recommended her to Chancellor Angela Merkel for the OSCE role in September.
Like the leader of her country, Ms Smidt will become the first woman to fill the position and, as she said in an interview with Politico five years ago, "women are the better negotiators".
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League, last-16. first leg
Atletico Madrid v Juventus, midnight (Thursday), BeIN Sports
PREMIER LEAGUE FIXTURES
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Saturday
West Ham United v Tottenham Hotspur (3.30pm)
Burnley v Huddersfield Town (7pm)
Everton v Bournemouth (7pm)
Manchester City v Crystal Palace (7pm)
Southampton v Manchester United (7pm)
Stoke City v Chelsea (7pm)
Swansea City v Watford (7pm)
Leicester City v Liverpool (8.30pm)
Sunday
Brighton and Hove Albion v Newcastle United (7pm)
Monday
Arsenal v West Bromwich Albion (11pm)
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Following fashion
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If you chop and change your portfolio too often, dealing charges will eat up your gains.
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Investors hate admitting mistakes and hold onto bad stocks hoping they will come good.
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If you sell up when the market drops, you have locked yourself out of the recovery.
Timing the market
Even the best investor in the world cannot consistently call market movements.
What is an ETF?
An exchange traded fund is a type of investment fund that can be traded quickly and easily, just like stocks and shares. They come with no upfront costs aside from your brokerage's dealing charges and annual fees, which are far lower than on traditional mutual investment funds. Charges are as low as 0.03 per cent on one of the very cheapest (and most popular), Vanguard S&P 500 ETF, with the maximum around 0.75 per cent.
There is no fund manager deciding which stocks and other assets to invest in, instead they passively track their chosen index, country, region or commodity, regardless of whether it goes up or down.
The first ETF was launched as recently as 1993, but the sector boasted $5.78 billion in assets under management at the end of September as inflows hit record highs, according to the latest figures from ETFGI, a leading independent research and consultancy firm.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five largest providers BlackRock’s iShares, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisers, Deutsche Bank X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
While the best-known track major indices such as MSCI World, the S&P 500 and FTSE 100, you can also invest in specific countries or regions, large, medium or small companies, government bonds, gold, crude oil, cocoa, water, carbon, cattle, corn futures, currency shifts or even a stock market crash.
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Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Gulf Under 19s final
Dubai College A 50-12 Dubai College B