Palestinians in the Gaza Strip were bracing for an Israeli attack that one newspaper said could come as early as tomorrow, after militants ignored warnings from the country's leaders and fired a barrage of rockets at the Jewish state.
Egypt boosted security along its border with Gaza, fearing an Israeli attack could precipitate thousands of desperate Gazans to breach the barricade, as they did in January.
The escalating tensions came after Hamas, the Islamist political party that governs the coastal region, rejected renewing a six-month ceasefire last Friday.
Since Wednesday, about 100 rockets and mortars shells have been fired on southern Israel - most of which injured no one. However, two children were killed yesterday when a rocket apparently missed its target and fell on a house in northern Gaza, Agence France Presse said, quoting villagers.
The attacks, the most intense since the two sides agreed a ceasefire in June, have elicited a stream of belligerent warnings from top Israeli officials
"I say to you in a last-minute call, stop it," Ehud Olmert, Israel's outgoing prime minister, said in a rare interview with the Arabic satellite channel, Al Arabiya, on Thursday night. "Don't let Hamas, which is acting against the values of Islam, put you in danger."
Meanwhile, Tzipi Livni, Israel's foreign minister, met Hosni Mubarak, the president of Egypt in Cairo on Thursday. Egypt has spent the last week urging Israel and Hamas to renew the ceasefire. However, Ms Livni was resolute in her determination that Israel had the right to take retaliatory action.
"Enough is enough," Ms Livni said, according to the Associated Press. "When there's shooting, there's a response. Any state would react that way."
Israel's "limited" military strike on Gaza, which will combine air attacks with a ground assault against Hamas militants, is expected to follow meetings of senior Israeli security officials tomorrow, according to Ha'aretz, an Israeli newspaper.
Even as Israel prepared to attack Gaza, the ministry of defence opened two border crossings yesterday to allow lorries carrying food and fuel to enter the area. Israel has isolated the Gaza Strip since June 2007, when militants aligned with Hamas, which refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist, routed Fatah from the region.
Since then, Palestinian politics has been characterised by internecine fighting between the rival political parties, and Israel has blockaded the strip in order to pressure Gazans to reject the more militant Hamas party.
For both the Israelis and the Palestinians, the latest negotiations have been coloured by looming political contests. In polls that are expected to take place on Feb 10, Ms Livni is running for prime minister against Ehud Barak, the Israeli defence minister and head of the Labor party, and Benjamin Netanyahu, the conservative leader of the Likud party. Mr Netanyahu has been trenchant in his calls for a military response to Hamas attacks.
His position has placed substantial pressure on Ms Livni and Mr Barak.
For the divided Palestinians, a leadership decision must come even sooner. Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian National Authority, faces the end of his presidential term on Jan 9. On Thursday, the Palestinian leaders appealed to Hamas to return to power-sharing negotiations with Fatah.
Mr Abbas has threatened to hold early elections if Hamas's intransigence continues. Hamas officials have said they will refuse to recognise Mr Abbas if he clings to power past the end of his term.
mbradley@thenational.ae
Teachers' pay - what you need to know
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
THE%20JERSEYS
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The flights: South African Airways flies from Dubai International Airport with a stop in Johannesburg, with prices starting from around Dh4,000 return. Emirates can get you there with a stop in Lusaka from around Dh4,600 return.
The details: Visas are available for 247 Zambian kwacha or US$20 (Dh73) per person on arrival at Livingstone Airport. Single entry into Victoria Falls for international visitors costs 371 kwacha or $30 (Dh110). Microlight flights are available through Batoka Sky, with 15-minute flights costing 2,265 kwacha (Dh680).
Accommodation: The Royal Livingstone Victoria Falls Hotel by Anantara is an ideal place to stay, within walking distance of the falls and right on the Zambezi River. Rooms here start from 6,635 kwacha (Dh2,398) per night, including breakfast, taxes and Wi-Fi. Water arrivals cost from 587 kwacha (Dh212) per person.
Score
Third Test, Day 2
New Zealand 274
Pakistan 139-3 (61 ov)
Pakistan trail by 135 runs with 7 wickets remaining in the innings
A cheaper choice
Vanuatu: $130,000
Why on earth pick Vanuatu? Easy. The South Pacific country has no income tax, wealth tax, capital gains or inheritance tax. And in 2015, when it was hit by Cyclone Pam, it signed an agreement with the EU that gave it some serious passport power.
Cost: A minimum investment of $130,000 for a family of up to four, plus $25,000 in fees.
Criteria: Applicants must have a minimum net worth of $250,000. The process take six to eight weeks, after which the investor must travel to Vanuatu or Hong Kong to take the oath of allegiance. Citizenship and passport are normally provided on the same day.
Benefits: No tax, no restrictions on dual citizenship, no requirement to visit or reside to retain a passport. Visa-free access to 129 countries.
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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.
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.”