Iran's parliamentary elections tomorrow will be a battle between rival ruling hardline factions that have the field to themselves after they crushed the popular reformist movement.
The main contest is between supporters of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and loyalists of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
But there are bewildering divisions within the ranks of Mr Ahmadinejad's conservative rivals. They call themselves Principlists because of their avowed commitment to the principles of Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.
Their most prominent personalities include two ageing ayatollahs, a maverick legislator, and the leading member of a highly influential family often described as the "Kennedys of Iran" after the US's most famous political dynasty.
The main pro-Khamenei faction is the United Principalist Front [UPF], a grouping of old guard forces led by Ayatollah Mohammad Reza Mahdavi-Kani. He is an octogenarian cleric and traditional conservative who heads the Assembly of Experts, a clerical body that selects and advises the supreme leader and that technically has the power to remove him.
The best-known of the UPF's candidates is Ali Larijani, the current speaker of parliament who is running in the holy city of Qom. He was an unsuccessful presidential candidate in 2005 and served as Iran's chief nuclear negotiator until he fell out with Mr Ahmadinejad.
Mr Larijani, 54, is one of five sons of a senior cleric who have been a major force in Iran's political structure for three decades, earning comparisons to the Kennedys. The parliamentary speaker's most influential brother is Sadegh Larijani Amoli, head of Iran's judiciary, and also an opponent of the president.
Another leading UPF candidate is Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, a high-profile deputy and former parliamentary speaker with a doctorate in philosophy. A senior adviser to the supreme leader, his daughter is married to one of Ayatollah Khamenei's sons.
There are many prominent, former Revolutionary Guard officers on the UPF's list of candidates, reflecting the growing influence of the elite military force in Iranian politics.
The other main conservative faction is the Islamic Constancy Front, also known as the Steadfastness Front, a radical grouping built around a vituperative anti-western cleric, Ayatollah Mohammad Taqi Mesbah-Yazdi, aged 78. Nicknamed "Professor Crocodile" by his detractors, the diminutive, white-bearded theologian was once viewed as Mr Ahmadinejad's spiritual mentor.
But he turned against his unruly protégé when the president challenged Ayatollah Khamenei over a cabinet posting last year. He also is vehemently opposed to Mr Ahmadinejad's support for his quixotic chief-of-staff, Esfandiar Rahim Mashaie, who is denigrated by the president's conservative opponents as an anti-clerical "deviant".
Ayatollah Mesbah-Yazdi argues that an Islamic government derives its authority from God, not the people, and has little time for elections.
"Who are the majority of people who vote: a bunch of hooligans who drink vodka and are paid to vote," he was quoted as saying by the daily Aftab-Yazd in 2002. Advancing his fundamentalist views, he once told Friday prayer worshippers: "If someone tells you he has a new interpretation of Islam, sock him in the mouth".
The Constancy Front has many Ahmadinejad followers among its members and is viewed as tacitly supportive of the president, refusing only to identify itself directly with him because of his refusal to ditch Mr Mashaie.
Supporters of Mr Ahmadinejad are represented by several new groups including the Islamic Government Supporters Front, the Young Advisers of the President, the Justice and Compassion Front and the Unity and Justice Front.
They claim support among the poor and rural dwellers, but are said to be badly organised. Their candidates registered mainly as independents in order to pass the strict vetting process by a panel of clerics and jurists controlled by Ayatollah Khamenei.
Senior pro-reform politicians and organisations are shunning the elections. It is the first time since the 1979 Islamic revolution that a significant political wing from within the regime has done so.
The regime will, however, boast there is still democratic plurality: 3,444 vetted candidates representing more than 230 political groups are contesting the elections. Most, however, have just several members with little hope of winning a seat.
For many Iran watchers, the most intriguing candidate is Ali Mottahari, a brother-in-law of the parliamentary speaker, Mr Larijani, and a leader of a breakaway Principlist faction, the Voice of the Nation.
Mr Mottahari is an outspoken parliamentarian and former Tehran University philosophy teacher who has spearheaded attempts to haul Mr Ahmadinejad before parliament to face questioning and possible impeachment.
His father was the late Ayatollah Morteza Mottahari, one of the intellectual leaders of the Islamic revolution.
Mr Mottahari has said he was forced out of the UPF by Mr Haddad Adel and is viewed by many conservatives as too provocative. In 2005 Mr Mottahari accused clerics of creating a schism between religion and the people and said they should stay out of government. Otherwise, he argued, they would become detached from their spiritual duties.
Although strongly conservative on social issues such as the women's dress code - he has criticised Mr Ahmadinejad for laxity on this front - Mr Mottahari has taken progressive positions politically on matters such as freedom of the press.
While loyal to Ayatollah Khamenei, he says the supreme leader should not be above criticism. And he has denounced the year-old house arrest of Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karrubi, the two reformist Green Movement leaders who challenged Mr Ahmadinejad for the presidency in June 2009.
"I don't think Mottahari will ever occupy a leading position because he's too maverick, young and outspoken," said Scott Lucas, an Iran expert at Birmingham University in England. "But if the anti-Ahmadinejad folks score big wins, Mottahari's importance will increase tremendously."
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How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
- The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
- The 190g Maltesers Teasers egg contains 58g of sugar per 100g for the egg and 19.6g of sugar in each of the two Teasers bars that come with it
- The 188g Smarties egg has 113g of sugar per egg and 22.8g in the tube of Smarties it contains
- The Milky Bar white chocolate Egg Hunt Pack contains eight eggs at 7.7g of sugar per egg
- The Cadbury Creme Egg contains 26g of sugar per 40g egg
Day 3, Abu Dhabi Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Just three balls remained in an exhausting day for Sri Lanka’s bowlers when they were afforded some belated cheer. Nuwan Pradeep, unrewarded in 15 overs to that point, let slip a seemingly innocuous delivery down the legside. Babar Azam feathered it behind, and Niroshan Dickwella dived to make a fine catch.
Stat of the day - 2.56 Shan Masood and Sami Aslam are the 16th opening partnership Pakistan have had in Tests in the past five years. That turnover at the top of the order – a new pair every 2.56 Test matches on average – is by far the fastest rate among the leading Test sides. Masood and Aslam put on 114 in their first alliance in Abu Dhabi.
The verdict Even by the normal standards of Test cricket in the UAE, this has been slow going. Pakistan’s run-rate of 2.38 per over is the lowest they have managed in a Test match in this country. With just 14 wickets having fallen in three days so far, it is difficult to see 26 dropping to bring about a result over the next two.
Charlotte Gainsbourg
Rest
(Because Music)
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- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
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- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
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The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
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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.”
Directed by: Craig Gillespie
Starring: Emma Stone, Emma Thompson, Joel Fry
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Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
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Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
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
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
