Secretary-General of Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said the summit will focus on the Palestinian issue. Mario Crus / EPA
Secretary-General of Arab League Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said the summit will focus on the Palestinian issue. Mario Crus / EPA

Leaders of the Arab world descend on Saudi Arabia ahead of summit



The leaders of the Arab world will arrive in Saudi Arabia this week ahead of the 29th Arab League summit to be held in Dammam, where the Palestinian cause is likely to take centre stage.

The agenda will be set out in the preparatory meeting on Thursday in Riyadh, where the foreign ministers of the 22 countries are expected to meet.

Syria’s membership, however, has been suspended since November 2011 as a result of the civil war.

A diplomatic spat between Qatar and four other Arab nations, including Saudi Arabia, has cast doubt over whether the Qatar leadership will attend the annual meeting.

Mahmoud Afifi, the official spokesperson of secretary general of the Arab League, said an invitation was sent to Doha to attend the meeting. It is still unclear whether Qatar will attend.

Turkey and Iran’s influence in the Arab world is likely to feature prominently in the agenda as both countries have been accused of meddling in intra-Arab affairs.

Mr Afifi said attendees of the ‘Dammam Summit’ will also address concerns in Syria, Libya and the unrest in Yemen.

“This meeting will come amid troubling times in the Arab World,” he said.

The heads of several international organizations and non-profits are also expected to attend. The secretary-general of the UN, Antonio Guterres is scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Thursday.

Mr Afifi said a Houthi missile attacks on Saudi Arabia will also be discussed during the preparatory meetings held in Riyadh.

Economic integration and the establishment of transnational institutions will also be discussed.

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Read more: 

Arab League: US aid cut for UN Palestinian agency puts region at risk

New Houthi missile attack against Saudi Arabia is shot down

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The Arab Summit has been a mainstay for regional politics, but the 29th annual summit marks the first time Dammam hosts the meeting.

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit, the head of the Arab League said last week that his organisation wants the International Criminal Court in The Hague to investigate the recent deaths of 18 Palestinians during protests near Gaza's border with Israel.

Mr Aboul-Gheit also said the Arab League supports Mr Guterres' call for an independent investigation of the killings by Israeli forces.

Last Friday, thousands of Palestinians marched near the border fence between Israel and Gaza. Israel warns that those approaching the border are endangering their lives.

Mr Aboul-Gheit says Palestinians are demanding their rights "and they will not be forgotten or diminished."

He said he hoped the killings would stop because the demonstrations will continue at least until May 15, the 70th anniversary of Israel's creation.

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Name: Kumulus Water
 
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Electoral College Victory

Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate. 

 

Popular Vote Tally

The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.

States of Passion by Nihad Sirees,
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

Results

2.30pm: Dubai Creek Tower – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Marmara Xm, Gary Sanchez (jockey), Abdelkhir Adam (trainer)

3pm: Al Yasmeen – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: AS Hajez, Jesus Rosales, Khalifa Al Neyadi

3.30pm: Al Ferdous – Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 1,700m; Winner: Soukainah, Sebastien Martino, Jean-Claude Pecout

4pm: The Crown Prince Of Sharjah – Prestige (PA) Dh200,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: AF Thayer, Ray Dawson, Ernst Oertel

4.30pm: Sheikh Ahmed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Cup – Handicap (TB) Dh200,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: George Villiers, Antonio Fresu, Bhupat Seemar

5pm: Palma Spring – Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 (D) 2,000m; Winner: Es Abu Mousa, Antonio Fresu, Abubakar Daud

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McLaren GT specs

Engine: 4-litre twin-turbo V8

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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

Famous left-handers

- Marie Curie

- Jimi Hendrix

- Leonardo Di Vinci

- David Bowie

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- Barack Obama

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Top tips to avoid cyber fraud

Microsoft’s ‘hacker-in-chief’ David Weston, creator of the tech company’s Windows Red Team, advises simple steps to help people avoid falling victim to cyber fraud:

1. Always get the latest operating system on your smartphone or desktop, as it will have the latest innovations. An outdated OS can erode away all investments made in securing your device or system.

2. After installing the latest OS version, keep it patched; this means repairing system vulnerabilities which are discovered after the infrastructure components are released in the market. The vast majority of attacks are based on out of date components – there are missing patches.

3. Multi-factor authentication is required. Move away from passwords as fast as possible, particularly for anything financial. Cybercriminals are targeting money through compromising the users’ identity – his username and password. So, get on the next level of security using fingertips or facial recognition.

4. Move your personal as well as professional data to the cloud, which has advanced threat detection mechanisms and analytics to spot any attempt. Even if you are hit by some ransomware, the chances of restoring the stolen data are higher because everything is backed up.

5. Make the right hardware selection and always refresh it. We are in a time where a number of security improvement processes are reliant on new processors and chip sets that come with embedded security features. Buy a new personal computer with a trusted computing module that has fingerprint or biometric cameras as additional measures of protection.

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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.”

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Creator: Mike White

Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell

Rating: 4.5/5

Long Shot

Director: Jonathan Levine

Starring: Charlize Theron, Seth Rogan

Four stars

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Padmaavat

Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali

Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh

3.5/5