The London-based Al Quds al Arabi daily an opinion piece by the Chief Editor Abdel-Beri Atwan who said the recent mini Riyadh summit should "clear the Arab air and secure the awaited reconciliation which might eventually entail the success of the regular Arab summit that will be held in Doha at the end of the month."
However, he warned, "the difficult labour that preceded it might give the impression it will, in fact, generate new disputes without being able to resolve the dispute for which it was held : between the axes of the Syrian-Egyptian-Saudi triangle."
The success of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in bringing together the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and the Syrian President Bashar al Assad, will raise the sensitivity of Libya and its leader Muammar al Gaddafi "considering that the Libyan leader previously tried to arrange reconciliation between the Syrian and Egyptian presidents on the sidelines of the consultative summit over the Mediterranean Union."
Finally, "the political agenda of the quartet reconciliation summit was not clear, for no one knew whether it aimed at blockading Iran, at breaking Syria's isolation or at using Syria in light of its strong alliance with Tehran to mediate with it and open channels of communication like the American administration is currently doing."
Morocco's Al Tajdid newspaper carried a lead editorial that said regardless of the details of the recent Moroccan-Iranian crisis over alleged Shiite prosletising, a strict Moroccan position has been taken "regarding the targeting of the country's religious and sectarian identity by foreign sides."
Al Tajdid went on to explain that beyond the "Shiitisation threat," there is "Christianisation, and especially that which is sponsored by the American Evangelical networks. Second, there is the challenge of the pressures aiming at imposing normalisation with homosexuality and at annulling its criminalisation. "As for the third challenge, it is that of normalising relations with Zionism and serving the plans aiming at securing the recognition of the Zionist project and its colonial reality in Palestine under the headline of communicating with the Jews abroad."
The fourth challenge, the paper concluded, is that of the policies targeting the Arab language, "for which some French cultural centers in Morocco have been fully mobilised. Throughout these different challenges, Morocco was subjected to blackmail operations in which the Western Sahara issue and sometimes regional alliances were exploited. In short, one can only value sovereign decisions aiming at barricading sectarian unity against foreign attacks."
Syria's Al Watan daily carried a piece by Wassim al Ahmar who wrote that there is currently a prevailing impression within French diplomatic circles that the United States is walking in the footsteps of France at the level of opening up to Damascus, "using the French approach in this regard."
According to French sources, Al Ahmar wrote, Washington did not oppose the idea of a national unity government in Palestine, "provided it would be able to operate and carry out its tasks without any hindrance. At the level of Palestinian affairs, Damascus assured the American envoys that it supported Palestinian reconciliation, with the continuation of the reform of the Palestine Liberation Organization and with Hamas's participation."
"In this context, French diplomatic circles concerned by the Middle East dossier believed that the American administration was still reviewing its policy in the region," although al Ahmar suggested that the dominant view is that Obama's administration is being encouraged "to adopt a policy that is closer to the European policy in the Middle East. They have already started doing that in dealing with Syria."
"We can no longer tolerate what is happening between the parliament and the government," wrote Fawziyah Salem Al Sabah, a regular columnist for Kuwaiti newspaper Al Rai al Aam. "We no longer understand the developments between the two opposing sides or to which cliff they are leading us after we found ourselves with a government incapable of solving even the simplest of problems and a parliament in which most of the members look only for their personal and electoral interests. We have become a joke in front of the others because of our democracy after we used to pride ourselves on it."
Thus, in the heated battle between the parliament and the government, "the main victim is the country and its people because the only concern for both the government and parliament these days is to search for new weapons to use against each other."
As for the MPs, al Sabah added, if their audience is from the middle class, then they promise them that they will endorse projects to set up more houses, provide healthcare, and increase wages. "If the audience belongs to a religious class, then the candidates play on the lines of sectarianism and preventing mixing between men and women and prohibiting parties."
* Digest compiled by www.mideastwire.com
CONFIRMED%20LINE-UP
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
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
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
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.
Know before you go
- Jebel Akhdar is a two-hour drive from Muscat airport or a six-hour drive from Dubai. It’s impossible to visit by car unless you have a 4x4. Phone ahead to the hotel to arrange a transfer.
- If you’re driving, make sure your insurance covers Oman.
- By air: Budget airlines Air Arabia, Flydubai and SalamAir offer direct routes to Muscat from the UAE.
- Tourists from the Emirates (UAE nationals not included) must apply for an Omani visa online before arrival at evisa.rop.gov.om. The process typically takes several days.
- Flash floods are probable due to the terrain and a lack of drainage. Always check the weather before venturing into any canyons or other remote areas and identify a plan of escape that includes high ground, shelter and parking where your car won’t be overtaken by sudden downpours.
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
The five pillars of Islam
