Sergei Lavrov, Russia’s impressively single-minded foreign minister, has long been known for not mincing his words. But his speech to the UN General Assembly last week was blunt, even by his standards. Pretty much every action western countries have taken of late he condemned as being hypocritical and self-serving. “The US-led western alliance, while acting as an advocate of democracy, rule of law and human rights,” he said, “is acting from the opposite position, rejecting the democratic principle of the sovereign right of states enshrined in the UN Charter and trying to decide for others what is good and what is bad.”
Some will dismiss Mr Lavrov as simply being a conduit for “His Master’s Voice”. While he may well be a dutiful minister to Vladimir Putin, Mr Lavrov is, however, no stooge but a highly-experienced diplomat who was Russia’s ambassador to the UN for 10 years and has served another decade in his current position. Moreover, it would be unwise to assume the country’s leadership is merely suffering from a fit of pique and that their views do not chime with the vast majority of ordinary Russians.
In fact, Mr Lavrov’s bracing argument reflects a narrative that has serious currency back home in a land where they see Nato encroaching on their borders in states that were either once Soviet satellites or parts of the Russian empire, and where many share the foreign minister’s ire at what he called US claims to “eternal uniqueness”. Many, perhaps most, Russians, observe the same events in, say, Ukraine, as do those in the West, and yet draw entirely different conclusions. Such narratives matter because they are genuine expressions of perceptions of geopolitical realities. They do not disappear just because some think – and assume everyone else will think – that they are wrong-headed.
But this is true of narratives in general, a point that is obscured by claims to impartiality that are policed by the very people making those claims. The New York Times, for instance, is a fine paper, but it does not approach the news as a tabula rasa. It has a definite world view, a narrative and a series of assumptions. “In general, The Times has enforced a strict definition of impartiality,” wrote its public editor, Margaret Sullivan last year.
But if you ask a Qatari, whose capital, Doha, was described as “Club Med for Terrorists” in a recent NYT op-ed, if they feel the paper covers their country impartially and I suspect the response might be rather heated.
Narratives can and are created, and often later disputed. In this, the centennial anniversary of the outbreak of the First World War, there has been much debate about questions including whether Europe sleepwalked to continental conflagration, if German aggression was mainly to blame, or whether – as was still being taught when I was a schoolboy – the efficiency and rigidity of Teutonic railway timetables was such that once troops had been despatched hostilities were inevitable.
Then there are those, most famously the award-winning Australian journalist and broadcaster John Pilger, who maintain that western populations have been “hoodwinked” by government propaganda into accepting entirely false narratives about many of the military adventures of the last century, from the Great War to the invasion of Iraq, during which, he has written, the fall of Basra was reported by BBC News 24 “17 times”.
His ally, the celebrated American academic Noam Chomsky believes that: “If the Nuremberg laws were applied, then every post-war American president would have been hanged” for crimes including invading foreign countries, overthrowing their governments and supporting “near genocide”. That his suggestion is regarded as outlandish, “nutty” by some, he would argue, is the result of the media’s collusion in “manufacturing consent” on behalf of the dominant economic system. In short, a great deal of 20th century history is basically deceits that have been perpetrated by western leaders and then accepted as the truth by the vast majority.
We recognise the importance of narrative when it is acknowledged that the US involvement against ISIL must not end up being seen as one of invasion or the removal of agency from local peoples. And Syria provides another example of how narrative can not only represent a view of the facts but also shape them going forward. In one of the essays in the recently published On the Ground: New directions in Middle East and North African studies, Northwestern University’s Elizabeth Shakman Hurd argues that “when the media, government officials and public figures frame the revolt not as a popular uprising against a secular autocracy, but as an armed sectarian conflict pitting Sunnis against Alawites and their Shiite allies, it hardens lines of religious difference. It brings these lines to the surface, accentuates and aggravates them”.
This is, as she writes, “the regime’s story”. But it is also that of those US actors who are focused on the fate of religious, primarily Christian, minorities instead of the Syrian people as a whole. Concludes Shakman Hurd: “This makes sectarian violence more, rather than less likely”.
So it would be a mistake to dismiss Mr Lavrov’s speech as mere propaganda. And 100 years after a Serbian nationalist’s shooting of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian emperor ignited Europe, Mr Lavrov’s even more recent comments that Nato expansion in the Balkans would be “a provocation” should not be taken lightly, either. Russia’s narrative counts, certainly to itself – and the same applies to other countries. To recognise that is not to agree with the narratives in question. Acknowledging their weight, however, is a necessary step towards stabilising what Mr Lavrov correctly called the coming “polycentric” world order.
Sholto Byrnes is a Doha-based commentator and consultant
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RESULTS
Tottenham 1
Jan Vertonghen 13'
Norwich 1
Josip Drmic 78'
2-3 on penalties
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
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The biog
Born: near Sialkot, Pakistan, 1981
Profession: Driver
Family: wife, son (11), daughter (8)
Favourite drink: chai karak
Favourite place in Dubai: The neighbourhood of Khawaneej. “When I see the old houses over there, near the date palms, I can be reminded of my old times. If I don’t go down I cannot recall my old times.”
TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
'My Son'
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: James McAvoy, Claire Foy, Tom Cullen, Gary Lewis
Rating: 2/5
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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DUBAI%20BLING%3A%20EPISODE%201
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Grubtech
Founders: Mohamed Al Fayed and Mohammed Hammedi
Launched: October 2019
Employees: 50
Financing stage: Seed round (raised $2 million)
Indoor cricket World Cup:
Insportz, Dubai, September 16-23
UAE fixtures:
Men
Saturday, September 16 – 1.45pm, v New Zealand
Sunday, September 17 – 10.30am, v Australia; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Monday, September 18 – 2pm, v England; 7.15pm, v India
Tuesday, September 19 – 12.15pm, v Singapore; 5.30pm, v Sri Lanka
Thursday, September 21 – 2pm v Malaysia
Friday, September 22 – 3.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 3pm, grand final
Women
Saturday, September 16 – 5.15pm, v Australia
Sunday, September 17 – 2pm, v South Africa; 7.15pm, v New Zealand
Monday, September 18 – 5.30pm, v England
Tuesday, September 19 – 10.30am, v New Zealand; 3.45pm, v South Africa
Thursday, September 21 – 12.15pm, v Australia
Friday, September 22 – 1.30pm, semi-final
Saturday, September 23 – 1pm, grand final
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BORDERLANDS
Starring: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Hart, Jamie Lee Curtis
Director: Eli Roth
Rating: 0/5
Masters%20of%20the%20Air
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirectors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cary%20Joji%20Fukunaga%2C%20Dee%20Rees%2C%20Anna%20Boden%2C%20Ryan%20Fleck%2C%20Tim%20Van%20Patten%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Austin%20Butler%2C%20Callum%20Turner%2C%20Anthony%20Boyle%2C%20Barry%20Keoghan%2C%20Sawyer%20Spielberg%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
AndhaDhun
Director: Sriram Raghavan
Producer: Matchbox Pictures, Viacom18
Cast: Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, Radhika Apte, Anil Dhawan
Rating: 3.5/5
ODI FIXTURE SCHEDULE
First ODI, October 22
Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai
Second ODI, October 25
Maharashtra Cricket Association Stadium, Pune
Third ODI, October 29
Venue TBC
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
%3Cp%3ECory%20Sandhagen%20v%20Umar%20Nurmagomedov%0D%3Cbr%3ENick%20Diaz%20v%20Vicente%20Luque%0D%3Cbr%3EMichael%20Chiesa%20v%20Tony%20Ferguson%0D%3Cbr%3EDeiveson%20Figueiredo%20v%20Marlon%20Vera%0D%3Cbr%3EMackenzie%20Dern%20v%20Loopy%20Godinez%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETickets%20for%20the%20August%203%20Fight%20Night%2C%20held%20in%20partnership%20with%20the%20Department%20of%20Culture%20and%20Tourism%20Abu%20Dhabi%2C%20went%20on%20sale%20earlier%20this%20month%2C%20through%20www.etihadarena.ae%20and%20www.ticketmaster.ae.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Padmaavat
Director: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Starring: Ranveer Singh, Deepika Padukone, Shahid Kapoor, Jim Sarbh
3.5/5
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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