SAN SALVADOR DE JUJUY, Argentina // A fiery encounter saw special guests Costa Rica get back into contention on Thursday night for a place in the Copa America quarter-finals with a 2-0 victory over nine-man Bolivia.
Bolivia's ability to snatch a point from hosts Argentina in their opener had thrown Group A wide open and with Colombia also drawing with the Argentines they had gone top of the group with four points on Wednesday.
But Josue Martinez and Joel Campbell's goals midway through the second half brought the Ticos back into the equation after they had started off with a 1-0 loss to the Colombians.
It could have been an even more clear cut victory but Bolivian keeper Carlos Arias saved a 71st-minute penalty from Allen Guevara.
Campbell, only 18, said he was delighted with the team's overall performance, which he capped with a rasping drive after also being involved in the move which led to Martinez's opener on the rebound.
"We could have had three, four, even five goals," he said.
The fleet-footed Central Americans posed their Andean rivals problems throughout and the Bolivians resorted to some meaty challenges which earned them a string of yellow cards before they finished with nine men after red cards were flashed at Ronald Rivero at Walter Flores in quick succession.
Rivero went for a handball which led to the penalty and Flores followed with a straight red for an over the top challenge.
The Costa Ricans will now hope to snatch a point off the struggling Argentinians in their final game as they bid to get a result that would likely secure a quarter-final berth.
With luck their three points could yet be enough to land them a place as one of the two best third-placed teams at the event.
Bolivia, whose sole title came more than 40 years ago on home soil, must for their part go all out to beat their Colombians in their final game.
With the match played in the northern city of Jujuy, the encounter was almost a home match for the Bolivians - but they had no answer to the Costa Ricans' smart attacking play.
"This goes a long way to making up for losing by a goal to Colombia in the same stadium," insisted Campbell.
Bolivia striker Marcelo Moreno Martins meanwhile urged his teammates to bounce back against Colombia.
"We have to go into that one with our heads held high and we know we can still qualify," Martins insisted.
* Agence France-Presse
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BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
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Match info
UAE v Bolivia, Friday, 6.25pm, Maktoum bin Rashid Stadium, Dubai
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday Spezia v Lazio (6pm), Juventus v Torino (9pm), Inter Milan v Bologna (7.45pm)
Sunday Verona v Cagliari (3.30pm), Parma v Benevento, AS Roma v Sassuolo, Udinese v Atalanta (all 6pm), Crotone v Napoli (9pm), Sampdoria v AC Milan (11.45pm)
Monday Fiorentina v Genoa (11.45pm)
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.
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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The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
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Price: From Dh192,500
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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