DUBAI // The father of an eight-year-old boy found dead in Dubai has told a court about his family’s search for his son.
Obaida Al Aqrabawi went missing from his Sharjah home two days before his body was found dumped by a motorway in Dubai on May 22. He had been strangled and there were signs of sexual assault.
The child’s father, Ibrahim, told judges on Monday that a week before the incident the defendant, a 48-year-old Jordanian, asked him if he could take Obaida with his own nephews and nieces to the beach.
“I refused because I didn’t know him that well,” said Mr Al Aqrabawi, also a Jordanian.
He said that on the day his son went missing, he saw Obaida in the defendant’s car holding a smartphone and watching a cartoon, so he asked him to get out.
Mr Al Aqrabawi saw Obaida in the car again about 5pm and asked him to go home.
Hours later, when the father returned about 9pm, his wife told him their son had not come home.
“We started looking everywhere and we went to his [the defendant’s] apartment. He refused to open the door so I threatened to call the police. Then he opened up,” said Mr Al Aqrabawi.
“We searched the apartment and there was a strange woman who he said was his girlfriend.”
Mr Al Aqrabawi said the suspect denied taking Obaida but then invited him for coffee, and said he could help to look for Obaida afterwards.
“We refused and headed out. All I want is Al Qasas,” he told judges, referring to the death penalty.
A Dubai Municipality worker, who discovered Obaida’s body, and the boy’s uncle also testified in court on Monday.
“About 15 feet away from where I was standing I saw the child on his back under a tree,” the worker said. “He looked as if he was sleeping.”
The defence lawyer, who had been appointed by the court, formally asked to be excused from the case.
The court decided to reschedule the hearing to next Monday to appoint another lawyer and to hear the testimonies of four other witnesses.
The defendant is charged with kidnapping a child, rape and premeditated murder, threats and physical abuse, drinking alcohol without a licence and driving under the influence of alcohol.
He has previously admitted to rape and murder but denied kidnapping the boy.
salamir@thenational.ae
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Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance: the specs
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Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
England World Cup squad
Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wkt), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, James Vince, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
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Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Where to stay: Courtyard by Marriott Titusville Kennedy Space Centre has unparalleled views of the Indian River. Alligators can be spotted from hotel room balconies, as can several rocket launch sites. The hotel also boasts cool space-themed decor.
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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.”
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.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
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Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
