A police officer stands next to a burnt scooter outside the office of Jordan's military attaché in Paris on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. Thibault Camus / The Associated Press
A police officer stands next to a burnt scooter outside the office of Jordan's military attaché in Paris on Wednesday, October 4, 2017. Thibault Camus / The Associated Press

Scooter fire in western Paris triggers Jordan explosion scare



A scooter was set on fire in front of the Jordanian military attache's office in western Paris on Wednesday, police sources said, after Jordan's foreign ministry had earlier issued a statement saying a motorbike had exploded.

According to the Paris police department the fire spread to a diplomatic vehicle early in the morning, but there was nothing that "corresponded to an explosion".

An embassy official said the incident did not appear to intentionally target Jordan.

"A motorbike exploded in front of the building where the military attache's office is. The police are investigating," an embassy official said. "It doesn't seem to be an intentional act that targets Jordan."

Jordan's foreign ministry spokesman was quoted by the Jordanian state-run Petra news agency earlier saying that a motorbike exploded in front of Jordan's military mission, but that no staff were injured in the explosion.

The Jordanian ambassador in Paris was "reassured about the safety of the workers" in the military mission, said the report.

The Paris police department said an investigation had been opened, but there was nothing to suggest the incident was related to terrorism.

COMPANY PROFILE
Name: ARDH Collective
Based: Dubai
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Sector: Sustainability
Total funding: Self funded
Number of employees: 4
How will Gen Alpha invest?

Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.

“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.

Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.

He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.

Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”

TEST SQUADS

Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.

Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.

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UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

Jigra
Director: Vasan Bala
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Rated: 3.5/5

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