1 Iraq claims Mosul victory (Straits Times) The loss
of its two largest cities will not spell a final defeat for the Islamic State
in Iraq and Syria - also known as ISIS and Daesh - according to analysts and US
and Middle Eastern officials.
The group has already shifted back to its roots as
an insurgent force, but one that now has an international reach and an ideology
that continues to motivate attackers around the world. Iraqi Prime Minister
Haider al-Abadi has claimed victory over ISIS in Mosul after nearly nine months
of fighting. A coalition force is also fighting to drive ISIS out of its Syrian
stronghold of Raqqa.
"These are obviously major blows to ISIS
because its state-building project is over, there is no more caliphate, and
that will diminish support and recruits," said senior fellow Hassan Hassan
at the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy in Washington who has
co-authored a book on the terror group.
"But ISIS today is an international
organisation. Its leadership and its ability to grow back are still
there." ISIS has overshadowed its militant precursors like Al-Qaeda by not
just holding territory, but also running cities and their hinterlands for an
extended period, winning the group credibility in the militant world and
allowing it to build a complex organisation.
So even while its physical hold slips, its surviving
cadres - middle managers, weapons technicians, propagandists and other
operatives - will invest that experience in the group's future operations. And
even though its hold on crucial urban centres is being shaken, ISIS is in no
way homeless yet. In Iraq, the group still controls Tal Afar, Hawija, other
towns and much of Anbar province.
2 Rental bargains in Dubai (Manoj Nair in Gulf News)
If their current landlords are not negotiating, Dubai’s tenants are better off
scouting around among the new homes being delivered in the city for the right
deals.
Market sources confirm that while most landlords
with older properties seem unwilling to drop rents, those with new properties are
more willing to give in to market and tenant sentiments. Many of them would
have existing mortgage or instalment pay-offs to consider, and they would
rather have a confirmed tenant signed up now than leave the property vacant for
weeks or months.
The second-half of the year should see the great
tenant churn — where they ditch their current premises and move to new
locations — pick up further. It is then up to the tenants to search for — and
negotiate — terms that are more favourable to them.
“Many existing tenants have taken this opportunity
to renegotiate lease terms”, said John Stevens, Managing Director of Asteco.
“This has resulted in an increased churn of tenants. “As with the sales market,
there has been an increase in the number and range of incentives available,”
the Asteco report says.
“Landlords are increasingly offering enticements
such as furnishings [without increment], rentals inclusive of Dewa bills, or
rent-free periods of up to two months.” Those rent-free periods can be a big
help with residents keen to keep the cost of shifting as low as possible.
3 When one job doesn’t pay the bills (Angelique Arde
in Johannesburg Times) Self-employment may be on the decline, but more employed
people are setting up sideline businesses to supplement their income, the
latest Old Mutual Savings & Investment Monitor shows.
The monitor is a survey of urbanworking South
Africans, examining their levels of savings and investment as well as their
attitudes to finances. This year's monitor shows that self-employment has
decreased from 12% to 8%.
Priya Naicker, advice manager for Old Mutual
Personal Finance, said this was largely due to limited support for
entrepreneurs and uncertainty in a tough economic environment.
But "while those who run their own businesses
are in the minority, this doesn't mean to say that there's no appetite for
it", said Lynette Nicholson, research manager at Old Mutual. "On the
contrary, 27% of those who are not self-employed - in other words, people with
jobs - say they think about starting their own business all the time or a lot
of the time."
Respondents to the survey said the main barrier to
starting their own business was lack of funding, followed by lack of
confidence, and uncertainty about the type of business they would like to own.
Fear of losing a steady income was holding 14% back.
An additional survey among city dwellers found that
37% have a sideline business or job. Old Mutual calls them "slashers"
- referring to the "slash" between their job titles. For example,
beautician/baker. This was a global phenomenon, Nicholson said. But in South
Africa, it seems to be a trend among people in the middle- to upper-income
bands.
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