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Israeli officials have criticised the International Criminal Court over its announcement that it is seeking arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Yoav Gallant.
The court's chief prosecutor Karim Khan said the Israeli officials were part of the action over their conduct during the Gaza war. Arrest warrants have also been sought for Hamas leaders Yahya Sinwar, Ismail Haniyeh and Mohammed Deif, over their roles in the October 7 attack on Israel that led to the latest conflict.
Mr Khan’s announcement piles new pressure on Mr Netanyahu’s government as it battles mounting international criticism over its conduct during the Gaza war and internal political divisions over whether Israel should prioritise eradicating Hamas militarily or securing a deal to release hostages.
The news also paves the way for the much-feared prospect in Israel of an international body finding the country guilty of breaking humanitarian law, which would serve a major blow and further damage its global reputation.
Responding to the announcement, Mr Netanyahu said on Monday that Mr Khan’s intention to obtain a warrant was “absurd” and indicative of a “new anti-Semitism”.
“With what chutzpah do you dare compare the monsters of Hamas to the soldiers of the [Israeli military], the most moral army in the world?” Mr Netanyahu said.
His comments came alongside condemnations of the ICC by Israeli officials across the political spectrum. Opposition leader Yair Lapid said on Monday that the decision was a “disaster” and called on the US Congress to condemn it.
But some of Mr Netanyahu’s critics say he partly responsible for the damage to Israel’s international standing.
Israeli Labour politician Gilad Kariv said that the prime minister “led the state of Israel to a diplomatic tsunami that will be very difficult to recover from, and caused serious harm to national security”.
Former commander of the Israeli military’s law school Robert Neufeld told The National that “stupid statements by [Israel’s] leadership at the beginning of the war have led us to a very problematic place”.
“Once those words are out in the open it’s easy to use them as some sort of proof that you have intent to commit war crimes,” Mr Neufeld added.
In the immediate aftermath of October 7, Mr Gallant promised a “total siege” on Gaza.
“There will be no electricity, no food, no fuel, everything is closed. We are fighting human animals and we are acting accordingly,” he said.
The comments and others made by officials including Mr Netanyahu have been referred to by South Africa in a parallel genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice.
A source at Israel’s Justice Ministry told outlet Ynet that officials were furious at the government.
“It will quickly influence the economic agreements and the arms agreements of Israel,” the source said. “This places the mark of Cain on Israel, much like what happened to apartheid South Africa.”
Other commentators say the manner in which Israel has so far engaged with international bodies has been a mistake.
“To date, Israel's responses to the wave of anti-Semitic and anti-Israel perversions of international law that have swept through the UN, ICJ and ICC have been handled by the diplomatic and legal bureaucracy, and they have adopted a naive and passive approach that emphasises the legal merits of Israel's position and appeals to the imagined integrity of the institutions,” Israeli legal scholar Avi Bell told The National.
“Nearly all Israeli political leaders, by contrast, understand that the proposed criminal charges are the product of bias against the Jewish state and have nothing to do with any plausible interpretation of the law and facts.”
International reaction
Israel’s international allies had mixed reactions to the news, which could present them with a major diplomatic dilemma.
If Israeli officials are found guilty of war crimes, allied countries that are signatories to the ICC would be obliged to arrest them if they entered their territory.
US President Joe Biden said on Monday the decision was “outrageous". “Let me be clear: whatever this prosecutor might imply, there is no equivalence – none – between Israel and Hamas. We will always stand with Israel against threats to its security,” he added.
Italy’s Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani said the court’s decision was “absurd” and “unacceptable”.
Germany said that while it is “clear that international humanitarian law with all its obligations applies,” the move creates a “false impression of equivalence” between Hamas and Israeli leaders.
The UK described the ICC’s actions as “not helpful in relation to reaching a pause in the fighting, getting hostages out or getting humanitarian aid in”.
France came out in support of the ICC after its decision, with the Foreign Ministry saying it “supports the [ICC], its independence and the fight against impunity in all situations”.
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
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Company profile
Name: GiftBag.ae
Based: Dubai
Founded: 2011
Number of employees: 4
Sector: E-commerce
Funding: Self-funded to date
Astroworld
Travis Scott
Grand Hustle/Epic/Cactus Jack
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
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Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
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.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
