Live updates: Follow the latest from Israel-Gaza
The Israeli army raided news network Al Jazeera's bureau in the occupied West Bank early on Sunday and ordered its closure for 45 days, the Qatari broadcaster said.
Heavily armed and masked Israeli soldiers forcefully entered Al Jazeera's office in Ramallah and handed a 45-day closure order to bureau chief Walid Al Omari, who read it out live on air. During the raid, soldiers also tore down a poster of Shireen Abu Akleh, an Al Jazeera journalist killed by the army during a raid in the city of Jenin in 2022.
No reason was given for the closure.
In May, Israel's parliament voted to shut down Al Jazeera within the country. The channel's East Jerusalem and Nazareth offices were raided and equipment seized, and it was banned broadcasting from in Israel. The ban is subject to renewal every 45 days.
“Targeting journalists this way always aims to erase the truth and prevent people from hearing the truth,” Mr Al Omari, who was forced out of the office, said in a statement shared by Al Jazeera.
Its Ramallah correspondent Nida Ibrahim said the raid came as “no surprise” after the May vote, but the team “did not expect it to happen today”.
“We’ve heard Israeli officials threatening to close down the bureau. We’ve heard the government discussing this, asking the military ruler in the occupied West Bank to close down and shut down the channel,” Ms Ibrahim told colleagues in Qatar.
Gaza's government media office called the order a “deafening scandal”.
“We call on all media organisations and groups that deal with human rights in the world to condemn this heinous crime … that is a blatant violation of press and media freedom,” it said.
Israeli officials have described the network as an “incitement machine” and accused its employees of terrorism, including participating in Hamas's October 7 attack on Israel that started the war.
Several Al Jazeera journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israeli army, including the son of Gaza bureau chief Wael Al Dahdouh.
Last month, the outlet accused Israel of a “systematic targeting campaign against the network's journalists and their families” after correspondent Ismail Al Goul and cameraman Rami Al Rafi were killed in an air strike.
In 2021, the Israeli army bombed a tower where the network’s offices in Gaza were based.
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- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
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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.”
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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.