Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
The UN Palestinian refugee agency warned on Friday that dismantling it would undermine the Gaza ceasefire agreement and sabotage the enclave's recovery and political transition.
Philippe Lazzarini, head of UNRWA, spoke to reporters after a closed-door briefing to the UN Security Council to stress that the agency’s disintegration would “immeasurably” worsen the already catastrophic living conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.
“In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority has stated clearly that it does not have the financial resources or capacity to compensate for the loss of UNRWA’s services,” he said.
Mr Lazzarini said his organisation’s ability to directly provide education and health care far exceeds that of any other entity and these services can only be transferred to a “functioning state”.
He criticised a “fierce, global disinformation” campaign against the agency, citing intense diplomatic pressure from Israel.
The UNRWA chief told the Security Council that Israeli officials and their affiliates have been lobbying parliaments and governments in major donor countries. He also pointed to recent billboards and advertisements in cities like New York that accused UNRWA of terrorism.
He said these advertisements were paid for by the Israeli foreign affairs ministry, which had received a funding boost of $150 million – about one sixth of UNRWA’s annual operating budget – for such propaganda.
In less than two weeks, the Israeli laws banning UNRWA’s operations in the occupied Palestinian Territories will take effect.
“Full implementation will be catastrophic,” Mr Lazzarini said.
Nicolas De Riviere, France’s UN envoy, told reporters that UNRWA remains “absolutely indispensable” in Gaza, in the West Bank and beyond.
“It would be quite a contradiction to close UNRWA while implementing the ceasefire agreement. Because, on the one hand you will try to improve the situation in Gaza, to improve the humanitarian situation. On the other hand, since there is no credible Plan B for UNRWA. Gaza would just suffer and the situation will further deteriorate. So I think there is that obvious contradiction. So we will discuss that,” Mr De Riviere said.
In October, Israel passed laws in the Knesset that would prohibit the UN agency’s operations in areas under Israeli control and bar Israeli officials from co-ordinating with UNRWA personnel.
Israel claims that a dozen UNRWA employees colluded with the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
A series of probes, including one led by France's former foreign minister Catherine Colonna, found some “neutrality-related issues” at UNRWA but stressed that Israel had not provided evidence supporting its allegations.
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SPECS
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The First Monday in May
Director: Andrew Rossi
Starring: Anna Wintour, Karl Lagerfeld, John Paul Gaultier, Rihanna
Three stars
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ICC Awards for 2021
MEN
Cricketer of the Year – Shaheen Afridi (Pakistan)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Babar Azam (Pakistan)
Test Cricketer of the Year – Joe Root (England)
WOMEN
Cricketer of the Year – Smriti Mandhana (India)
ODI Cricketer of the Year – Lizelle Lee (South Africa)
T20 Cricketer of the Year – Tammy Beaumont (England)
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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FIXTURES
Saturday, November 3
Japan v New Zealand
Wales v Scotland
England v South Africa
Ireland v Italy
Saturday, November 10
Italy v Georgia
Scotland v Fiji
England v New Zealand
Wales v Australia
Ireland v Argentina
France v South Africa
Saturday, November 17
Italy v Australia
Wales v Tonga
England v Japan
Scotland v South Africa
Ireland v New Zealand
Saturday, November 24
|Italy v New Zealand
Scotland v Argentina
England v Australia
Wales v South Africa
Ireland v United States
France v Fiji
SUZUME
%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Makoto%20Shinkai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStars%3A%20Nanoka%20Hara%2C%20Hokuto%20Matsumura%2C%20Eri%20Fukatsu%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
Directors: Raj & DK
Stars: Varun Dhawan, Samantha Ruth Prabhu, Kashvi Majmundar, Kay Kay Menon
Rating: 4/5
