On Saturday, Yemeni forces backed by the Saudi-led Arab coalition seized control of the airport in Hodeidah. The operation to take one of the Houthi rebels' strongholds marks a major milepost in the offensive launched last week to liberate Hodeidah from the Houthi rebels. For four days, about 25,000 Yemeni fighters loyal to the government, led and supported by the Saudi-led coalition, have swept through the Red Sea port city.
The push for the airport was executed in such a way as to minimise damage to the infrastructure – preserving the buildings and runways was an explicit goal of the coalition – and it appears largely to have succeeded in that endeavour as the task of liberating Yemen moves a step closer. Hodeidah – known as the "mouth of Yemen" – is the gateway for aid, food imports and other crucial supplies into Yemen. In the hands of the Houthis – who used it to smuggle arms into the country and imposed illegal taxes on commercial ships to finance their rule – it was used as a weapon of torture for Yemen's desperate citizens as they were held to ransom over basic necessities. The end of their reign of terror just edged closer. Aid supplies from the UAE are already on their way to Hodeidah from the Emirates Red Crescent via air and sea. Ten ships carrying 13,500 tonnes of food will soon alleviate the suffering of Yemenis while flights have been packed with more than 10,000 food parcels. The humanitarian relief must be sustained as part of a long-term strategy to lift Yemenis from starvation and poverty. There is much work to be done; this is an important step in restoring their dignity and ending hardships inflicted by a three-year siege by an illegitimate force.
UN special envoy Martin Griffiths, meanwhile, landed in Sanaa to persuade the Iran-backed Houthis to relinquish any vestiges of their grip on Hodeidah. The rebels are not expected to give up their stranglehold easily. They have met any previous attempts at diplomacy with aggression and calls for peace with missiles. As Dr Anwar Gargash, the UAE’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, tweeted, liberating Hodeidah “means that the Houthis will no longer be able to impose their will at the barrel of a gun”. The post-liberation challenge in Hodeidah will be to revitalise a port city that was once a centre of maritime commerce.
Defeating the Houthis is only the beginning of the end. But as anticipated by the Arab coalition, there is already movement in the right direction. If a conflict that appeared interminable a week ago is inching, however slowly, in the direction of a resolution, it is because of an intervention that aims, eventually, to restore Yemen’s legitimate government to its seat of power in Sanaa.
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Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
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If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
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Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
Our legal columnist
Name: Yousef Al Bahar
Advocate at Al Bahar & Associate Advocates and Legal Consultants, established in 1994
Education: Mr Al Bahar was born in 1979 and graduated in 2008 from the Judicial Institute. He took after his father, who was one of the first Emirati lawyers
