Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said that plans by Russia to hold navy military exercises off the coast of Ireland are “not welcome”.
The artillery drills at the start of February will take place in international waters, but within Ireland's airspace and exclusive economic zone.
Mr Coveney said the exercises are to take place 240 kilometres off the Irish south-west coast.
He is expected to brief the Cabinet on the developments on Tuesday.
In compliance with legal requirements, Russia informed Ireland’s aviation authorities of the planned exercises in advance.
The Irish Aviation Authority insisted there would be no effect on the safety of civil aircraft operations.
Mr Coveney said Ireland did not have the power to stop the military exercises.
“I have made it clear to the Russian ambassador in Ireland that it’s not welcome," he said before a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels.
“This is not a time to increase military activity and tension in the context of what is happening with and in Ukraine at the moment.
“It’s important that I brief my colleagues on those intentions.
“Russia, under international law, can take military exercises in international waters, but the fact they are choosing to do it on the west borders of the EU, off the Irish coast, is something that is in our view not welcome and not wanted right now, particularly in the coming weeks.”
Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar later echoed Mr Coveney’s comments and said the Cabinet would discuss the issue on Tuesday.
“In relation to the situation with regard to Russia, I’ve been briefed on that by Minister Coveney,” Mr Varadkar said.
“While the Russian military can, within the law, carry out these exercises off our waters and in our economic zone, they’re certainly unwelcome. That has been communicated to the authorities.”
Mr Coveney said the meeting in Brussels would discuss the tension on the Russian-Ukrainian border.
“This is an important day today for EU foreign ministers to reinforce a message of unity from the European Union in relation to Russian-Ukrainian tension,” he said.
“There are two very clear messages that EU foreign ministers will want to get across today.
“First of all, a clear message and ask of Russia to defuse tension in the context of their activities on the borders of Ukraine, and give reassurance to the rest of the world in terms of their intentions.
“Second, a strong message of unity from the EU that should Russia decide to invade Ukraine militarily, that there would be very severe consequences from an EU perspective in terms of sanctions and restrictions that would follow very quickly, that I think would be the most comprehensive that the EU has put together in many decades.
“A message and appeal to use diplomatic means to defuse tension, but also a very strong and clear and unified message that the EU respond collectively and in a unified manner in a way that would introduce very significant measures in response to Russian military action in Ukraine.”
But the Russian ambassador to Ireland, Yury Filatov, said Moscow's plans to hold the navy exercises off the coast of Ireland were a “non-story”.
At the Russian embassy on Monday, Mr Filatov played down the significance of the exercises after the concerns were raised by the Irish government.
“It has been hugely overblown," he said. "These exercises are part of the yearly plan of naval activity for 2022."
Mr Filatov said the exercises were not a threat to Ireland or anyone.
“No harm is intended and no problem is expected," he said. "All that has been communicated to our colleagues at the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland."
Mr Filatov said the real story “lies elsewhere”.
“It looks like the topic of exercises fits in the ongoing propaganda campaign waged by the US and its Nato allies to create an illusion of a Russian threat to Ukraine," he said.
“I think we all witness a daily drumbeat emanating primarily from Washington and London, other Nato capitals, about imminent invasion of Ukraine by Russia.
“I will say once again, it is a fake."
Dhadak 2
Director: Shazia Iqbal
Starring: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri
Rating: 1/5
MWTC info
Tickets to the MWTC range from Dh100 and can be purchased from www.ticketmaster.ae or by calling 800 86 823 from within the UAE or 971 4 366 2289 from outside the country and all Virgin Megastores. Fans looking to attend all three days of the MWTC can avail of a special 20 percent discount on ticket prices.
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%3Cp%3EDirector%3A%20Khalid%20Fahad%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EStarring%3A%20Shaima%20Al%20Tayeb%2C%20Wafa%20Muhamad%2C%20Hamss%20Bandar%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ERating%3A%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
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.”
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Usain Bolt's time for the 100m at major championships
2008 Beijing Olympics 9.69 seconds
2009 Berlin World Championships 9.58
2011 Daegu World Championships Disqualified
2012 London Olympics 9.63
2013 Moscow World Championships 9.77
2015 Beijing World Championships 9.79
2016 Rio Olympics 9.81
2017 London World Championships 9.95
What went into the film
25 visual effects (VFX) studios
2,150 VFX shots in a film with 2,500 shots
1,000 VFX artists
3,000 technicians
10 Concept artists, 25 3D designers
New sound technology, named 4D SRL
