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US military forces late on Wednesday struck more than a dozen Houthi missiles that had been primed to fire on commercial and US naval shipping in the Red Sea, Central Command said.
The latest strikes on Houthi missiles came only hours after the Iran-backed Yemen group hit an American vessel in the Gulf of Aden.
Centcom said its forces hit 14 missiles that were loaded and ready to be fired from Houthi-controlled areas in Yemen.
“These missiles on launch rails presented an imminent threat to merchant vessels and US Navy ships in the region and could have been fired at any time, prompting US forces to exercise their inherent right and obligation to defend themselves,” Centcom said on X.
It was the fourth such strike this month. Centcom head Gen Michael Erik Kurilla said: “We will continue to take actions to protect the lives of innocent mariners and we will always protect our people.”
Earlier, Centcom said a drone struck an American ship, the MV Genco Picardy, in the Gulf of Aden.
There were no injuries but some damage was reported, Centcom said.
The MV Genco Picardy is a US-owned and operated bulk carrier ship that sails under the Marshall Islands flag.
That Houthi attack followed days of US and UK strikes on military sites used by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen.
There have been at least three days of strikes where the US hit anti-ship missile launchers and a radar station used by Houthis, including a wave of attacks alongside the UK military.
Pentagon press secretary Maj Gen Pat Ryder said the US-led international coalition defending against Houthi attacks in the Red Sea had “degraded” the group’s ability to conduct strikes.
But “we would not be surprised if we saw efforts on their part to continue to try to conduct retaliatory strikes”, he told reporters.
So far, US military action in Yemen has not deterred continuing attacks by the Houthis. American warplanes shot down cruise missiles launched at a warship this week.
“At the end of the day, the Houthis need to ask themselves: How much of their capability do they want degraded and disrupted in light of these illegal reckless and dangerous attacks?” Maj Gen Ryder said.
The group has said it would prevent ships travelling to Israel and its ports as a form of protest against the war on Gaza – but many of its targets have no connection to the country.
The move has disrupted global trade, with at least 15 per cent of maritime shipping passing through the Red Sea, and prompted the Pentagon to form an international coalition to secure the waterway.
The US on Wednesday designated the Houthis as a global terrorist organisation, partially reversing an earlier delisting by President Joe Biden's administration in 2021.
On Thursday, Houthi leader Abdulmalik Al Houthi said the US designation is a move towards "protecting the Zionist regime", adding that the US position against the Houthis "does not intimidate" the group.
Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
French Touch
Carla Bruni
(Verve)
First Person
Richard Flanagan
Chatto & Windus
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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.”
Tips to avoid getting scammed
1) Beware of cheques presented late on Thursday
2) Visit an RTA centre to change registration only after receiving payment
3) Be aware of people asking to test drive the car alone
4) Try not to close the sale at night
5) Don't be rushed into a sale
6) Call 901 if you see any suspicious behaviour
Avatar: Fire and Ash
Director: James Cameron
Starring: Sam Worthington, Sigourney Weaver, Zoe Saldana
Rating: 4.5/5
