The Arab coalition said on Thursday that weapons sent to Houthi rebels in Yemen are smuggled from Lebanon’s southern suburb of Beirut — a stronghold of the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group.
“The smuggling of the weapons did not start in Iran. It started in the suburbs of Beirut and goes all the way to Syria, it goes to Iran and through the sea it comes to … Yemen,” Col Al Malki told CNN.
“We are talking about Al Hodeidah port, it became the main point for smuggling missiles and other [weapons].
“The American navy, the Australian navy and the French have seized shipments on international waters … headed to the Houthi rebels.”
Col Al Malki reiterated that Iran was violating international law and UN resolutions by sending weapons to the rebels, adding that the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen on behalf of the internationally recognised government has repeatedly presented evidence of Tehran’s involvement in war.
“We’re not talks about an allegation here, we’re talking about physical evidence we are showing the world,” he said.
Meanwhile, the French foreign minister said on Thursday that Iran was in fact sending weapons to the rebels in Yemen.
“There is a problem in Yemen, it is that the political process has not begun, that Saudi Arabia feels regularly attacked by the Houthis, who are themselves supplied with arms by Iran,” Jean-Yves Le Drian told RTL radio.
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Read more
Saudi Arabia says Iran and Hezbollah agents behind missile attacks
Analysis: Houthis’ military posturing could derail political talks
Editorial: Tehran reaches a new level of provocation
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Saudi Arabia is leading the Arab coalition — which includes the UAE — that is fighting the rebels at the request of Yemeni President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
The coalition threatened on Monday to retaliate against Iran, accusing it of being behind dozens of missiles — all of which have been intercepted — aimed at Saudi Arabia since last year.
Iran continues to deny that it arms the Yemeni rebels, despite evidence presented by the US and Saudi Arabia.
On Wednesday, the UN Security Council condemned the missile attacks against Saudi Arabia, expressing concern at reports of violations of a UN arms embargo on Houthi leaders.
Saudi forces on Sunday night intercepted seven missiles towards different cities, including the capital of Riyadh. One Egyptian man died when burning shrapnel struck his room in the capital.
The Yemen war was triggered when the Houthis seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, in September 2014 and later advanced south, taking large swathes of the country.
After entering the war at the request of Mr Hadi on March 26, 2015, the Saudi-led coalition has helped pro-government forces to retake much of the territory captured by the rebels. However, Sanaa remains under rebel control.
The UN says living conditions in the war-scarred country have reached catastrophic levels and that 8.4 million people face imminent famine.
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The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
The biog
Name: Dr Lalia Al Helaly
Education: PhD in Sociology from Cairo
Favourite authors: Elif Shafaq and Nizar Qabbani.
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Install an air filter in your home.
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AT4 Ultimate, as tested
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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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The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
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Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
