SANA'A // Hundreds of thousands of Yemenis protested yesterday against a Gulf Cooperation Council deal that would allow President Ali Abdullah Saleh to cling to power for at least another month and shield him from prosecution.
The Revolution Coalition of Peaceful Change, a coalition of dozens of youth groups that led the street protests, yesterday denounced the GCC plan that allowed Mr Saleh 30 days to step down in exchange for an end to the nationwide protests and legal immunity for himself, his family and aides.
"We reject any dialogue with the regime as this would give [Mr Saleh] a chance to buy time and manoeuvre. We have no trust in this regime and the president who has been lying to us for more than three decades," said Abdullah al Shalif, an activist leader at the sit-in protest at al Tagheer Square outside Sana'a University and a spokesman of the Revolution Coalition.
The proposal, which also states that a "unity" government be established within a week, was accepted in principle on Saturday by Mr Saleh and Yemen's largest opposition group, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), but the president has yet to sign the agreement. Despite welcoming the plan, the JMP said it would not take part in the mandated transitional government with the ruling party, and could not force protesters to stand down.
But the street protesters want more. Speaking at a press conference yesterday, protest leaders threatened more civil disobedience if president does not quit at once and stand trial for the more than 125 protesters killed by security forces since February 11, as well as other alleged crimes.
"We will intensify our protests and the regime will be surprised by our escalation," said Mr al Shalif at the press conference in Sana'a, refusing to give details.
The strong rejection of the GCC-brokered plan by the mostly youth-led street protesters signals a division within the anti-Saleh movement that analysts believe could be potentially exploited by the embattled leader to delay a transfer of power. Mohammed al-Sabri, a JMP leader, attributed the seeming fault line in the opposition to miscommunication.
"There is a misunderstanding of our position by the protesters and it was this point of ending street protests that we rejected in the plan. We have stuck to the right of the people to protests," Mr Sabri said yesterday.
Even so, the Revolution Coalition released a statement yesterday that the JMP represents only itself and that the street protesters were not obliged to honour any agreements made by the opposition parties.
The JMP has also been criticised by the Saleh government for failing to live up to its end of the GCC agreement.
"The JMP accepted the plan with reservations in order not to lose sympathy of the GCC while they continue to support their members at the protests who reject the plan," Mr Saleh's press secretary, Ahmed al-Sufi, told the National.
"They were asked to say whether they accept the plan or reject it as a whole. They cannot accept some parts and leave the important part which is the end of protests and taking part in the government at this critical time of power transfer," Mr Sufi added.
The threat of a stalemate looms, said Yemeni political analyst and author Ahmed al Zurkah, in which the apparently divided opposition would stay in the streets and Mr Saleh would use this as an excuse to hold on to power under the terms of the GCC agreement.
"There is no big difference between the JMP and the street protesters and I think if there are guarantees that the president will have no control over the army, security, public money or ruling party supporters during the 30 days, the people will accept it," said Mr al Zurkah.
He continued: "But the people are afraid that Saleh will seize the time and overthrow the deal as he did previously with his opponents. He must be stripped of any time that allows him to reorganise his allies."
Mr Zurkah said it was a mistake to exclude the youth organisations from the GCC negotiations and claimed that the proposal will only work if Mr Saleh is serious about allowing a complete transfer of power to take place.
"The plan sees the fall of Saleh and not his regime. This will hamper any social or political transition to take place because this revolution is much more about social change than political change," Mr Zurkah said.
This mass appeal of the anti-Saleh campaign was evident again yesterday as hundreds of thousands of demonstrators gathered in multiple cities to call for an end to the president's three decades of autocratic rule and the resultant poverty. Tens of thousands protested yesterday in the city of Taiz and, in the southern province of Lahij, gun battles between armed tribesmen and government forces killed five people, four of them soldiers, police said. Witnesses said there were at least 100,000 protesters in Sana'a, and there seemed no let up in intensity.
malqadhi@thenational.ae
What you as a drone operator need to know
A permit and licence is required to fly a drone legally in Dubai.
Sanad Academy is the United Arab Emirate’s first RPA (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) training and certification specialists endorsed by the Dubai Civil Aviation authority.
It is responsible to train, test and certify drone operators and drones in UAE with DCAA Endorsement.
“We are teaching people how to fly in accordance with the laws of the UAE,” said Ahmad Al Hamadi, a trainer at Sanad.
“We can show how the aircraft work and how they are operated. They are relatively easy to use, but they need responsible pilots.
“Pilots have to be mature. They are given a map of where they can and can’t fly in the UAE and we make these points clear in the lectures we give.
“You cannot fly a drone without registration under any circumstances.”
Larger drones are harder to fly, and have a different response to location control. There are no brakes in the air, so the larger drones have more power.
The Sanad Academy has a designated area to fly off the Al Ain Road near Skydive Dubai to show pilots how to fly responsibly.
“As UAS technology becomes mainstream, it is important to build wider awareness on how to integrate it into commerce and our personal lives,” said Major General Abdulla Khalifa Al Marri, Commander-in-Chief, Dubai Police.
“Operators must undergo proper training and certification to ensure safety and compliance.
“Dubai’s airspace will undoubtedly experience increased traffic as UAS innovations become commonplace, the Forum allows commercial users to learn of best practice applications to implement UAS safely and legally, while benefitting a whole range of industries.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
ENGLAND SQUAD
Goalkeepers Pickford (Everton), Pope (Burnley), Henderson (Manchester United)
Defenders Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Chilwell (Chelsea), Coady (Wolves), Dier (Tottenham), Gomez (Liverpool), James (Chelsea), Keane (Everton), Maguire (Manchester United), Maitland-Niles (Arsenal), Mings (Aston Villa), Saka (Arsenal), Trippier (Atletico Madrid), Walker (Manchester City)
Midfielders: Foden (Manchester City), Henderson (Liverpool), Grealish (Aston Villa), Mount (Chelsea), Rice (West Ham), Ward-Prowse (Southampton), Winks (Tottenham)
Forwards: Abraham (Chelsea), Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Kane (Tottenham), Rashford (Manchester United), Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Sterling (Manchester City)
Sri Lanka-India Test series schedule
- 1st Test India won by 304 runs at Galle
- 2nd Test Thursday-Monday at Colombo
- 3rd Test August 12-16 at Pallekele
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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAlmouneer%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%202017%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dr%20Noha%20Khater%20and%20Rania%20Kadry%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EEgypt%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E120%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBootstrapped%2C%20with%20support%20from%20Insead%20and%20Egyptian%20government%2C%20seed%20round%20of%20%3Cbr%3E%243.6%20million%20led%20by%20Global%20Ventures%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
MATCH INFO
England 241-3 (20 ovs)
Malan 130 no, Morgan 91
New Zealand 165 all out (16.5ovs)
Southee 39, Parkinson 4-47
England win by 76 runs
Series level at 2-2
Ultra processed foods
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- infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes,
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THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
Power: 462hp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh600,000
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.”
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
