Live updates: Follow the latest on Israel-Gaza
The world order built from the ruins of 1945 is "on the brink of collapsing" due to Israel's assault on Gaza and the failure of allies such as the US to stop the violence, Amnesty International has said.
In an annual report, the charity accused Israel of indiscriminate bombings and an "engineered famine", and allies of flouting the high human rights ideals they helped to design.
"For millions the world over, Gaza now symbolises utter moral failure by many of the architects of the post-World War Two system," it said.
Amnesty says it is turning to the courts to pile pressure on countries such as the UK to halt military support for Israel.
However, it is not yet accusing Israel of genocide in Gaza and will "take the time required" to decide whether to level that charge, its secretary general Agnes Callamard told The National.
"The threshold for demonstrating, in particular, genocidal intent on the part of Israel is a difficult threshold which demands time," she said.
In a 418-page report:
· Amnesty said Palestinians were living through a "far more violent and destructive version" of the events in 1948 in which many were displaced
· Israel and Hamas are both accused of war crimes, with thousands of Palestinians said to have "died needlessly" as a result of attacks on hospitals and a lack of water, food and medicine
· Field investigations suggest more than 200 people were killed in nine "unlawful" Israeli air strikes in which it attacked civilians or did not take steps to protect them
· Allies of Israel are described as showing "grotesque double standards" by condemning violence by Hamas, and by Russia in Ukraine, but continuing to back Israel
· The US is accused of having "weaponised its veto power" to stop the UN Security Council issuing a call for a ceasefire.
'Never again' under threat
Ms Callamard said the post-1945 promise of "never again" - embodied in documents such as the Genocide Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both of 1948 - was under threat.
Amnesty's report said the "moral and legal lessons" of the Second World War and the Holocaust "were torn into a million pieces" in 2023.
"Too many were plunged into the very hell that the 1948 generation sought to end for all time," Ms Callamard told reporters in London.
"The international system that was set up after 1948 is on the brink of collapsing ... those institutions are not delivering because they are intentionally disrupted or weakened by the action of powerful states."
Israel responded to "horrific attacks" by Hamas last October with a retaliatory attack that "soon became a campaign of collective punishment", Ms Callamard said.
She said there was "mounting evidence" of war crimes and an "irrefutable risk" of genocide, a matter being considered by the International Court of Justice after a case brought by South Africa against Israel.
Amnesty is "committed to upholding the highest standard of accuracy and impartiality" and is "taking the process of determination of whether or not this amounts to genocide very seriously", she said.
"We will take the time required in order to reach a conclusion that cannot be faulted," she said.
Israel denies genocidal intent, saying it is acting in self-defence against Hamas - a stance largely accepted by allies such as the US and Germany, even as they urge it to provide more aid to Palestinians.
Germany separately appeared before the ICJ to deny a Nicaraguan charge of complicity in genocide, saying it is trying to do right by Israelis and Palestinians in a complex situation.
Amnesty is hoping to give evidence in a case brought against the UK government on arms exports to Israel, which officials argue are relatively minor.
"The very minimum that's required from the government is an immediate halt to arms sales to Israel," as well as increased aid and a call for a permanent ceasefire said Amnesty's UK chief executive Sacha Desmukh.
"There's no doubt in my mind that the UK will be judged harshly by history for its failure to help prevent civilian slaughter in Gaza," he said.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
JAPAN SQUAD
Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
Midfielders: Toshihiro Aoyama, Genki Haraguchi, Gaku Shibasaki, Wataru Endo, Junya Ito, Shoya Nakajima, Takumi Minamino, Hidemasa Morita, Ritsu Doan
Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The biog
Birthday: February 22, 1956
Born: Madahha near Chittagong, Bangladesh
Arrived in UAE: 1978
Exercise: At least one hour a day on the Corniche, from 5.30-6am and 7pm to 8pm.
Favourite place in Abu Dhabi? “Everywhere. Wherever you go, you can relax.”
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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The%20specs
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ELECTION%20RESULTS
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Votes
Total votes: 1.8 million
Ashraf Ghani: 923,592 votes
Abdullah Abdullah: 720,841 votes
Company%C2%A0profile
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How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
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.”
if you go
The flights
Emirates flies to Delhi with fares starting from around Dh760 return, while Etihad fares cost about Dh783 return. From Delhi, there are connecting flights to Lucknow.
Where to stay
It is advisable to stay in Lucknow and make a day trip to Kannauj. A stay at the Lebua Lucknow hotel, a traditional Lucknowi mansion, is recommended. Prices start from Dh300 per night (excluding taxes).
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Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
German plea
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the German parliament that. Russia had erected a new wall across Europe.
"It's not a Berlin Wall -- it is a Wall in central Europe between freedom and bondage and this Wall is growing bigger with every bomb" dropped on Ukraine, Zelenskyy told MPs.
Mr Zelenskyy was applauded by MPs in the Bundestag as he addressed Chancellor Olaf Scholz directly.
"Dear Mr Scholz, tear down this Wall," he said, evoking US President Ronald Reagan's 1987 appeal to Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
