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US Vice President Kamala Harris on Tuesday said she supports President Joe Biden's pause on a shipment of 2,000-pound bombs to Israel, and said Israel must not reoccupy the Gaza Strip when the nearly year-old war on Gaza ends.
Ms Harris told the National Association of Black Journalists in Philadelphia that there must be a ceasefire in Gaza, and a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the only way to bring peace to the Middle East.
“We have seen with horror, the images coming out of Gaza, and we have to take that seriously,” the Democratic presidential nominee told a panel of three journalists.
“And we have to agree that not only must we end this war, but we have to have a goal of a two-state solution because there must be stability and peace in that region.”
Ms Harris, who became the nominee after Mr Biden dropped out of the race in July, is increasingly under scrutiny by progressives, Muslims and Arab Americans who say they want to see her break away from his unwavering support for Israel as it destroys Gaza.
During the 45-minute interview, which also included questions on the economy, racism in America, and her Republican rival Donald Trump, she did not indicate that she would meaningfully change course on Gaza, should she win on November 5.
Ms Harris said she supported Mr Biden's decision to a pause a bomb shipment to Israel after he said they should not be dropped on densely inhabited areas.
“One of the things that we have done that I am entirely supportive of is the pause that we put on the 2,000-pound bombs,” she said.
“And so there is some leverage that we have had in use, but ultimately, the thing that is going to unlock everything else in that region is getting this deal done.”
More than 41,200 Palestinians have been killed and 95,000 wounded in Israel's military campaign on the strip, local health authorities say.
That was in answer to the Hamas-led attacks on southern Israel on October 7, when 1,200 people were killed.
In the past 11 months, Israel has flattened entire neighbourhoods in the coastal enclave, and destroyed much of its infrastructure.
Progressives and Arab Americans have been demanding that the Biden administration place conditions on military aid to Israel, and do more to secure a ceasefire.
Mr Biden, a self-proclaimed Zionist, has resisted those calls, angering a voting bloc that was critical to his election in 2020.
His administration has for months been trying to mediate a ceasefire deal, together with Egypt and Qatar, but efforts have stalled.
Ms Harris said that she has been actively involved in meetings with Israeli and Arab officials on “day after” scenarios for Gaza.
She said the main principles are that there can be no Israeli reoccupation of Gaza, and no changing of its territorial lines.
Ms Harris said although Israel has a right to defend itself, “far too many innocent Palestinians have been killed, women and children".
Philadelphia is a must-win state for Ms Harris and Mr Trump, as it is the most populous of the handful of battleground states.
This month, the two candidates faced off in an intense televised debate, during which Ms Harris stuck closely to Mr Biden's support for Israel, infuriating Arab and Muslim-American voters.
At another event with the National Association of Black Journalists in July, Mr Trump drew criticism after he questioned Ms Harris's racial identity.
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Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Sri Lanka squad for tri-nation series
Angelo Mathews (c), Upul Tharanga, Danushka Gunathilaka, Kusal Mendis, Dinesh Chandimal, Kusal Janith Perera, Thisara Perera, Asela Gunaratne, Niroshan Dickwella, Suranga Lakmal, Nuwan Pradeep, Dushmantha Chameera, Shehan Madushanka, Akila Dananjaya, Lakshan Sandakan and Wanidu Hasaranga
Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
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Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
MATCH INFO
Leeds United 0
Brighton 1 (Maupay 17')
Man of the match: Ben White (Brighton)
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.”
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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