TOBRUK, LIBYA // Colonel Muammar Qaddafi will resort to any means to remain in power, including the destruction of his own country, a general who defected from the Libyan army said Friday.
"Muammar Qaddafi is like Nero, who burnt down Rome. He will burn down his own country," Major Gen Suleiman Mahmoud said in this opposition-held eastern city, where preparations were underway for retaliatory strikes by pro-regime forces as well as a possible march on the capital to unseat the Libyan leader.
The dire warning came as Col Qaddafi appeared late Friday in central Tripoli to rally supporters. Wearing a fur cap and sunglasses and speaking from the ramparts of the Red Castle, a historic fort overlooking Green Square, he told an estimated thousand people that they would "fight and win" in their defence of the country. He also said that, if necessary, weapons depots would be thrown open to arm his people for battle.
"Be prepared to defend Libya" and "Be prepared to defend the oil," he shouted. Pumping his fist in the air, he also urged the crowd to sing and dance.
Col Qaddafi's speech came hours after security forces opened fire on protesters in the Janzour district of the capital.
An unnamed witness told the Reuters news agency that at least five protesters were killed in the incident, a figure which could not be independently verified.
In the first anti-Qaddafi protests in the capital since Tuesday, hundreds of protesters at the Slatnah Mosque in the Janzour district had chanted slogans such as "With our souls, with our blood we protect Benghazi!" the witness said, referring to the eastern regional capital now in control of opposition forces.
Since a popular uprising began with protests in the port city of Benghazi on February 15, it is estimated that hundreds of people have been killed and tens of thousands of foreigners are now scrambling to leave the country.
In diplomatic developments, French President Nicolas Sarkozy called on Col Qaddafi to resign, the Libyan delegation to the Arab League renounced links to the colonel and Libya's envoy to the United Nations Human Rights Council announced his defection during a special session on the Tripoli government's deadly repression of protesters.
"France's position is clear, Mr Qaddafi must go," the French leader said at a news conference with Turkish President Abdullah Gul in Ankara yesterday. Mr Sarkozy, the first leader of a major power to call openly for Col Qaddafi's resignation, said intervention was not a good option.
The Libyan envoy, who asked that his name not be used, denounced his government during the special session in Geneva. "We in the Libyan mission have categorically decided to serve as representatives of the Libyan people and their free will," the diplomat said.
The unrest in North Africa's biggest oil producer has pushed crude prices to a 2 1/2-year high, and led to calls for intervention to stop the worst violence yet seen in two months of unrest across the Middle East and North Africa.
France and the United Kingdom were expected to submit a plan for an arms embargo and other sanctions against Libya at a meeting of the United Nations Security Council late Friday.
With Mr Qaddafi's regime showing no signs of backing down, anti-regime forces in this eastern city were making plans for further fighting.
Still wearing his army uniform, Gen Mahmoud yesterday reiterated his support for opponents of the regime, who said they now controlled most of the oil fields east of the town of Ras Lanuf, and said they would honour oil deals as long as they were in the interest of the people.
"I am with you, against Qaddafi" he declared over a loudspeaker yesterday at one of the largest mosques in Tobruk. He also went on local radio to urge reservists and civilians to join rebel forces.
In 1969, Gen Mahmoud was one of the so-called Free Officers, along with Col Qaddafi, who led the coup that overthrew King Idris and ushered in the Libyan Arab Republic.
On February 20, after witnessing the government crackdown against protesters, he threw his support behind the opposition.
In an interview, Gen Mahmoud called the decision to side with the anti-government protesters "difficult."
"I knew that it was a further step towards division in the country. I told my men they were free to do what they wanted. They followed me and now they could be executed."
The former commander of Tobruk's garrison said further fighting was unavoidable.
"What happened in Libya was an earthquake," he said. "Now, we need to call back all the reserve forces in active duty and also the young men of the revoution who know how to use weapons, because they served in the army."
At the main military base in Tobruk, training for a possible march from Benghazi to Tripoli had not yet begun. Instead, young soldiers waved at passengers in cars and chanted, "Freedom for Libya". The soldiers, now regarded by the people of Tobruk as national heroes, were flying the pre-1969 royal flag over their barracks.
Gen Mahmoud said that removing Col Qaddafi from power would be "difficult" due to the great distances involved.
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
MATCH INFO
Euro 2020 qualifier
Croatia v Hungary, Thursday, 10.45pm, UAE
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
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.”
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
The specs
AT4 Ultimate, as tested
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Power: 420hp
Torque: 623Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Price: From Dh330,800 (Elevation: Dh236,400; AT4: Dh286,800; Denali: Dh345,800)
On sale: Now
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