Villagers carry their belongings as they leave the area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia. Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a fourth straight day over a disputed border area surrounding a 900-year-old Hindu temple.
Villagers carry their belongings as they leave the area near the 11th-century Preah Vihear temple at the border between Thailand and Cambodia. Thai and Cambodian troops clashed for a fourth straight dShow more

Cambodia calls on UN after more fighting near Thai border



PHNOM PENH // Cambodia called for UN peacekeepers to help to end the fighting along its border with Thailand, where artillery fire echoed for a fourth day yesterday near an 11th century temple classified as a World Heritage Site.

The crumbling stone temple, several hundred metres from Thailand's eastern border with Cambodia, has fuelled nationalism on both sides of the disputed frontier for decades and conflict over it has sparked sporadic, brief battles in recent years. However, sustained fighting has been rare.

A one-hour clash yesterday morning stopped after both sides agreed to an unofficial ceasefire. Fighting has erupted daily since Friday, leaving at least five dead.

Cambodian officials say a Thai artillery barrage on Sunday collapsed part of "a wing" at the Preah Vihear temple, a UN World Heritage site, but Thai officials have dismissed that account as propaganda. The extent of damage was unknown because it remained too dangerous to approach the temple, Cambodian authorities said.

Both sides blame the other for instigating each day's clashes, which have shattered a series of ceasefire agreements.

The Cambodian prime minister, Hun Sen, has warned that the fighting poses a threat to regional stability. He said the latest clash was sparked after Thai soldiers crossed the border in search of a slain comrade, and Cambodians opened fire to repel them.

He spoke yesterday during a university graduation ceremony in Phnom Penh, reiterating calls from a day earlier for UN intervention to halt the fighting.

"We need the United Nations to send forces here and create a buffer zone to guarantee that there is no more fighting," Mr Hun Sen said, adding that the situation kept deteriorating and the two sides were no longer listening to each other.

Mr Hun Sen has sent a letter to the UN Security Council calling for an emergency meeting to help end the fighting.

Thailand's foreign ministry sent its own letter to the Security Council yesterday to formally protest the "repeated and unprovoked armed attacks by Cambodian troops". In the past Thailand has ruled out foreign involvement in its dispute with Cambodia.

The Cambodian government spokesman, Phay Siphan, said skirmishes began again early yesterday after halting around midnight. Late on Sunday, the UN secretary general, Ban Ki-moon, said he was "deeply concerned" by the fighting and urged both sides "to exercise maximum restraint".

Singapore's foreign ministry voiced its concern in a statement yesterday and called for the two neighbours to negotiate for their own sake and "the broader interests of Asean".

The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations has long been a stable region, where the exchange of cross-border gunfire is highly unusual.

In 1962, the World Court determined that the Preah Vihear temple belongs to Cambodia. Thai nationalists dispute the ruling and have seized on it as a domestic political issue.

Tensions have risen in recent days because of demonstrations in the Thai capital, Bangkok, demanding that the government oust Cambodians from the area near the temple.

At least one civilian and one soldier from Thailand and one civilian and two soldiers from Cambodia have died since the fighting began on Friday. On Sunday night, a Thai army spokesman said about 10 Thai soldiers were wounded.

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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups

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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.”

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013 

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Museum of the Future in numbers
  •  78 metres is the height of the museum
  •  30,000 square metres is its total area
  •  17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
  •  14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
  •  1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior 
  •  7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
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  •  100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
  •  Dh145 is the price of a ticket