ROME // Bomb blasts in the Chilean and Swiss embassies in Rome injured two staffers on Thursday in a possible attack by anarchists similar to a wave of parcel bombs in Greece last month, officials said.
Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said the attacks represented "a serious threat" against foreign embassies, while Chile's ambassador Oscar Godoy condemned "an absolutely irrational and brutal act of terrorism."
Police said checks were under way at all the embassies in Rome following the blasts and the city's mayor said emergency services were on the ready.
"This is a wave of terrorism against the embassies. It's more worrying than a single attack," the mayor, Gianni Alemanno, told reporters.
"International lines of inquiry are being followed," Alemanno said.
Interior Minister Roberto Maroni was quoted as saying that investigators were following a possible anarchist link behind the attacks "following analogous incidents that happened in November in Greece."
"These are very violent groups present also in Spain and Greece with close links between them," Maroni said.
Prosecutors opened an inquiry for an attack with "terrorist" aims.
The blasts carried echoes of a suspected anarchist far-left plot in Greece last month in which bombs were sent to foreign embassies in Athens and European leaders including the Italian prime minister and the French president.
Over a dozen packages containing explosives were sent in that plot, prompting Greece to suspend international mail for two days. At least four of the packages ignited or exploded, slightly injuring one person.
Thursday's attack left the Swiss mail worker who opened the package in the embassy building seriously injured. The 53-year-old man is reportedly in hospital and risks losing one or both his hands but his life is not in danger.
A Chilean embassy staffer wounded in a second bomb blast shortly after the Swiss embassy explosion is also in hospital but suffered lighter injuries.
"We can't understand why we were attacked in this way. The package was addressed to the cultural office and was opened by the civil servant who injured himself as he opened it," the Chilean ambassador told reporters.
"His life is not in danger but there was blood everywhere," he said.
ANSA news agency quoted a source at the hospital where the two men were being treated that one of them had a metal bolt extracted from his chest.
Dozens of police, firemen and bomb disposal experts could be seen outside the Swiss and Chilean embassies, both located north of the city centre.
There was also a false alarm at the Ukrainian embassy shortly after the two blasts over a suspect package that turned out to be a greeting card.
A spokesman for the US embassy declined to comment on any extra precautions and said: "The US embassy always maintains an appropriate level of security.
Following the Swiss embassy blast, Frattini said: "We express full solidarity with the Swiss ambassador and all diplomatic staff, targetted by a deplorable act of violence that merits the firmest condemnation.
"We hope the injured embassy employee can make a full recovery," he said.
An incendiary device was found outside the Swiss embassy in October, calling for the release of three anarchists arrested in April in Switzerland.
Earlier on Thursday there were two false bomb alerts at local government offices in Rome including one in the heart of the Italian capital.
Mayor Alemanno said there was no link between the alerts and the blasts.
A fake bomb - with wires, an antenna and metal pipes stuffed with powder - was also found on an empty train carriage in Rome's metro system on Tuesday in what police said may have been a threat ahead of protests in the city.
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
New Zealand T20 squad
New Zealand T20 squad: Tim Southee (captain), Finn Allen, Todd Astle, Hamish Bennett, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway (wicketkeeper), Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Ish Sodhi, Will Young
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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
Specs%3A%202024%20McLaren%20Artura%20Spider
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The figures behind the event
1) More than 300 in-house cleaning crew
2) 165 staff assigned to sanitise public areas throughout the show
3) 1,000 social distancing stickers
4) 809 hand sanitiser dispensers placed throughout the venue
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.”
Jewel of the Expo 2020
252 projectors installed on Al Wasl dome
13.6km of steel used in the structure that makes it equal in length to 16 Burj Khalifas
550 tonnes of moulded steel were raised last year to cap the dome
724,000 cubic metres is the space it encloses
Stands taller than the leaning tower of Pisa
Steel trellis dome is one of the largest single structures on site
The size of 16 tennis courts and weighs as much as 500 elephants
Al Wasl means connection in Arabic
World’s largest 360-degree projection surface
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
If you go…
Emirates launched a new daily service to Mexico City this week, flying via Barcelona from Dh3,995.
Emirati citizens are among 67 nationalities who do not require a visa to Mexico. Entry is granted on arrival for stays of up to 180 days.
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