To completely ignore the contents of the Hizbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah's press conference on Monday would be sheer obstinacy, wrote Samir Mansur for the Lebanese daily Annahar.
It is true that what Hizbollah's secretary general presented cannot be construed as hard evidence, but it contained a number of facts that can be put at the disposal of the investigative committee.
Hizbollah's aim was to prove that the "Israeli hypothesis" can't be excluded and political accusations cannot be focused in one direction. However, there's no indication that the international tribunal is excluding any possibility.
What is needed at the moment, for the sake of Lebanon's stability, is to determine what is wanted from the tribunal and how to overcome the repercussions of the first stages of its operation when mistakes in judgement undermined its power.
It seems that the head of the Democratic Congress, Walid Jumblatt, is about to assume the role of internal mediator in an attempt to contain the crisis in Lebanon while awaiting the tribunal's indictment.
If Mr Jumblatt's efforts, in the backdrop of a Syrian-Saudi accord to protect Lebanon's stability, are to succeed in overcoming the impending crisis, they will need the participation of all parties concerned.
The decisions by various countries to ban BlackBerry services have split people between those who support the ban and those who oppose it. However, the fact remains that one of the biggest drawbacks of the device is the spread of rumours through its BlackBerry messenger service, argues Mohammed Al Hammadi in the Emirati daily Al Ittihad.
BlackBerry as a phone never caused such controversy after it was first manufactured in 1999. At the time, only major business corporations used it to organise their e-mail systems. However, it quickly grew popular and is now in the hands of everyone, which inevitably led to the abuse that caused the proposed ban on its services in the UAE and other Gulf countries.
The controversy would have been solved had the Canadian company behind BlackBerry, Research in Motion (RIM), agreed to offer its services from inside the UAE.Local telecommunication companies could assure their users that their privacy would be kept safe.
Questions were also raised about the fact that RIM has enabled some major countries such as the US and France to have access to the information transferred by its BlackBerry users. This spurred talk about client discrimination at RIM.
In the fast-changing world of telecommunications, these will not be the last questions to be raised.
More than 150 people have been suspected or accused of spying for Israel recently in an unprecedented wave of crackdowns in Lebanon, commented Samir Atallah in the Lebanese daily Annahar. The press and official statements did not hesitate to convict all suspects without recourse to legal proceedings, except in the case of General Fayez Karam.
The arrest of Mr Karam, one of the opposition leader Michel Aoun's closest aides, on suspicion of espionage came as a shock to his party and to Lebanon. While Mr Aoun had to resign himself to the accepting the fact, others are still hoping that the investigation would clear Karam's name.
What is most baffling about the arrests is that the suspects are not restricted to one religion or to one political movement. Every religion and party in the country has had its share of spies.
In fact, spies flourish in the current political climate in Lebanon where values are devalued and the political system is based on common lies and mutual accusations.
Nonetheless, people are innocent until proven guilty. "We still must listen to Fayez Karam's side of the story". For as catastrophic as the number of suspects is, the catastrophe is compounded by the way public opinion is taking matters in its own hands.
Legal proceedings must prevail in these matters. It is the only way to make sure that the country's affliction will not be used to spread dissent and destroy stability.
In an opinion piece for the Qatari daily Al Watan, Mazen Hammad wrote: "All of the Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas's concerns on direct negotiations with Israel have been rejected."
The options were as follows: first, the US president's envoy would address a letter to both the Israeli and Palestinian sides suggesting the establishment of a Palestinian state according to 1967 lines. Second, the Middle East quartet committee would support the same concept. Third, a US-Israeli-Palestinian meeting would be held to agree on a reference for direct talks.
The Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu refused all three options, which creates a predicament for Mr Abbas. He could go into direct talks without a prior Israeli commitment to extend the partial freeze on settlement plans. This option would further harm his dwindling popularity. His second option would be to decline Barack Obama's personal request, which would be another triumph for Mr Netanyahu. Meanwhile Fatah figures are calling for a one-state solution.
Mr Abbas is one of the most enthusiastic leaders for the two-state solution. If Israel can't reach an accord with him, with whom would it agree with in the future?
* Digest compiled by Racha Makarem
@Email:rmakarem@thenational.ae
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.”
The biog
Favourite hobby: taking his rescue dog, Sally, for long walks.
Favourite book: anything by Stephen King, although he said the films rarely match the quality of the books
Favourite film: The Shawshank Redemption stands out as his favourite movie, a classic King novella
Favourite music: “I have a wide and varied music taste, so it would be unfair to pick a single song from blues to rock as a favourite"
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
Until Derby came along, Sunderland’s total of 15 points was the Premier League’s record low. They made it until May and their final home game before winning at the Stadium of Light while they lost a joint record 29 of their 38 league games.
HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
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