SANA'A // Millions of Yeminis were urged yesterday to march to the palace of President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Tuesday and throw him out of office. The organisers of the protesting Youth Movement said the marchers will not retreat under any circumstances.
"President Saleh is benefiting with every day that passes as he is working on weakening the youth revolution," the movement said in a statement. "By marching to the presidential palace, we will surely achieve victory and the revolution will prevail."
Protesters demonstrated yesterday in Sana'a and Taiz. Security forces shot at the demonstrators in Taiz, killing at least one, a medical source told Agence France-Presse.
In Sana's, one protesters was killed and 52 were wounded as security forces and plainclothes gunmen fired at thousands of protesters, witnesses said.
Demonstrators left University Square towards the district that hosts the government headquarters, said Tawfiq al -Himyari, one of the organisers.
"Snipers took part in attacking the protest," another witness said.
Yesterday's youth movement statement coincided with a GCC meeting in Riyadh, which youth believe has ignored the demands of the Yemeni revolution. "The Saudi, Gulf, and US stance work on weakening the Yemeni revolution and they are in favour of President Saleh. We will solve the crises in our own way," said Mohammed Mubarak, 23, an activist with the Youth Movement.
The call for the march, however, was not welcomed by all young protesters. Some feel that it will lead to more bloodshed. "We are against the Saleh regime, but we know that security forces will not allow the march to reach the palace," said Abdul Salma Jabri, one of the first female protesters in Sana'a. Yemen's biggest opposition coalition, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), has not openly supported the march, fearing they would be blamed for violence that might erupt.
"The youth are in charge and they know what is in their best interest. They will lead and we will follow," said Ali Jaradi, an Islah party official. "We will not call for a march as opposition, but we will march as revolution supporters."
Some opposition officials say the timing of the march is bad. Some factions of the youth movement do not endorse the march and "this could cause chaos and differences from within the protesters", said Ahmad Bahri, the head of the political office in the Haq party.
During the last two months, attacks against anti-Saleh protesters have decreased dramatically in the capital, largely due to the security the protesters are getting from military personnel who defected from the army with Gen Ali Mohsen Ahmar, Yemen's most powerful military leader.
The soldiers who defected, however, protect the demonstrators only in the main square, not elsewhere in the city.
Some protest leaders worry that regime soldiers will use violence to stop marchers on Tuesday.
"The military have orders to defend anti-Saleh protesters in Change Square with all their power," said Ali Abdul Jabbar, the director of Dar Ashraf research organization. "Their orders do not include protecting them while marching. This is where we expect a massacre or a retreat of marchers."
Youth protesters wanted the international community to know that the march to the palace is their last option. They cite Saleh regime attacks on protesters in Taiz and Hodieda this week. "We do not want to march, but the Yemeni revolution is entering its 100th day and Saleh has still not gotten the message," the statement said. "With every day that passes, more people are killed by President Saleh's government."
Mr Saleh's ruling party, the General Peoples Congress, is taking the march threat seriously and has called on its supporters to assemble near Siteen Road, which leads to the Presidential Palace. Abdul Nasser al Qiafi, a tribal leader loyal to Mr Saleh, said: "President Saleh has the majority of Yemenis on his side. Their march is illegal and Saleh reached power constitutionally. We will risk our lives for Saleh and ensure that the march to the palace fails."
Tribal sources loyal to Mr Saleh said they will create a shield of supporters to halt the marchers. "Hundreds of thousands of tribesmen will start protesting in Saleh's favour starting from Sunday morning, two days before the opposition march," said Sheikh Abdul Hakim Sabri, a tribal leader from Ibb province. "They have marchers and we have marchers. Let the election box be the judge between both sides and not illegal ousting of rulers."
Zaid Thari, an adviser to Mr Saleh, said opposition leaders are allowing young people to enter a deadly trap. "Opposition leaders are weak and afraid. They will stay at home while making the youth risk their lives for them," he said. "That is why President Saleh is sticking to power. He knows that the opposition is destroying the revolution from within."
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
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 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
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Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
Who is Ramon Tribulietx?
Born in Spain, Tribulietx took sole charge of Auckland in 2010 and has gone on to lead the club to 14 trophies, including seven successive Oceania Champions League crowns. Has been tipped for the vacant New Zealand national team job following Anthony Hudson's resignation last month. Had previously been considered for the role.
The biog
Favourite Quote: “Real victories are those that protect human life, not those that result from its destruction emerge from its ashes,” by The late king Hussain of Jordan.
Favourite Hobby: Writing and cooking
Favourite Book: The Prophet by Gibran Khalil Gibran
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
