'Shame on you': protesters defy threats in southern Lebanon

Protesters in southern Lebanon on Monday returned to the streets in a mood of defiance, a day after violent altercations with local militiamen.

"They tried to separate us but, thank God, people were not afraid and came back to the streets," actress Sally Basma told The National.

Basma, 31, was wearing a red bandana with Lebanese flags on her head as she took part in a protest in the southern coastal city of Tyre.

She said she was among the protesters who were attacked on Saturday morning by armed militiamen affiliated to the Amal movement, one of the strongest in the region alongside its Shiite ally Hezbollah.

They attacked because because insults had been hurled at Amal leader Nabih Berri, Lebanon’s veteran Parliamentary Speaker.

A visibly upset Basma filmed herself after the attack, calling out: “Nabih Berri, did you see that, do you accept that? They stole my phone and hit us with their weapons. Shame on you.”

The UN special co-ordinator for Lebanon, Jan Kubis, said he discussed the situation in Tyre with Mr Berri on Monday.

"Important to listen to the millions of protesting Lebanese and their legitimate demands for just and radical reforms and change," Mr Kubis tweeted after the meeting.

He said that Lebanese security forces should protect peaceful demonstrators against "possible political instigators of violence".

Hundreds of thousands of Lebanese have since Thursday been protesting against the government, in the biggest demonstrations the country has seen in more than a decade.

The protests were sparked by a proposed tax on WhatsApp calls, which was quickly cancelled.

Demonstrators are expressing years of resentment against politicians, who they accuse of corruption and incompetence.

“Since the end of the civil war [in 1990], the situation has changed for the worse,” Basma said.

Unusually for Lebanon, the protesters have been blaming politicians by name, and songs insulting them have spread like wildfire.

But those in south Lebanon on Sunday were careful not to name members of Amal or Hezbollah, the only militia.

Both parties enjoy strong support among the local population, who rarely criticise them publicly out of fear of retribution.

“We just chant now that all politicians are thieves,” said Mohammed Ezzedine, 47, a father of four who was taking part in a protest for the first time in his life, along with his family, in Tyre.

After the tension on Saturday, protesters had agreed not to use politicians' names, Mr Ezzedine said.

Residents of Nabatieh, an Amal stronghold about 30 kilometres north-east of Tyre, said there were scuffles between the party's supporters and protesters in the city but the situation had calmed.

More than 1,000 people were protesting in Nabatieh on Sunday afternoon, including Mohammed Makki, 24, who was in a wheelchair.

“People are still afraid to attack politicians directly," Mr Makki said. "Strength comes in numbers.

"We are a maximum of 2,000 protesters here, while in Beirut they are more than 10 times that."

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Lebanese flashpoints

Protest sites and roadblocks mapped

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Lebanon’s youths have flocked to the demonstrations. Many of them bemoan the fact that they have to go abroad to find a job because of high unemployment.

Hussein, 25, a relative of Mr Makki, told The National he had flown back from Cameroon to take part in the protests.

He moved there last year to work in transport with his uncle because he could not find a job in Lebanon.

“I wish I could work in my home country,” Hussein said.

Some protesters call for the government’s resignation while others are not sure what they want next. One thing is certain: they all aspire for change.

“Life is very hard," Mr Ezzedine said. "We cannot take it any more.

“Banks are not lending to us and people are depositing their money in banks where they get high interest rates of 15 per cent instead of spending it.”

Lebanese who have not joined the protests have been glued to their TVs, following live coverage of the demonstrations where protesters have been chanting, “The people want the fall of the regime” – the same slogan used in the 2011 Arab uprisings.

On the first-floor terrace of a building in a dark street of Tyre, a little boy was chanting over and over again: “The people want the fall of the regime.”

His mother chuckled.

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.”

Milestones on the road to union

1970

October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.

December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.

1971

March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.

July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.

July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.

August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.

August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.

September 3: Qatar becomes independent.

November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.

November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.

November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.

November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties

December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.

December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.

December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.

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Company%20Profile

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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT

Started: July 2016

Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori

Based: Bangalore, India

Sector: Health & wellness

Size: 500 employees

Investment: $250 million

Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)

New UK refugee system

A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds