CAIRO // Thousands of anti-government protesters massed at several locations in the Egyptian capital today, chanting against President Hosni Mubarak and calling for an end to poverty, in the first Tunisian-inspired protest in the country.
It was the biggest demonstration Egypt had seen in years and police showed unusual restraint in what appeared to be a concerted government effort not to provoke a Tunisia-like mass revolt.
The demonstrators sang the national anthem and carried banners denouncing Mr Mubarak and saying the Egyptian elections were fraudulent. The organisers and opposition supporters, drawing on the popular uprising in Tunisia, dubbed the planned rallies, expected mainly in Cairo and Alexandria, as "the day of revolution against torture, poverty, corruption and unemployment."
The rally call spread on Facebook and Twitter, with 90,000 saying they will attend. The centre of Cairo came to a standstill, with a massive security presence.
Amnesty International expressed worries over protesters' safety, urging authorities to "refrain from excessive and disproportionate force."
Outside the Supreme Court in central Cairo, black-clad riot police with batons linked arms to surround the protesters but did not clash or scuffle with them. The police, otherwise known for cracking down heavily and beating demonstrators at anti-government rallies, allowed a wave of protesters to break through a cordon to join the larger crowd marching toward downtown.
In Monhandeseen neighborhood, thousands marched with banners reading, "Long Live a Free Tunisia," while police stood on the crowd's periphery.
"We want to see change just like in Tunisia," said Lamia Rayan, 24, one of the protesters, as others chanted: "Down with Mubarak."
"Security forces are being neutral because we know we have a just cause," said 43-year old lawyer Tareq el-Shabasi. "I came here today willing to die, I have nothing to fear."
Abdel-Rahim Mustafa, an official with the movement called National Society for Change, said: "Change is coming, no doubt."
In Alexandria, police deployment was heavy and only 30 demonstrators showed up, waving Egyptian flags and calling for the regime's end. In Mahdiya village near the border with Israel, about 500 protested while police were told not to leave their stations.
Earlier today, the interior minister, Habib el Adly said "decisive measures" will be imposed in the face of chaos on what is otherwise known as "Police Day". a holiday honouring the orce. Government offices, businesses and schools were closed for the day.
Police arrested 15 members of the opposition Muslim Brotherhood in a Cairo neighbourhood, including a number of women. Brotherhood leaders had said they would not officially join the demonstrations but would not discourage members from taking to the streets.
The rallies came against a backdrop of growing anger in Egypt over wide poverty and unemployment, as well as questions about Mr Mubarak's possible successor in presidential elections later this year.
The first ramifications of the Tunisia uprising surfaced last week in Egypt when several people set themselves on fire or attempted to do so outside parliament and the prime minister's office. Their actions sought to copy a young Tunisian vegetable seller whose self-immolation helped spark the protests that forced Tunisia's authoritarian president to flee the country.
Nearly half of Egypt's 80 million people live under or just above the poverty line set by the United Nations at $2 a day. Poor-quality education, health care and high unemployment have left large numbers of Egyptians deprived of basic needs.
The government has played down self-immolation attempts, with the prime minister, Ahmed Nazif, telling reporters on Monday that those who committed the act were driven by "personal issues."
The call for protests was first initiated by "The Martyr" Facebook page, set up in the name of a young Egyptian man, Khaled Said, whose family and witnesses say was beaten to death by a pair of policemen in Alexandria last year. His case has become a rallying point for the opposition. Two policemen are currently on trial in connection with his death.
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Essentials
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Los Angeles, from Dh4,975 return, including taxes. The flight time is 16 hours. Alaska Airlines, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines, Aeromexico and Southwest all fly direct from Los Angeles to San Jose del Cabo from Dh1,243 return, including taxes. The flight time is two-and-a-half hours.
The trip
Lindblad Expeditions National Geographic’s eight-day Whales Wilderness itinerary costs from US$6,190 (Dh22,736) per person, twin share, including meals, accommodation and excursions, with departures in March and April 2018.
Punchy appearance
Roars of support buoyed Mr Johnson in an extremely confident and combative appearance
6.30pm Meydan Classic Trial US$100,000 (Turf) 1,400m
Winner Bella Fever, Dane O’Neill (jockey), Mike de Kock (trainer).
7.05pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Woven, Harry Bentley, David Simcock.
7.40pm UAE 2000 Guineas Group Three $250,000 (Dirt) 1,600m
Winner Fore Left, William Buick, Doug O’Neill.
8.15pm Dubai Sprint Listed Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner Rusumaat, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
8.50pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-2 Group Two $450,000 (D) 1,900m
Winner Benbatl, Christophe Soumillon, Saeed bin Suroor.
9.25pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,800m
Winner Art Du Val, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
10pm Handicap $135,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner Beyond Reason, William Buick, Charlie Appleby.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
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.”
