BERLIN // Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, demanded answers from Barack Obama last nightafter learning US spies may have monitored her phone, warning this would be “breach of trust” between allies.
The White House, rattled by the latest exposure based on leaks from intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, said it is not listening in on Mrs Merkel, but did not deny the possibility her communications may have been intercepted in the past.
In the wake of Snowden’s ongoing revelations, several more allies to the US have already complained about American electronic surveillance, and the White House is struggling to stem the diplomatic damage.
A spokesman for Mrs Merkel, who has registered strong disapproval at US National Security Agency (NSA) activities in the past, said his boss had called Mr Obama after Germany received information that US intelligence may be spying on her mobile phone.
Steffen Seibert said in a statement that Mrs Merkel “made clear that she unequivocally disapproves of such practices, should they be confirmed, and regards them as completely unacceptable”.
She had demanded “an immediate and comprehensive explanation” from Washington, the statement said.
“Among close friends and partners, as the Federal Republic of Germany and the US have been for decades, there should be no such monitoring of the communications of a head of government,” the statement added, indirectly citing her comments to Mr Obama.
“This would be a serious breach of trust.”
“Such practices must be stopped immediately,” the German chancellor told Mr Obama, the statement said.
The White House, embarrassed by the latest allegations of NSA spying on foreign leaders, came up with a hurried response to the telephone call.
“The President assured the Chancellor that the United States is not monitoring and will not monitor the communications of Chancellor Merkel,” said White House spokesman Jay Carney.
Mr Carney was then asked whether US spies could have inadvertently picked up Merkel’s communications during a wider sweep of global telephone calls linked to a vast anti-terror programme.
He repeated the linguistic formulation of his earlier answer, in a way that did not deny the possibility that the NSA had indeed accessed Merkel’s conversations in the past.
The White House spokesman stressed that Obama was reviewing the way Washington gathers intelligence “so that we properly balance the security concerns of our citizens and allies with the privacy concerns that all people share.”
The latest allegations came as the French newspaper Le Monde stood by claims that Washington had monitored millions of phone calls inside France.
Washington has said many of Le Monde’s claims were false, but the US president had another embarrassing call with a foreign leader when he spoke to French President Francois Hollande on Monday.
German and US intelligence agencies cooperate closely on counter terrorism efforts and other matters related to espionage.
US officials have privately said that all nations, including its allies, conduct intelligence sweeps against foreign leaders -- and assume that Obama is a target of such activity.
But the Merkel revelations were the latest extreme embarrassment for Obama over the NSA affair, which has seen claims of US snooping on foreign leaders in Mexico and Brazil and reports US spy agencies have monitoring millions of telephone calls worldwide.
Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff last month cancelled a state visit to Washington over the scandal.
The latest revelations also threatened the personal trust and close cooperation between Obama and Merkel, which saw the US leader pay a long-awaited visit to Berlin earlier this year.
Mr Obama considers the re-elected German leader as one of his closest allies and friends on the world stage and has frequently spoken of his respect for her.
But the NSA story caused Merkel some discomfort during her reelection campaign and she publicly raised the issue with the US president.
The idea of spying on personal telephone conversations carries special poignancy in Germany, where memories remain fresh of the surveillance conducted on ordinary citizens by the East German Stasi Secret Police agency during the Cold War.
News of the eavesdropping suspicion and the stern German protest came first from Spiegel Online, whose parent magazine reported many of the US surveillance claims made by Snowden.
Spiegel Online said research by the news weekly had tipped the German government off to the potential surveillance, which authorities including the foreign intelligence service BND had considered “sufficiently plausible” for Berlin to confront Washington on the question.
Another US ally, Mexico, is also bristling at reports the United States spied on personal communications of current and past leaders.
Former Mexican leader Vincente Fox said Wednesday that he was spied on by the United States following reports that US intelligence agencies snooped on President Enrique Pena Nieto and his predecessor Felipe Calderon.
Pena Nieto, who took power in December, has ordered an investigation into reports that the National Security Agency hacked his emails while he was a candidate last year and Calderon’s messages while in office.
* Agence France-Presse
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Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
The White Lotus: Season three
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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.”
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
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Dr Afridi's warning signs of digital addiction
Spending an excessive amount of time on the phone.
Neglecting personal, social, or academic responsibilities.
Losing interest in other activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed.
Having withdrawal symptoms like feeling anxious, restless, or upset when the technology is not available.
Experiencing sleep disturbances or changes in sleep patterns.
What are the guidelines?
Under 18 months: Avoid screen time altogether, except for video chatting with family.
Aged 18-24 months: If screens are introduced, it should be high-quality content watched with a caregiver to help the child understand what they are seeing.
Aged 2-5 years: Limit to one-hour per day of high-quality programming, with co-viewing whenever possible.
Aged 6-12 years: Set consistent limits on screen time to ensure it does not interfere with sleep, physical activity, or social interactions.
Teenagers: Encourage a balanced approach – screens should not replace sleep, exercise, or face-to-face socialisation.
Source: American Paediatric Association
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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