BEIRUT // Rebel fighters laid siege on Monday to Al Qaeda-linked militants in their northern stronghold of Raqa, managing to free 50 people they had detained, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
Raqa emerged as a new front on Sunday in fighting among rebels battling to oust the Syrian president, Bashar Al Assad, with various groups joining forces against Al Qaeda affiliate the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).
“The rebels have been laying siege to Isil’s headquarters in the city of Raqa since last night. They released 50 Syrian prisoners held by Isil in another building,” said the Observatory.
Raqa is the only provincial capital to have fallen out of regime hands since the conflict erupted when regime opponents took up arms following a bloody crackdown by Mr Assad’s forces on democracy protests in March 2011.
But soon afterwards it fell into the grip of Isil, which is said to be holding hundreds of prisoners in their now besieged headquarters in the heart of Raqa.
Among Isil’s abductees are scores of rival rebels, activists and journalists, including Westerners.
“The foreigners are being held in other buildings, outside Raqa city,” said the Observatory, a Britain-based group that tracks the conflict.
But Turkish photographer Bunyamin Aygun, kidnapped in December in Syria, was freed on Sunday amid the fighting.
“Every night, I had the same dream that I was being freed. I cannot believe that I am free now. It feels like a dream,” Mr Aygun said, according to his employer, the Milliyet daily.
Mr Aygun said that Al Qaeda-linked militants who kidnapped him threatened to “cut him into pieces”.
“He said, ‘It’s either execution by firing squad or by being cut into pieces. We will cut you into pieces, this is more honourable for you,” Mr Aygun said, referring to a militant.
Asked whether the militants asked for ransom, Aygun told reporters in Istanbul: “I was not aware of anything. My eyes were blindfolded all the time. They opened my eyes only when I went to the toilet. I was not informed of the matter.”
Twenty-five journalists have been killed since the start of the conflict in March 2011, according to Reporters Without Borders, while more than 30 journalists are estimated to have been abducted or detained.
Monday’s offensive in Raqa came three days after three powerful rebel alliances launched what they called a second “revolution” against Isil in the northern province of Aleppo and Idlib to its west.
On Sunday, the rebel infighting spread to the central province of Hama, as well as Raqa, and the Observatory says scores of insurgents have been killed on both sides.
A key complaint against Isil among rebels is that its jihadists refuse to operate within the broader opposition dynamic.
The observatory said “the main group laying siege to Isil’s headquarters in Raqa is Al Nusra Front,” which like Isil is affiliated to Al Qaeda but is seen as more moderate.
Isil and Al Nusra have fought each other in recent months, after Isil announced it was Al Qaeda’s representative in Syria. Al Nusra had been operating in Syria for longer, and refused to work under Isil’s command.
Al Qaeda chief Ayman Al Zawahiri then ordered Isil’s Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi to work with Al Nusra — and he refused. The two groups have since had, at best, tense relations, and at worst they have engaged in open fighting.
The 33-month conflict in Syria is estimated to have killed more than 130,000 people and forced millions more to flee their homes as refugees or internally displaced persons.
* Agence France-Presse
The permutations for UAE going to the 2018 World Cup finals
To qualify automatically
UAE must beat Iraq.
Australia must lose in Japan and at home to Thailand, with their losing margins and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
To finish third and go into a play-off with the other third-placed AFC side for a chance to reach the inter-confederation play-off match
UAE must beat Iraq.
Saudi Arabia must lose to Japan, with their losing margin and the UAE's winning margin over Iraq being enough to overturn a goal difference gap of eight.
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.”
Super Rugby play-offs
Quarter-finals
- Hurricanes 35, ACT 16
- Crusaders 17, Highlanders 0
- Lions 23, Sharks 21
- Chiefs 17, Stormers 11
Semi-finals
Saturday, July 29
- Crusaders v Chiefs, 12.35pm (UAE)
- Lions v Hurricanes, 4.30pm
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
RESULT
Wolves 1 (Traore 67')
Tottenham 2 (Moura 8', Vertonghen 90 1')
Man of the Match: Adama Traore (Wolves)
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