US President Donald Trump has condemned “racism, bigotry and white supremacy” after two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio, as the death toll climbed to 31.
Mr Trump on Monday sought to strike a unifying tone addressing the tragedies, saying the attacks were “an assault on our communities, an attack on our nation and a crime against all of humanity”.
“The shooter in El Paso posted a manifesto online consumed by racist hate,” he said.
With the president’s anti-immigration tirades the subject of debate on Saturday’s shooting in a Walmart shop in El Paso, Texas, his words on white supremacy were stronger than in the past.
The New York Times said the manifesto, believed to have been written by shooting accused Patrick Crusius, quotes some of Mr Trump's campaign speeches about an "invasion" of immigrants into the US and calls for their deportation.
The president called for unity to steer away from such language, calling racism a “sinister ideology” that must be defeated.
“Hatred warps the mind, ravages the heart, and devours the soul,” Mr Trump said.
But the speech fell short of supporting gun control legislation, blaming mental illness, the internet, social media and video games for the violence.
“Mental illness and hatred pulls the trigger, not the gun,” Mr Trump said. “We must shine a light on the dark recesses of the internet and stop mass murders before they start.”
He is expected to visit the sites of the mass shootings in Ohio and Texas on Wednesday but the White House has not confirmed it yet.
Among those who condemned the attack is former president Barack Obama.
He and his wife Michelle called a tweet for changes in gun laws and rejection of hate speech “coming out of the mouths of any of our leaders”.
In Washington on Monday, flags over federal buildings were flown half staff to commemorate the victims.
Three hours before the address, Mr Trump called for legislation to target immigration and gun laws at once, saying that he wanted something “great” to come from the shootings.
“Republicans and Democrats must come together and get strong background checks, perhaps marrying this legislation with desperately needed immigration reform," he tweeted.
"We must have something good, if not great, come out of these two tragic events.”
But the chance of such legislation becoming a law are dim, which could be why the president shied away from it in his address.
House Democrats passed a bill last year calling for stronger background checks for gun owners, but the Republican-controlled Senate did not put it out for a vote and Mr Trump threatened a veto.
He also expressed his condolences to Mexico because at least seven of those killed in El Paso were Mexican.
Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard threatened legal action.
“The President has instructed me to ensure that Mexico’s indignation translates into efficient, prompt, expeditious and forceful legal actions for Mexico to demand that conditions are established that protect Mexicans in the United States,” Mr Ebrard tweeted.
Democrats running for the nomination to stand against Mr Trump in the 2020 election called for stricter gun measures.
Beto O’Rourke, who is from the city of El Paso, called the president “a racist” and a “white nationalist”.
“He’s been calling Mexican immigrants rapists and criminals," Mr O'Rourke said. "Connect the dots about what he’s been doing in this country.
“He’s not tolerating racism, he’s promoting racism.”
The Democrats election front-runner, former vice president Joe Biden, asked Mr Trump to pass a ban on assault weapons.
“Mr President, immigration isn’t the problem. White nationalism is the problem," Mr Biden tweeted. "America’s inaction on gun safety legislation is the problem.
"It’s time to put the politics aside and pass universal background checks and an assault weapons ban. Lives depend on it."
It is unlikely that Mr Trump would do so in the run-up to an election, with polls showing that 67 per cent of Republicans oppose a ban on semi-automatic assault weapons.
The same NPR-Marist July poll showed that 83 per cent of Democrats and 55 per cent of independents would support a ban.
The non-profit Gun Violence Archive says there have been 255 mass shootings in the US in 2019, and 33,206 shooting incidents.
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Gothia Cup 2025
4,872 matches
1,942 teams
116 pitches
76 nations
26 UAE teams
15 Lebanese teams
2 Kuwaiti teams
What's in the deal?
Agreement aims to boost trade by £25.5bn a year in the long run, compared with a total of £42.6bn in 2024
India will slash levies on medical devices, machinery, cosmetics, soft drinks and lamb.
India will also cut automotive tariffs to 10% under a quota from over 100% currently.
Indian employees in the UK will receive three years exemption from social security payments
India expects 99% of exports to benefit from zero duty, raising opportunities for textiles, marine products, footwear and jewellery
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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.”
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