As the US government shutdown approaches day three, the failure of President Trump's White House and the US congress to agree is becoming ever clearer.
The impasse is over funding measures but the effects are already far-reaching - on the state department, the department of defence and on the president's own foreign travel agenda.
A senior state department official who was outlining the new US strategy in Syria on Friday - shutdown day - was unable to answer a question about the impact of the shutdown on US diplomatic activities and operations abroad. "I am going to have to punt on this. That is a management decision and it assumes a shutdown takes place," he said.
Thousands of state department employees may go into work on Monday but not get paid as it is unclear whether there are contingency plans in place. According to the Vox news website, General William Todd, acting director at state, informed employees that “a number of government activities would cease due to a lack of appropriated funding, and that a number of employees would be temporarily furloughed.”
So far diplomatic travel for Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Vice President Mike Pence remains unaffected by the shutdown. Mr Tillerson is on his way to Europe and Mr Pence is in the Middle East. Both trips were considered “integral to America’s national security and diplomatic objectives” and were allowed despite the crisis.
But the president's travel plans are another matter. Mr Trump's enforced confinement in Washington to oversee negotiations to allocate funding -even temporary- for his administration is said to have left him feeling irritated and frustrated by the gridlock - not least because he had to miss an inauguration anniversary party on Saturday at his resort in Mar-a-lago. His plans to attend the World Economic Forum in Davos are also up in the air. He is currently scheduled to arrive in Switzerland on Thursday and give a speech on Friday but Mick Mulvaney, director of the Office of Management and Budget, said the White House will decide on the president's movements "day to day."
On Monday, the State Department will alert its thousands of employees and embassies abroad on who and what will be deemed “nonessential” and who will be be put on obligatory leave.
Daniel Shapiro, the former US Ambassador to Israel experienced the last shutdown in 2013, which lasted 16 days. "Shutdowns make us look incompetent before the world," he told The National. "Embassies cannot conduct normal business with their host governments. If you are trying to build a coalition to strengthen sanctions on North Korea or Iran, for example, a shutdown ties your hands. Foreign leaders and publics who already question the competence and coherence of the Trump foreign policy now have an additional reason to do so."
A Gallup world poll released last week showed the global approval rating for for the US leadership to be at an all time low of 30 percent - lower than it was under both the George W Bush and the Barack Obama administrations.
However, not everyone abroad understands understands the concept of shutdown or its implications, said Randa Slim, director of Track II dialogue at the Middle East Institute.
Some twitter users in the Middle East are interpreting the shutdown as a complete termination of US government activities. “Trump has delivered the punch and shut down the US government,” said one tweet.
https://twitter.com/RawanAlT1989/status/954637523984273408
Others compared congress to the Iraqi parliament for its inability to agree on a budget :
https://twitter.com/MayahGhanim/status/954634679935782912
Nonetheless, Ms Slim said the development “reinforces a narrative shared by US allies and enemies of a chaotic [Trump] administration that is led by a mercurial and unpredictable President - an U.S. administration that is increasingly perceived as an unreliable partner.”
US defence secretary James Mattis on Friday gave a stark warning of the impact on his department in an address at Johns Hopkins University.
"Maintenance activities will probably pretty much shut down,” he said, "and a lot of intelligence operations around the world, and they cost money. Those, obviously, would stop. And I would just tell you that training for almost our entire reserve force will stop." He called on Congress to lead and do its job.
For US troops, it could mean no National Football League playoffs on Sunday night as the Armed Forces Network (AFN) is in shutdown.
https://twitter.com/JackSully492/status/954623701433110528
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
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.”
UAE Tour 2020
Stage 1: The Pointe Palm Jumeirah - Dubai Silicon Oasis, 148km
Stage 2: Hatta - Hatta Dam, 168km
Stage 3: Al Qudra Cycle Track - Jebel Hafeet, 184km
Stage 4: Zabeel Park - Dubai City Walk, 173km
Stage 5: Al Ain - Jebel Hafeet, 162km
Stage 6: Al Ruwais - Al Mirfa, 158km
Stage 7: Al Maryah Island - Abu Dhabi Breakwater, 127km
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
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Libya's Gold
UN Panel of Experts found regime secretly sold a fifth of the country's gold reserves.
The panel’s 2017 report followed a trail to West Africa where large sums of cash and gold were hidden by Abdullah Al Senussi, Qaddafi’s former intelligence chief, in 2011.
Cases filled with cash that was said to amount to $560m in 100 dollar notes, that was kept by a group of Libyans in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
A second stash was said to have been held in Accra, Ghana, inside boxes at the local offices of an international human rights organisation based in France.
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
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.
