A prominent environmental activist in Iraq has been kidnapped near the capital by an unknown group, his family have said.
Jassim Al Asadi was travelling on the main road linking Baghdad to southern provinces on Wednesday when he was taken captive, his brother Nadhim said in a statement.
"Five kilometres before the capital, two cars stopped him, and armed men in plain clothes handcuffed him and put him on to one of the vehicles, taking him to an unknown location," his brother told AFP on Sunday.
"My cousin was with him," he added. "They left him on the road."
The family has not heard from Mr Al Asadi since and police are investigating, the brother said, adding that the kidnappers had not contacted any relatives.
The motive is still unknown and Iraqi security forces are investigating the case, he said.
Since the 2003 US-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein, Mr Al Asadi has emerged as a leading environmental activist and expert, focusing mainly on Iraq's southern marshlands.
He founded the NGO Nature Iraq in the southern Thi Qar province that has large areas of marshland.
Mr Al Asadi has become one of the few specialists in this field and the main trusted source for researchers and media.
He has been campaigning for more water to be released to the marshland and its inhabitants, launching the National Campaign to Save the Marshes with other activists and marsh residents late last year.
He has blamed the government for not drawing up the plans needed to save the marshes from the effects of climate change.
Some Iraqis have condemned the news, describing the kidnapping as "shocking" and "horrible", and demanding his immediate release.
"Whomever believes that there are moral or political justifications that allow the kidnapping of Jassim Al Asadi will not hesitate to commit what is worse than kidnapping," former water resources minister Hassan Al Janabi wrote on Twitter.
"Save the life of our friend Jassim Al Asadi before it is too late," Mr Al Janabi warned, publishing a photo of Mr Al Asadi during a trip to the marshes in August 2003.
Iraq is the fifth most-vulnerable country in the world to the effects of climate change, according to the UN Environment Programme.
Over the past three years, the country has experienced record temperatures that exceeded 50°C in many places during summer, insufficient and diminishing rainfall and frequent sand and dust storms.
Coupled with the reduced water flow of its two main rivers after passing through Turkey and Iran, the extreme weather has intensified drought and water scarcity in Iraq.
Desertification affects 39 per cent of the country and 54 per cent of its agricultural land has been degraded, mainly due to soil salinity caused by historically low river levels, less rain and rising sea levels.
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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.
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“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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Poland Statement
All people fleeing from Ukraine before the armed conflict are allowed to enter Poland. Our country shelters every person whose life is in danger - regardless of their nationality.
The dominant group of refugees in Poland are citizens of Ukraine, but among the people checked by the Border Guard are also citizens of the USA, Nigeria, India, Georgia and other countries.
All persons admitted to Poland are verified by the Border Guard. In relation to those who are in doubt, e.g. do not have documents, Border Guard officers apply appropriate checking procedures.
No person who has received refuge in Poland will be sent back to a country torn by war.
