Pro-Palestinian French MEP Rima Hassan has dismissed calls, led by politicians affiliated to President Emmanuel Macron, for an investigation after she attended a pro-Gaza rally in Amman, Jordan, where members of the crowd held pictures of slain Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh.
The calls come during a tense time in French politics, more than six weeks after a snap election that has left France with a caretaker government and political parties jostling for influence in parliament without a clear majority.
I am not responsible for the fact that protesters show their support for Hamas
Rima Hassan
“I am not responsible for the fact that protesters show their support for Hamas,” Ms Hassan, a leftist politician, told The National. While she said she was aware that some pro-Hamas slogans were chanted during the march last week, she said she “took care not to display them” in her social media posts and attended the protest with a left-wing Jordanian human rights lawyer.
Pro-Gaza protests in Jordan, which are usually allowed to assemble near the Israeli embassy, have been largely organised by the Muslim Brotherhood and people linked with the group. Leftists and Jordanian nationalists are generally also among the crowds.
“I went to this demonstration, as I have always done, with the aim of supporting the popular mobilisations highlighting the situation in Gaza,” said Ms Hassan, referring to the continuing Israeli war against the enclave that has killed more than 40,200 people following the deaths of around 1,200 people in a Hamas-led attack in October.
More than 50 MPs from Mr Macron's political party Renaissance sent a letter this week to the Paris prosecutor describing Ms Hassan's participation in the rally as “barely concealed support for the terrorist organisation Hamas”, according to French magazine Le Point. They accused her of “encouraging racial hatred” and “glorifying terrorism”.
The MPs, including government spokesperson Prisca Thevenot, also wrote to European Parliament president Roberta Metsola asking that she lift Ms Hassan's immunity if an investigation is opened in France, in addition to imposing sanctions against her.
The European Parliament code of conduct stipulates that a request to lift the immunity of a sitting MEP can only be made by a “competent authority” in an EU state, which does not include lawmakers, or the European chief prosecutor. The European Parliament has been on summer recess since July 26, until September 2.
Should Ms Metsola receive a request to lift an MEP's immunity, she must first make an announcement during a plenary session. The next one is scheduled for September 16.
Then the legal affairs department conducts an investigation behind closed doors before giving its opinion to Ms Metsola, who submits it to a plenary vote. This is not an uncommon procedure. The most recent occurrence was in April with German politician Gunnar Beck.
French MP Caroline Yadan, who represents French constituents abroad including in a number of southern European countries and Israel, said on X that she had personally led the initiative to write the two letters.
“This poison of hatred cannot decently sit within our democratic institutions, at our expense and at the expense of our republican values. I will not let her go,” wrote Ms Yadan.
The National contacted Ms Yadan for comment but has not had a response.
Accusations of supporting Hamas are routinely levelled against Ms Hassan, a Syria-born Palestinian lawyer who moved to France as a child, since she gave an interview in November in which she said its actions were legitimate. She has responded by saying her comments were taken out of context and that the Hamas attacks constituted war crimes but they did not excuse the Israeli response.
“I have already communicated the UN resolutions a hundred times on which I based myself to speak of the legitimacy of armed action in a context of struggle for self-determination, and my lawyers are working with a court official on a complete transcription of this [November] interview,” Ms Hassan said.
Ms Hassan described the letters as “manoeuvres based on nothing” and part of a “battle of narratives that supporters of the Israeli regime want to win at all costs by criminalising the voices that warn about the fate of the Palestinians and ensure that they are silenced”.
“There is no legal basis for this request and those who made it are known for their position of support for a genocidal regime that I am fighting and that I will continue to fight with or without a mandate as a Euro MP,” added Ms Hassan.
Ms Hassan said she is currently visiting Jordan and Lebanon as part of a personal photographic project on Palestinian camps in the region following a contract with a publishing house signed on October 2, before the Hamas attacks against Israel. The photos will be exhibited in Tunis in October.
The Energy Research Centre
Founded 50 years ago as a nuclear research institute, scientists at the centre believed nuclear would be the “solution for everything”.
Although they still do, they discovered in 1955 that the Netherlands had a lot of natural gas. “We still had the idea that, by 2000, it would all be nuclear,” said Harm Jeeninga, director of business and programme development at the centre.
"In the 1990s, we found out about global warming so we focused on energy savings and tackling the greenhouse gas effect.”
The energy centre’s research focuses on biomass, energy efficiency, the environment, wind and solar, as well as energy engineering and socio-economic research.
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
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The biog
Age: 32
Qualifications: Diploma in engineering from TSI Technical Institute, bachelor’s degree in accounting from Dubai’s Al Ghurair University, master’s degree in human resources from Abu Dhabi University, currently third years PHD in strategy of human resources.
Favourite mountain range: The Himalayas
Favourite experience: Two months trekking in Alaska
Second ODI
England 322-7 (50 ovs)
India 236 (50 ovs)
England win by 86 runs
Next match: Tuesday, July 17, Headingley
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.”
How to get there
Emirates (www.emirates.com) flies directly to Hanoi, Vietnam, with fares starting from around Dh2,725 return, while Etihad (www.etihad.com) fares cost about Dh2,213 return with a stop. Chuong is 25 kilometres south of Hanoi.
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre, 4-cylinder turbo
Transmission: CVT
Power: 170bhp
Torque: 220Nm
Price: Dh98,900
Surianah's top five jazz artists
Billie Holliday: for the burn and also the way she told stories.
Thelonius Monk: for his earnestness.
Duke Ellington: for his edge and spirituality.
Louis Armstrong: his legacy is undeniable. He is considered as one of the most revolutionary and influential musicians.
Terence Blanchard: very political - a lot of jazz musicians are making protest music right now.
SPEC SHEET
Display: 10.4-inch IPS LCD, 400 nits, toughened glass
CPU: Unisoc T610; Mali G52 GPU
Memory: 4GB
Storage: 64GB, up to 512GB microSD
Camera: 8MP rear, 5MP front
Connectivity: Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 5.0, USB-C, 3.5mm audio
Battery: 8200mAh, up to 10 hours video
Platform: Android 11
Audio: Stereo speakers, 2 mics
Durability: IP52
Biometrics: Face unlock
Price: Dh849
Countries offering golden visas
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
THE SPECS
Engine: Four-cylinder 2.5-litre
Transmission: Seven-speed auto
Power: 165hp
Torque: 241Nm
Price: Dh99,900 to Dh134,000
On sale: now
