The UK Foreign Office has told British citizens still in Lebanon to “leave now”, following a series of explosions that destroyed several apartment buildings in Beirut amid escalating violence between Israel and Hezbollah.
A statement released by the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said it was “working to increase capacity” and find seats for British nationals on flights out of the country, adding that they “should take the next available flight”.
On Saturday, Hezbollah confirmed the death of its leader Hassan Nasrallah, hours after Israel announced it had killed him in an air strike in Beirut on Friday. More than 720 people have been killed in Lebanon since the conflict escalated on Monday, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
On Saturday, the European Commission and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) issued conflict zone information bulletins (CZIBs), recommending airlines not to operate within the airspaces of Lebanon and Israel “at all flight levels”.
“The recommendation is valid until October 31, 2024, and can be reviewed earlier and adapted or withdrawn subject to the revised assessment,” EASA said, adding it “will continue to closely monitor the situation”.
Meanwhile, Ettie Higgins, Unicef's deputy representative in Lebanon, said “thousands and thousands” of people had fled southern Beirut, and hospitals were “overwhelmed”.
“There was already a humanitarian crisis in Lebanon given that it's been hosting over one million refugees from Syria for over a decade, so it's rapidly escalating into a catastrophe,” she told the BBC.
If spaces on commercial airlines for British nationals looking to leave Lebanon run out, evacuations by air and sea using British forces based in Cyprus could be the response if security deteriorates. Around 5,000 British citizens are estimated to be in Lebanon.
Risk of escalation
UK Defence Secretary John Healey said on Friday that air strikes and exchanges of rocket fire between Israel and Lebanese Hezbollah present a “risk that this escalates into something that is much wider and much more serious”. He added that his “first concern remains the safety of British nationals in Lebanon”.
“The travel advice remains the same – don't go to Lebanon,” Mr Healy said. “If you are in Lebanon, then get out and there are still commercial flights leaving so people can do that.”
When asked about the possibility of a ground invasion of Lebanon by Israeli forces, Mr Healy said the UK government was “watching this really carefully”, adding that “at the moment, it's air strikes. At the moment, there are missiles from the Lebanese Hezbollah directed at Israel. This conflict serves no one.”
Addressing the United Nations earlier this week, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer called for a ceasefire. “Stop the violence. Step back from the brink,” he said. “We need to see an immediate ceasefire to provide space for a diplomatic settlement and we are working with all partners to that end.”
If you go
Flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh with a stop in Yangon from Dh3,075, and Etihad flies from Abu Dhabi to Phnom Penh with its partner Bangkok Airlines from Dh2,763. These trips take about nine hours each and both include taxes. From there, a road transfer takes at least four hours; airlines including KC Airlines (www.kcairlines.com) offer quick connecting flights from Phnom Penh to Sihanoukville from about $100 (Dh367) return including taxes. Air Asia, Malindo Air and Malaysian Airlines fly direct from Kuala Lumpur to Sihanoukville from $54 each way. Next year, direct flights are due to launch between Bangkok and Sihanoukville, which will cut the journey time by a third.
The stay
Rooms at Alila Villas Koh Russey (www.alilahotels.com/ kohrussey) cost from $385 per night including taxes.
Dubai World Cup factbox
Most wins by a trainer: Godolphin’s Saeed bin Suroor(9)
Most wins by a jockey: Jerry Bailey(4)
Most wins by an owner: Godolphin(9)
Most wins by a horse: Godolphin’s Thunder Snow(2)
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
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.”
LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
