Yousuf Al Qaradawi, the Qatar-based cleric affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, frequently uses the Al Jazeera television network to justify suicide bombings. Karim Jaffar / AFP
Yousuf Al Qaradawi, the Qatar-based cleric affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, frequently uses the Al Jazeera television network to justify suicide bombings. Karim Jaffar / AFP

Qatar poses a direct threat to the security of British people despite enjoying great privileges in the UK



It is the height of the summer season in Britain and it is virtually impossible to visit an iconic venue that is not associated in some way or another with Qatar.
Harrods, Royal Ascot and Glorious Goodwood are just some of the archetypical names that are either owned or sponsored by the Qataris, who also have billions of dollars invested in various UK assets. A recent survey, for example, found that Qatari investors now own three times more property in the capital than the Queen.
The range and scale of Qatar's massive investment in Britain means that senior Qatari officials can expect a warm reception within the highest echelons of the British government whenever they visit London, a privilege senior members of the Qatari royal family have been quick to exploit since the start of the diplomatic breach with their Gulf neighbours.
Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Qatar's foreign minister, was the first senior official from the Gulf region to visit British foreign secretary Boris Johnson in London after the imposition of last month's land and air embargo against Qatar over its links with Islamist terrorist groups. And the Qatari foreign minister has been back in London this week to speak at Chatham House, the prestigious think tank on international affairs.
But while senior Qatari officials are keen to make use of their ready access to the upper reaches of the British establishment, they are less forthcoming about their ties to extremist groups that pose a direct threat to the security of the British state.
Many headlines in the international media concerning the ultimatum Qatar has received from a number of Arab countries over the state's links to extremists have tended to concentrate on the demands for Doha to close the Al Jazeera television network, as well as scaling back its links with Iran.
But British intelligence officials are also taking a keen interest in the list of 59 names and 12 entities that four Arab countries – theUAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Egypt – have accused of having links to terrorism and enjoy Qatari support.
They are particularly interested in the suggestion that Qatar is supporting Abdulhakim Belhaj, a former Libyan Islamist commander.
These days Belhaj is a leading figure in Libya's conservative Islamist Al Watan Party, as well as being the former head of Tripoli's military council.
Al Watan, which was founded after the overthrow of Libyan strongman Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, has close ties to Yusuf Al Qaradawi, the radical Egyptian head of the Muslim Brotherhood who regularly appears on Al Jazeera to defend the use of suicide bombers.
But it is Belhaj's links with the now disbanded Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) that continues to interest British intelligence officials, especially after it was revealed that the father of Salman Abedi, the terrorist responsible for the recent suicide bomb attack in Manchester that killed 22 people, was also a member of the LIFG.
Ramadan Abedi, the bomber's father, who spent many years living in exile in Britain before returning to Libya, was a direct contemporary of Belhadj in the LIFG, an extremist Islamist group that sought to overthrow Qaddafi's regime during the 1990s.
Following the Manchester bombing it was revealed that Salman Abedi had made several visits to Libya prior to carrying out the atrocity and British security officials are now investigating his links to Islamist groups based in Libya prior to carrying out the attack. One line of inquiry is that Abedi made contact with Libyan-based Islamists shortly before carrying out the attack.
The other reason British intelligence officials are taking a close interest in the Arab states' allegations that Qatar is supporting Belhaj is that the Libyan extremist is currently in the process of taking legal action against Jack Straw, the former British foreign secretary and the intelligence service MI6 over allegations that they participated in the 2004 kidnapping of Belhaj and his wife.
The couple claim they were abducted in Bangkok by the CIA and then flown back to Libya, where Belhaj claims he was imprisoned and tortured regularly by Qaddafi loyalists. They have now launched legal action in Britain claiming that they were only detained after Sir Mark Allen, then head of counter-terrorism at MI6, tipped off the CIA about their whereabouts. Mr Straw, who as foreign secretary oversees the work of MI6, is also accused of being involved in the CIA's rendition of Belhadj and his wife to Libya.
Sir Mark formed a close relationship with Gaddafi after he helped to persuade the Libyan dictator to give up Libya's nuclear weapons programme in 2003. As part of the deal, Britain and Libya agreed to cooperate in the global war against Islamist extremists.
Last year Britain's Crown Prosecution Service decided there was insufficient evidence to prosecute Sir Mark, but a recent ruling by the Supreme Court in London concluded that Mr Straw, MI6 and the British government must still defend claims that they participated in Belhaj's abduction.
The accusations that Doha is helping to fund Belhaj and other Islamist extremists opposed to Britain will certainly cause enormous embarrassment for the Qataris, who make much of their pro-British credentials. For, far from being the Anglophile nation that likes to invest its vast energy wealth in iconic British institutions, the accusations that Qatar is sponsoring groups and individuals linked to terrorist acts like the Manchester bombings suggests the country poses a direct threat to the security and safety of the British people.

Con Coughlin is the defence and foreign affairs editor of London's Daily Telegraph

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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.

“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.”

The Sand Castle

Director: Matty Brown

Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea

Rating: 2.5/5

Paatal Lok season two

Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy 

Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong

Rating: 4.5/5

RESULTS

5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,400m
Winner: AF Tathoor, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer)
5.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh70,000 1,000m
Winner: Dahawi, Antonio Fresu, Musabah Al Muhairi
6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: Aiz Alawda, Fernando Jara, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
6.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 2,000m
Winner: ES Nahawand, Fernando Jara, Mohammed Daggash
7pm: Maiden (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Winked, Connor Beasley, Abdallah Al Hammadi
7.30pm: Al Ain Mile Group 3 (PA) Dh350,000 1,600m
Winner: Somoud, Connor Beasley, Ahmed Al Mehairbi
8pm: Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 1,600m
Winner: Al Jazi, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

The%20specs%3A%202024%20Mercedes%20E200
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2.0-litre%20four-cyl%20turbo%20%2B%20mild%20hybrid%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E204hp%20at%205%2C800rpm%20%2B23hp%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E320Nm%20at%201%2C800rpm%20%2B205Nm%20hybrid%20boost%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E9-speed%20auto%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFuel%20consumption%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E7.3L%2F100km%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ENovember%2FDecember%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFrom%20Dh205%2C000%20(estimate)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
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The Details

Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5 

In numbers: China in Dubai

The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000

Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000

Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000

Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent

German intelligence warnings
  • 2002: "Hezbollah supporters feared becoming a target of security services because of the effects of [9/11] ... discussions on Hezbollah policy moved from mosques into smaller circles in private homes." Supporters in Germany: 800
  • 2013: "Financial and logistical support from Germany for Hezbollah in Lebanon supports the armed struggle against Israel ... Hezbollah supporters in Germany hold back from actions that would gain publicity." Supporters in Germany: 950
  • 2023: "It must be reckoned with that Hezbollah will continue to plan terrorist actions outside the Middle East against Israel or Israeli interests." Supporters in Germany: 1,250 

Source: Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution

Vidaamuyarchi

Director: Magizh Thirumeni

Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra

Rating: 4/5

 

RIDE%20ON
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