Most western countries proudly proclaim a long-held attachment to freedom of expression.
Underpinning the virtue of allowing people to say and write broadly what they wish is the bold statement inaccurately attributed to the 18th century French philosopher Voltaire: “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.”
Although these were not Voltaire own words but a biographer’s interpretation of his outlook, the noble thoughts will forever be associated with his name. It is echoed in the children’s adage, “sticks and stones will break my bones, but words will never harm me”.
But the lofty principle of free speech is subject to quite enough qualification to suggest the West should think twice about lecturing other parts of the world. Intemperate, inflammatory or defamatory language can bring judicial consequences, speaking out of turn has cost many people their jobs and even groups of ordinary citizens sometimes feel entitled to silence views they find obnoxious.
When the United States presidential contender Donald Trump called off a Chicago rally because of the risk of escalating clashes between his own supporters and protesters, questions were raised about what were arguably violations of the First Amendment to the American constitution protecting not only free speech but the right to peaceful assembly.
Whatever legitimate thoughts may be held about the poisonous hatred encouraged by some of Mr Trump’s wilder declarations, and especially his insulting pronouncements on Muslim and Mexican immigrants, the protesters seemed intent on denying him his platform.
In Britain, the National Union of Students has been accused of practising censorship and intolerance by putting campuses out of bounds to speakers representing a range of opinions of which it disapproves.
And in France, there are examples galore of freedom of speech having its limits.
It is not even necessary to revisit the great offence caused to Muslims by satirical cartoons in Charlie Hebdo, though the overwhelming majority nevertheless deplored the vile murders committed falsely in Islam’s name at the magazine’s offices.
Fifteen months later, the French authorities are taking seriously allegations that four teenage girls talked on Facebook of staging a massacre comparable to the killings at the Bataclan concert hall in Paris last November.
No weapons or explosives have been found to suggest the girls, reported to be recent converts to Islam, were about to put their words into action. But whether genuinely dangerous, or just driven by reckless bravado, the youngest of the girls, aged 15, was deemed by prosecutors to be so radicalised that she should be detained while inquiries proceed. In France’s enduring state of emergency, it hardly seemed an overreaction.
Even the most liberal of governments readily recognise that freedoms must take second place to the interests of security. Perhaps it was inevitable that Mr Trump felt obliged to call off his rally, given the perceived risk of major disorder. The British students may have a point at least some of the time; extreme Islamist groups as well as politicians condemned as fascists are on the banned list. And as is confirmed by the case of the French teenagers, and the spread of online videos promoting violence and hatred, abuses of social media amply justify a need for vigilance.
If free speech is frequently suppressed on flimsy or spurious grounds, most reasonable people probably acknowledge the authorities’ duty to respond when words are not merely contentious but incite racial or religious hatred or violence. Which leads us back to that most unpresidential of White House hopefuls: if protesters breached Mr Trump’s constitutional rights, had he not already crossed the line between strongly worded rhetoric and plain incitement?
Colin Randall is a former executive editor of The National
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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.”
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
