Twitter has again suspended the account of rapper Kanye West, now known as Ye, for a breach of the site's terms of use for inciting violence.
The move came shortly after a series of erratic posts, including one showing the Nazi swastika symbol and a Jewish star, and an appearance on the show of right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, in which the rapper said he had admiration for Adolf Hitler.
It is the latest in a growing number of comments branded anti-Semitic by Jewish groups.
Elon Musk, Twitter's billionaire new owner, replied to a user who called on him to "fix Kanye" saying he had tried but would now suspend the controversial star from the site.
"I tried my best. Despite that, he again violated our rule against incitement to violence," Mr Musk wrote on Friday.
"Account will be suspended."
A short time later, Ye's account under his real name, @KanyeWest, was suspended from the site.
Mr Musk also clarified the reason for Ye's suspension after a question from Kim Dotcom, a controversial tech entrepreneur and founder of the illegal file-hosting service Megaupload, saying it was for inciting violence rather than posting unflattering images of the Twitter boss.
Mr Musk has also said he had spoken to Ye about his "concerns" over the rapper's recent tweets ahead of the latest posts, saying "which I think he took to heart".
It is unclear how long Ye will be off the site as he posted a screenshot of a Twitter 12-hour ban warning on Truth Social, the social media site of former US president Donald Trump.
On Thursday night, Ye spoke to Mr Jones on his show Infowars and sparked further anger when he said he "loves" Nazis and praised the former German leader.
In an extraordinary hours-long appearance, Ye wore a black mask completely covering his face as he ranted about sin, pornography and the devil.
"I like Hitler," he said several times.
Even though West hid his face ― the mask had neither eye nor mouth slits ― there seemed no doubt it was him.
Mr Jones addressed him as West as they spoke, Infowars billed the interview as being with Ye, and at one point Mr Jones took the rapper's cellphone and posted a tweet on his account that appeared in real time.
West, who has hinted he plans to run again for US president in 2024, has spoken openly about his struggles with mental illness, but his erratic behaviour continues to raise concerns.
The rapper-businessman's commercial relationships crumbled after a series of anti-Semitic comments.
In his lengthy appearance on Infowars, Ye drew shocked laughter and even disagreement from far-right host Mr Jones.
"I see good things about Hitler also," he told Mr Jones.
"This guy ... invented highways, invented the very microphone that I used as a musician, you can't say out loud that this person ever did anything good, and I'm done with that."
Hitler is not credited with inventing either motorways or microphones.
"I'm done with the classification, every human being has something of value that they brought to the table, especially Hitler," he said.
"I like Hitler."
Mr Jones, a serial provocateur who has been ordered to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in damages for claiming one of America's deadliest school shootings was a hoax, interjected, saying that "the Nazis were thugs and did really bad things".
But Ye stuck to his guns.
"But they did good things too. We gotta stop dissing the Nazis all the time ... I love Nazis," he said.
Hours after the interview, social media platform Parler, a favourite of conservatives for its hands-off approach to moderation, said a deal for Ye to buy the platform was off.
"Parlement Technologies would like to confirm that the company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler," the network said on Twitter.
"This decision was made in the interest of both parties in mid-November."
In October, German sportswear giant Adidas severed its lucrative tie-up with Ye after the star made anti-Semitic statements, including threatening to "go death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE", using a misspelt reference to US nuclear military readiness levels.
Paris fashion house Balenciaga and US clothing retailer Gap also ended ties with West, who appeared at a Paris fashion show wearing a shirt with the slogan "White Lives Matter", a rebuke to the Black Lives Matter racial equality movement.
Ye appeared on Mr Jones's programme with Nick Fuentes, an accused white supremacist with whom the rapper last week had dinner alongside Donald Trump at the former president's Florida estate.
Thursday's livestream sparked immediate condemnation from the Republican Jewish Coalition, which described the three men as "a disgusting triumvirate of conspiracy theorists, Holocaust deniers, and anti-Semites".
"Given his praise of Hitler, it can't be overstated that Kanye West is a vile, repellent bigot who has targeted the Jewish community with threats and Nazi-style defamation," the group said.
"Conservatives who have mistakenly indulged Kanye West must make it clear that he is a pariah. Enough is enough." - Additional reporting by agencies
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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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.”
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Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
