Evacuees from Sudan's civil conflict have told of their relief and their fears for those left behind as they arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday, as part of a Saudi rescue of 1,700 people.
A ship from the Port of Sudan arrived in the kingdom carrying people of over 65 nationalities to safety.
The vast majority of those fleeing the conflict were foreigners. The evacuation was one of the largest from Sudan so far, as governments around the world step up efforts to save their stranded citizens.
The latest rescue takes the total brought to Saudi Arabia above 2,000.
I had the chance to leave, not like my sisters. I don't know whether they will be able to get out
Moustafa,
evacuee
“We all arrived safely at around 2am,” Bhupendra, one of 278 Indians who arrived on naval warship in Jeddah, told The National.
“The Indian and Saudi staff welcomed us and provided us breakfast. Then our immigration was completed and they sent us to a school, where they have arranged a stay for all Indians. Wi-Fi is also available here, at least people can contact their family.”
Bhupendra and his cohort will have a brief stay at the International Indian School in Jeddah, which has been converted to house those evacuated, before being flown to India in military planes.
They are joined by 256 people flown in on Indian Air Force aircraft from Port Sudan, about 800km from the capital Khartoum, to Jeddah.
Others fretted over those left behind.
The UN says the death toll in the conflict between two warring armies has exceeded 500, and the WHO is warning of "many more" deaths from disease and lack of medical services.
"On top of the number of deaths and injuries caused by the conflict itself, the WHO expects there will be many more deaths due to outbreaks, lack of access to food and water and disruption to essential health services, including immunisation," WHO director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said.
Dr Tedros added that only 16 per cent of health facilities were functioning in the Sudanese capital.
A tearful Moustafa, who holds a US passport, said "I had the chance to leave, not like my sisters", as he disembarked a commercial ship in Jeddah.
"I don't know whether they will be able to get out," he told AFP.
However, the rescue also brought pride at a job well done, with hundreds now out of harm's way.
"I am Saudi holding the greatest passport in the world thanks to God," one man told the Saudi Press Agency as he disembarked, waving his green passport.
"This passport today is a matter of pride. As you can see all the nations are represented on this vessel, which makes me very proud. If you are Saudi you will never be left behind with this government behind you. Our government made us proud."
Khartoum and nearby towns such as Omdurman have been the scene of nearly unrelenting violence, despite several foreign-mediated attempts at securing a lasting ceasefire.
Forces loyal to army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan are pitted against those backing his deputy-turned-rival Gen Mohamed Dagalo, who commands the powerful paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“In continuation of the evacuation efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia under the directives of the kingdom’s leadership, several evacuees arrived from the Republic of Sudan to the city of Jeddah today,” a statement from the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
That number “included 13 Saudi citizens and 1,674 [other] individuals”, the statement said.
The operation brings the total number of people evacuated from Sudan by Saudi Arabia to 2,148, including 114 Saudis and more than 2,000 others of 62 nationalities, the ministry said.
The kingdom has joined the US, Germany, the UK, France and the Netherlands, alongside the regional countries of Jordan, Egypt, Tunisia and Iraq, in sending military cargo planes to rescue citizens.
One of the largest contingents of people evacuated by Saudi authorities were from Indonesia, whose Foreign Ministry confirmed that 550 citizens had been rescued.
Sri Lanka's Foreign Ministry said 13 of its citizens had arrived in Jeddah and another 12 were awaiting evacuation in Port Sudan.
The Saudi state-affiliated Al Ekhbariya channel broadcast footage of passengers waving the green Saudi flag as they disembarked, as well as pictures of Saudi security forces carrying babies off the ship.
In one clip, an evacuee hugs members of the Saudi military, thanking them through tears as he exits one of the ships in Jeddah. In another, a woman remarks: "I am coming to Saudi Arabia ... congratulations to me, congratulations to me."
Evacuees began arriving in Saudi Arabia on Saturday, with boats carrying 150 people including foreign diplomats and officials.
On Monday, a C-130 Hercules military plane flew dozens of South Korean civilians to Jeddah's King Abdullah Air Base, and a boat ferried about 200 people from 14 countries across the Red Sea from Port Sudan.
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.”
INDIA SQUADS
India squad for third Test against Sri Lanka
Virat Kohli (capt), Murali Vijay, Lokesh Rahul, Shikhar Dhawan, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Rohit Sharma, Wriddhiman Saha, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Vijay Shankar
India squad for ODI series against Sri Lanka
Rohit Sharma (capt), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Shreyas Iyer, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Siddarth Kaul
HOW TO WATCH
Facebook: TheNationalNews
Twitter: @thenationalnews
Instagram: @thenationalnews.com
TikTok: @thenationalnews
Wayne Rooney's career
Everton (2002-2004)
- Appearances: 48
- Goals: 17
Manchester United (2004-2017)
- Appearances: 496
- Goals: 253
England (2003-)
- Appearances: 119
- Goals: 53
The specs: 2019 Mercedes-Benz C200 Coupe
Price, base: Dh201,153
Engine: 2.0-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Nine-speed automatic
Power: 204hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 300Nm @ 1,600rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.7L / 100km
How does ToTok work?
The calling app is available to download on Google Play and Apple App Store
To successfully install ToTok, users are asked to enter their phone number and then create a nickname.
The app then gives users the option add their existing phone contacts, allowing them to immediately contact people also using the application by video or voice call or via message.
Users can also invite other contacts to download ToTok to allow them to make contact through the app.
88 Video's most popular rentals
Avengers 3: Infinity War: an American superhero film released in 2018 and based on the Marvel Comics story.
Sholay: a 1975 Indian action-adventure film. It follows the adventures of two criminals hired by police to catch a vagabond. The film was panned on release but is now considered a classic.
Lucifer: is a 2019 Malayalam-language action film. It dives into the gritty world of Kerala’s politics and has become one of the highest-grossing Malayalam films of all time.
