Hundreds of internally displaced people line up to receive food rations from the Congolese Red Cross near a camp for displaced people in Kibati.
Hundreds of internally displaced people line up to receive food rations from the Congolese Red Cross near a camp for displaced people in Kibati.

Angola mobilises troops for 'pillaged' Congo



GOMA, Congo // Hundreds of Congolese soldiers rampaged through several villages in eastern Congo, raping women and pillaging homes as they pulled back ahead of a feared rebel advance, the UN reported. Meanwhile, neighbouring Angola said it was mobilising troops to send to Congo, although Angolan Deputy Foreign Minister Georges Chicoty did not specify how many or what their mission will be. Southern African regional leaders meeting at a summit Sunday had discussed sending troops to reinforce the scattered Congolese army near Goma. The provincial capital has been besieged by rebels loyal to renegade Gen Laurent Nkunda since he reached the outskirts. The rebels have promised to fight any African troops that aid the Congolese army. Mr Chicoty made the announcement on Angolan national radio after attending a meeting in Brussels with European foreign ministers yesterday. He said the troops were going to Congo under the auspices of the Southern African Development Community and the European Union. Reporters have already seen Portuguese-speaking black soldiers wearing green berets with pins in the shape of a map of Angola. But the UN has said it did not have direct independent confirmation that Angolan troops were already in Congo. The presence of Angolans in the volatile region could be seen as a provocation by neighbouring Rwanda, raising tensions and fears that the fighting could spill over Congo's borders. UN peacekeeping spokesman Col Jean-Paul Dietrich said the Congolese army troops had reportedly raped civilians near the town of Kanyabayonga in violent attacks that began overnight that lasted into yesterday morning. Kanyabayonga is 100 kilometres north of Goma. Col Dietrich said 700 to 800 Congolese soldiers then fled Kanyabayonga and went on a rampage through several villages to the north. "They looted vehicles, they looted some houses," Col Dietrich said by telephone from Kinshasa, the national capital. A rare night-time gun battle erupted late yesterday between rebels and the army just north of Goma, and the UN said it was trying to get the warring sides to move further apart. Mortars were also used during the nearly one-hour fight near Kibati, Col Dietrich said. Kibati is 10km north of Goma and home to 75,000 people who have been repeatedly forced to flee fighting. "There is a big tension because there are so many people there and it's so close to Goma," Col Dietrich said. In New York, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon yesterday called for an immediate cease-fire so aid workers could urgently help "at least 100,000 refugees" cut off in rebel-held areas north of Goma. The UN chief also said he was "very concerned by reports of targeted killings of civilians, looting and rape". Mr Ban said about 3,000 more UN peacekeeping soldiers and police were urgently needed to bolster the 17,000-strong UN force in Congo that has been unable to stop the fighting or halt the rebel advance.

*AP

UPI facts

More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions

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Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
 
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
 
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
What is an FTO Designation?

FTO designations impose immigration restrictions on members of the organisation simply by virtue of their membership and triggers a criminal prohibition on knowingly providing material support or resources to the designated organisation as well as asset freezes. 

It is a crime for a person in the United States or subject to the jurisdiction of the United States to knowingly provide “material support or resources” to or receive military-type training from or on behalf of a designated FTO.

Representatives and members of a designated FTO, if they are aliens, are inadmissible to and, in certain circumstances removable from, the United States.

Except as authorised by the Secretary of the Treasury, any US financial institution that becomes aware that it has possession of or control over funds in which an FTO or its agent has an interest must retain possession of or control over the funds and report the funds to the Treasury Department.

Source: US Department of State

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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  • Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
  • Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
  • When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
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Our family matters legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.