CAIRO // The Arab League said it will hold an emergency meeting on Wednesday to discuss the ongoing crisis in Yemen where Shiite Houthi militiamen have taken over the country.
It comes as the UN Security Council is considering a draft resolution calling on the Houthi fighters to step down or face the consequences.
The Arab League’s deputy head Ahmed bin Helli said on Sunday that “the purpose of [Wednesday’s] meeting is to review the recent dangerous developments on the Yemeni scene”.
When asked about the Arab position on the crisis, he said: “It is up to the foreign ministers to declare an Arab stand after studying all the aspects of the crisis.”
The Arab League has previously accused the Houthis of carrying out a “coup” when it ousted the government of former president Abdrabu Mansur Hadi on February 6.
The UN’s draft resolution demands that the Houthis “immediately and unconditionally” withdraw forces from government institutions, release Mr Hadi and his cabinet from house arrest, and engage “in good faith” in UN-led peace talks.
It also calls on UN member states to “refrain from external interference which seeks to foment conflict and instability.”
The draft emerged on Saturday, just two days after UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon warned that Yemen was “collapsing before our eyes.” Following his comments to the Security Council, Jordan and Britain quickly began working on a resolution.
But the draft falls short of what the Gulf Cooperation Council would like to see.
Overnight on Saturday, the GCC urged the Security Council to take forceful action against the deteriorating security situation in Yemen, demanding that action be taken under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter, which would allow for military intervention.
It warned that if the world fails to act against the Houthis then the six-nation council will take whatever actions it deems necessary to maintain regional security and stability.
However, the group did not elaborate on what these actions might be.
“In the case of failure to reach an agreement ... the GCC member states will take measures which enable them to maintain their vital interests in the security and stability of Yemen,” the foreign ministers of the GCC said in a joint statement following their emergency meeting late on Saturday in Riyadh.
They also demanded the implementation of a UN resolution that imposes sanctions against anyone “hampering the process of peaceful transition of power” and called for urgent action to ensure the safety of former president Mr Hadi, who resigned last month after the Houthis put him under house arrest.
The Houthis responded to the GCC’s comments on Sunday, denouncing as “provocative blackmail” demands for the rebels to relinquish power.
“The Yemeni people won’t cede power in the face of threats,” Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam was quoted as saying by the official Saba news agency, which the Shiite militia now controls.
Mr Abdulsalam insisted that Yemenis were “engaged in a process of self-determination free of any (foreign) tutelage”.
At least nine countries have closed their Yemeni embassies over the past few days, including the UAE on Saturday, amid fears of the deteriorating security situation.
The withdrawal of ambassadors “reflects the panic that has hit some political forces which aren’t betting on the people ... and their dignity, but on foreign” countries, said Mr Abdulsalam.
“These embassies are here to oversee the interests of their own countries and not those of the (Yemeni) people,” he added.
The Houthis seized Sanaa in September before tightening their grip and prompting Western-backed Mr Hadi to tender his resignation as president.
The Shiite fighters then dissolved parliament and installed a “presidential council” to run Yemen on February 6.
The Houthi advance has also strengthened the country’s Al Qaeda branch, which is backed by some Sunni tribesmen.
UN-led talks to resolve the crisis continue but have made little ground, with envoy Jamal Benomar telling the Security Council on Thursday that Yemen is at a crossroads between “civil war and disintegration.”
Meanwhile, members of a southern secessionist group kidnapped 10 Yemeni military personnel on Sunday, and are demanding that the army hand over a base in the province of Lahj in exchange for their release, the Al Masdar news website reported.
The abducted men, who include three officers, are based at Al Anad military base, the website reported, citing local officials.
* Agence France-Presse, Associated Press and Bloomberg
MATCH RESULT
Liverpool 4 Brighton and Hove Albion 0
Liverpool: Salah (26'), Lovren (40'), Solanke (53'), Robertson (85')
Moon Music
Artist: Coldplay
Label: Parlophone/Atlantic
Number of tracks: 10
Rating: 3/5
Retirement funds heavily invested in equities at a risky time
Pension funds in growing economies in Asia, Latin America and the Middle East have a sharply higher percentage of assets parked in stocks, just at a time when trade tensions threaten to derail markets.
Retirement money managers in 14 geographies now allocate 40 per cent of their assets to equities, an 8 percentage-point climb over the past five years, according to a Mercer survey released last week that canvassed government, corporate and mandatory pension funds with almost $5 trillion in assets under management. That compares with about 25 per cent for pension funds in Europe.
The escalating trade spat between the US and China has heightened fears that stocks are ripe for a downturn. With tensions mounting and outcomes driven more by politics than economics, the S&P 500 Index will be on course for a “full-scale bear market” without Federal Reserve interest-rate cuts, Citigroup’s global macro strategy team said earlier this week.
The increased allocation to equities by growth-market pension funds has come at the expense of fixed-income investments, which declined 11 percentage points over the five years, according to the survey.
Hong Kong funds have the highest exposure to equities at 66 per cent, although that’s been relatively stable over the period. Japan’s equity allocation jumped 13 percentage points while South Korea’s increased 8 percentage points.
The money managers are also directing a higher portion of their funds to assets outside of their home countries. On average, foreign stocks now account for 49 per cent of respondents’ equity investments, 4 percentage points higher than five years ago, while foreign fixed-income exposure climbed 7 percentage points to 23 per cent. Funds in Japan, South Korea, Malaysia and Taiwan are among those seeking greater diversification in stocks and fixed income.
• Bloomberg
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Name: Lamsa
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SNAPSHOT
While Huawei did launch the first smartphone with a 50MP image sensor in its P40 series in 2020, Oppo in 2014 introduced the Find 7, which was capable of taking 50MP images: this was done using a combination of a 13MP sensor and software that resulted in shots seemingly taken from a 50MP camera.
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
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Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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Expert input
If you had all the money in the world, what’s the one sneaker you would buy or create?
“There are a few shoes that have ‘grail’ status for me. But the one I have always wanted is the Nike x Patta x Parra Air Max 1 - Cherrywood. To get a pair in my size brand new is would cost me between Dh8,000 and Dh 10,000.” Jack Brett
“If I had all the money, I would approach Nike and ask them to do my own Air Force 1, that’s one of my dreams.” Yaseen Benchouche
“There’s nothing out there yet that I’d pay an insane amount for, but I’d love to create my own shoe with Tinker Hatfield and Jordan.” Joshua Cox
“I think I’d buy a defunct footwear brand; I’d like the challenge of reinterpreting a brand’s history and changing options.” Kris Balerite
“I’d stir up a creative collaboration with designers Martin Margiela of the mixed patchwork sneakers, and Yohji Yamamoto.” Hussain Moloobhoy
“If I had all the money in the world, I’d live somewhere where I’d never have to wear shoes again.” Raj Malhotra
RESULT
West Brom 2 Liverpool 2
West Brom: Livermore (79'), Rondón (88' )
Liverpool: Ings (4'), Salah (72')
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
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MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
The Bio
Hometown: Bogota, Colombia
Favourite place to relax in UAE: the desert around Al Mleiha in Sharjah or the eastern mangroves in Abu Dhabi
The one book everyone should read: 100 Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. It will make your mind fly
Favourite documentary: Chasing Coral by Jeff Orlowski. It's a good reality check about one of the most valued ecosystems for humanity
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