Sri Lankan authorities posted armoured vehicles and troops on to the streets of the capital Colombo on Wednesday, two days after pro-government mobs attacked peaceful protesters, triggering a wave of violence across the country.
Security forces have been ordered to shoot those deemed to be participating in the violence, as sporadic acts of arson and vandalism continued despite a strict nationwide curfew that began on Monday evening.
Anti-government protesters have been demanding the resignations of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and his brother, who stepped down as prime minister this week, over a debt crisis that has nearly bankrupted Sri Lanka and left its people facing severe shortages of fuel, food and basic essentials.
In the past few days, eight people have been killed and more than 200 injured in violent attacks in which mobs set fire to buildings and vehicles.
Armoured vehicles with soldiers riding on top rolled into some areas of Colombo. Defying the curfew, some protesters regrouped opposite the president’s office to continue demonstrations that began more than three weeks ago.
Videos posted on social media showed lines of military vehicles moving out of the capital, along with soldiers riding on motorbikes, and setting up checkpoints across the country amid fears that a political vacuum could pave the way for a military takeover.
Kamal Gunaratne of the Defence Ministry denied speculation of a military takeover at a news conference held with the country’s army and navy chiefs.
“None of our officers has a desire to take over the government," Mr Gunaratne said. "It has never happened in our country and it is not easy to do it here.” President Rajapaksa is a former top army officer and remains the country’s official defence minister.
Mr Gunaratne said the army would return to its barracks once the security situation returns to normal.
The US State Department expressed concern over the military deployment.
Spokesman Ned Price said it was “closely monitoring the deployment of troops, something that is of concern to us”.
The prime minister’s departure has created an administrative vacuum with no Cabinet, which dissolved automatically with his resignation.
Navy commander Nishantha Ulugetenne said the former prime minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, was being protected at a naval base in Trincomalee on the north-eastern coast.
After the prime minister resigned, he and his family were evacuated from his official residence through thousands of protesters trying to break into the heavily guarded, colonial-era building.
The Indian Embassy denied social media speculation that “certain political persons and their families have fled to India” and also rejected speculation that India was sending troops to Sri Lanka.
India’s Ministry of External Affairs affirmed its support for Sri Lanka on Tuesday, saying it had extended $3.5 billion to help overcome the economic crisis and had sent essential items such as food and medicine.
On Monday, supporters gathered at the prime minister’s official residence to urge Mahinda Rajapaksa to stay in office. After the meeting, mobs backing the government beat peaceful protesters who had camped out near the prime minister’s residence and president’s office demanding their resignations, as police watched and did little to stop them. Across the country, angry citizens responded by attacking government supporters and ruling party politicians.
Eight people including a ruling party politician and two police officers were killed and 219 were injured in the violence, the Defence Ministry said, while 104 buildings and 60 vehicles were burnt.
Pro-government mobs were chased, beaten and stripped. As word spread of where buses were taking government supporters, people smashed them and set them on fire. Homes of government supporters were attacked and some businesses were set alight.
The European Union called on Sri Lanka's authorities to start an investigation into the events and hold accountable those who instigated and carried out the violence.
Sri Lanka is nearing bankruptcy and has suspended payments on $7 billion in foreign loans due this year out of $25bn due by 2026. Its total foreign debt is $51bn.
The shortage of foreign currency has led to falling imports and acute shortages of essentials including food, cooking gas, fuel and medicine. For months, people have been forced to stand in long queues for hours to buy the limited stocks, with many returning with nothing.
Protesters blame the Rajapaksa brothers’ alleged corruption and style of administration for the economic crisis.
Sri Lanka has started talks with the International Monetary Fund on a rescue plan and is beginning negotiations on a debt restructuring with creditors.
The Central Bank on Wednesday urged the president and Parliament to quickly restore political stability, warning that the economy could collapse within days.
Central Bank governor Nandalal Weerasinghe called for a stable government.
"A Cabinet, a Parliament, a prime minister, a finance minister are all needed,” he said. “Without that kind of an administration, it is very difficult for us make any progress.”
China, the country’s biggest foreign creditor, is willing to “play a positive role in easing Sri Lanka’s debt burden”, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said in a written response to questions.
“China is willing to support relevant financial institutions to negotiate with Sri Lanka with the greatest sincerity and resolve them properly,” it said.
Scoreline
Bournemouth 2
Wilson 70', Ibe 74'
Arsenal 1
Bellerin 52'
Winners
Ballon d’Or (Men’s)
Ousmane Dembélé (Paris Saint-Germain / France)
Ballon d’Or Féminin (Women’s)
Aitana Bonmatí (Barcelona / Spain)
Kopa Trophy (Best player under 21 – Men’s)
Lamine Yamal (Barcelona / Spain)
Best Young Women’s Player
Vicky López (Barcelona / Spain)
Yashin Trophy (Best Goalkeeper – Men’s)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester City / Italy)
Best Women’s Goalkeeper
Hannah Hampton (England / Aston Villa and Chelsea)
Men’s Coach of the Year
Luis Enrique (Paris Saint-Germain)
Women’s Coach of the Year
Sarina Wiegman (England)
Key figures in the life of the fort
Sheikh Dhiyab bin Isa (ruled 1761-1793) Built Qasr Al Hosn as a watchtower to guard over the only freshwater well on Abu Dhabi island.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Dhiyab (ruled 1793-1816) Expanded the tower into a small fort and transferred his ruling place of residence from Liwa Oasis to the fort on the island.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Shakhbut (ruled 1818-1833) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further as Abu Dhabi grew from a small village of palm huts to a town of more than 5,000 inhabitants.
Sheikh Khalifa bin Shakhbut (ruled 1833-1845) Repaired and fortified the fort.
Sheikh Saeed bin Tahnoon (ruled 1845-1855) Turned Qasr Al Hosn into a strong two-storied structure.
Sheikh Zayed bin Khalifa (ruled 1855-1909) Expanded Qasr Al Hosn further to reflect the emirate's increasing prominence.
Sheikh Shakhbut bin Sultan (ruled 1928-1966) Renovated and enlarged Qasr Al Hosn, adding a decorative arch and two new villas.
Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan (ruled 1966-2004) Moved the royal residence to Al Manhal palace and kept his diwan at Qasr Al Hosn.
Sources: Jayanti Maitra, www.adach.ae
If you go...
Etihad Airways flies from Abu Dhabi to Kuala Lumpur, from about Dh3,600. Air Asia currently flies from Kuala Lumpur to Terengganu, with Berjaya Hotels & Resorts planning to launch direct chartered flights to Redang Island in the near future. Rooms at The Taaras Beach and Spa Resort start from 680RM (Dh597).
UAE%20v%20West%20Indies
%3Cp%3EFirst%20ODI%20-%20Sunday%2C%20June%204%20%0D%3Cbr%3ESecond%20ODI%20-%20Tuesday%2C%20June%206%20%0D%3Cbr%3EThird%20ODI%20-%20Friday%2C%20June%209%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMatches%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Stadium.%20All%20games%20start%20at%204.30pm%0D%3Cbr%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EUAE%20squad%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMuhammad%20Waseem%20(captain)%2C%20Aayan%20Khan%2C%20Adithya%20Shetty%2C%20Ali%20Naseer%2C%20Ansh%20Tandon%2C%20Aryansh%20Sharma%2C%20Asif%20Khan%2C%20Basil%20Hameed%2C%20Ethan%20D%E2%80%99Souza%2C%20Fahad%20Nawaz%2C%20Jonathan%20Figy%2C%20Junaid%20Siddique%2C%20Karthik%20Meiyappan%2C%20Lovepreet%20Singh%2C%20Matiullah%2C%20Mohammed%20Faraazuddin%2C%20Muhammad%20Jawadullah%2C%20Rameez%20Shahzad%2C%20Rohan%20Mustafa%2C%20Sanchit%20Sharma%2C%20Vriitya%20Aravind%2C%20Zahoor%20Khan%0D%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
