Sri Lanka’s Catholic services including public masses will resume on Sunday but under high-level security after the wave of suicide bombings that killed at least 253 people at three churches and three luxury hotels across the country on Easter Sunday.
Cardinal Malcolm Ranjith said the Church was closely monitoring investigations into the April 21 suicide attacks and wanted to be sure of the security situation before returning to daily services.
"On the 5th of May we are going to begin [Sunday] masses," he said on Tuesday.
"But we will start with a smaller number of masses and see if we can slowly increase it depending on how the situation develops."
The cardinal, who is also Archbishop of Colombo, conducted a private memorial mass that was broadcast live on television last Sunday after cancelling all public services amid fears of a repeat of the attacks.
Armed guards and an armoured personnel carrier have been placed outside his Colombo residence as part of his security arrangements.
But he said he has returned a bulletproof limousine provided by the government and instead travelled in an ordinary car.
"I am not afraid. I don't need bulletproof vehicles to go about. The Lord is my protector," he said.
"But I want security for my people, and for the country."
The US ambassador to Sri Lanka said that some of the radical Islamist militants behind the Easter Sunday bombings were likely to be still at large and could be planning more attacks.
Sri Lankan security forces also said they were maintaining a high level of alert amid intelligence reports that the militants were likely to strike before the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, which is due to begin next Monday.
"Tremendous progress has been made towards apprehending those plotters but I don't think the story is over yet," said Ambassador Alaina Teplitz.
The attack was allegedly carried out by a cell of nine Sri Lankans inspired by ISIS, detonating in three cities across the country. The mastermind is known as Zaharan Hashim. He appeared in a video released by ISIS after the attacks, showing him leading others in pledging allegiance to the group’s chief Abu Bakr Al Baghdadi.
One of his alleged followers appeared in an Indian court on Tuesday after admitting he wanted to attack the country that neighbours Sri Lanka.
India has been concerned about Islamist extremists on its soil for some time and the Sri Lanka bombings left authorities alarmed that India might be at risk of an extremist attack.
An Indian, identified as Riyas A, alias Riyas Aboobacker, 29, was arrested on Monday by India's National Investigation Agency, which handles counter-terrorism cases.
During interrogation, he "disclosed that he has been following speeches/videos of Mohammed Zaharan of Sri Lanka for more than a year", an NIA statement said.
"He admitted that he wanted to carry out a suicide attack in Kerala," a southern Indian state, it added.
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Which honey takes your fancy?
Al Ghaf Honey
The Al Ghaf tree is a local desert tree which bears the harsh summers with drought and high temperatures. From the rich flowers, bees that pollinate this tree can produce delicious red colour honey in June and July each year
Sidr Honey
The Sidr tree is an evergreen tree with long and strong forked branches. The blossom from this tree is called Yabyab, which provides rich food for bees to produce honey in October and November. This honey is the most expensive, but tastiest
Samar Honey
The Samar tree trunk, leaves and blossom contains Barm which is the secret of healing. You can enjoy the best types of honey from this tree every year in May and June. It is an historical witness to the life of the Emirati nation which represents the harsh desert and mountain environments
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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Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The biog
Favourite film: Motorcycle Dairies, Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday, Kagemusha
Favourite book: One Hundred Years of Solitude
Holiday destination: Sri Lanka
First car: VW Golf
Proudest achievement: Building Robotics Labs at Khalifa University and King’s College London, Daughters
Driverless cars or drones: Driverless Cars
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
The Word for Woman is Wilderness
Abi Andrews, Serpent’s Tail
Results
Ashraf Ghani 50.64 per cent
Abdullah Abdullah 39.52 per cent
Gulbuddin Hekmatyar 3.85 per cent
Rahmatullah Nabil 1.8 per cent
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
