Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on Saturday that she had hoped to do "better" on controlling irregular migration, which has surged since her far-right party won historic elections a year ago.
"Clearly we hoped for better on immigration, where we worked so hard," Ms Meloni admitted to the TG1 channel.
"The results are not what we hoped to see. It is certainly a very complex problem but I'm sure we'll get to the bottom of it."
Ms Meloni's right-wing Brothers of Italy party was elected in large part on a promise to reduce mass migration into Italy.
But the number of people arriving on boats from North Africa has surged, with more than 130,000 recorded by the Interior Ministry so far this year, up from 70,000 in the same period of 2022.
After 8,500 people arrived on the tiny island of Lampedusa in only three days this month, Ms Meloni demanded that the EU do more to help relieve the pressure.
Brussels agreed to increase efforts, and this week said it would start to release money to Tunisia, from which many of the boats leave, under a pact aimed at stemming irregular migration.
But Ms Meloni's main coalition partner, Matteo Salvini of the anti-immigration League party, has been dismissive of EU efforts to manage the surge of arrivals, which he called an "act of war".
Italy migrant boat tragedy - in pictures
The League this weekend also condemned Germany for funding an NGO conducting at-sea rescues in the Mediterranean, saying it represented "very serious interference" in Italian affairs.
Defence Minister Guido Crosetto, a member of Ms Meloni's party, on Sunday, told La Stampa newspaper the move put Italy "in difficulty".
"If Germany cared about the fate of people in difficulty and really wanted to help us save lives, they could help … to seriously combat criminals who traffic people," he said in a statement on Sunday evening.
Several charity rescue ships operate in the Central Mediterranean, the world's deadliest sea crossing for migrants, although they only pick up about five per cent of arrivals to Italy, Mr Crosetto said.
The German Foreign Office confirmed it was providing between €400,000 ($426,000) and €800,000 each to two projects, "for the support on land in Italy of people rescued at sea and an NGO project for sea-rescue operations".
While interior minister in a previous government in 2019, Mr Salvini blocked several charity ships from landing rescued migrants in Italy, a move that saw him prosecuted in Sicily on charges of kidnapping.
Since taking office in October, Ms Meloni's government has restricted the activities of the ships, which it accuses of encouraging migrants, while vowing to clamp down on people smugglers.
It has also sought to boost repatriation of arrivals ineligible for asylum, including by building detention centres and extending the time migrants can be held there.
It emerged this week it would also be requiring migrants awaiting a decision on asylum to pay a deposit of €5,000 or be sent to a detention centre, prompting accusations that the state was charging "protection money".
The centre-left Democratic Party said last week that "on immigration, the Italian right has failed".
"It continues on a path that is demagogic and consciously cynical, but above all totally ineffective both in the respect and safeguarding of human rights and for the protection of Italy's interests," it said in a note.
The criticism of Germany comes after Berlin temporarily stopped accepting migrants living in Italy, after Rome suspended EU rules governing the distribution of migrants.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Indika
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDeveloper%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2011%20Bit%20Studios%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Odd%20Meter%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EConsole%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20PlayStation%205%2C%20PC%20and%20Xbox%20series%20X%2FS%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
NINE WINLESS GAMES
Arsenal 2-2 Crystal Palace (Oct 27, PL)
Liverpool 5-5 Arsenal (Oct 30, EFL)
Arsenal 1-1 Wolves (Nov 02, PL)
Vitoria Guimaraes 1-1 Arsenal (Nov 6, Europa)
Leicester 2-0 Arsenal (Nov 9, PL)
Arsenal 2-2 Southampton (Nov 23, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Eintracht Frankfurt (Nov 28, Europa)
Norwich 2-2 Arsenal (Dec 01, PL)
Arsenal 1-2 Brighton (Dec 05, PL)
The specs: 2019 GMC Yukon Denali
Price, base: Dh306,500
Engine: 6.2-litre V8
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Power: 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 621Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.9L / 100km
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.”
Brief scores:
Manchester City 2
Gundogan 27', De Bruyne 85'
Crystal Palace 3
Schlupp 33', Townsend 35', Milivojevic 51' (pen)
Man of the Match: Andros Townsend (Crystal Palace)
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
