Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has rejected the resignation of Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif two days after he publicly said he plans to step down.
In a letter to Mr Zarif reported by the state-linked IRNA news agency, Mr Rouhani said that he was aware of the pressures placed on the country’s diplomats but that he saw the foreign minister as an integral part of the state.
He said he therefore could not accept the resignation as it would not be in the national interest.
In an Instagram post on Wednesday, Mr Zarif shared an image of the Iranian flag and thanked the people and the leadership for their support in him.
"As a modest servant, I have never had any concern but elevating the foreign policy and the status of the foreign ministry," he said in the post. He said he appreciated the support "of the honourable people of Iran, the elite and statesmen during my tenure, especially in the past 30 hours."
Mr Zarif was later seen on television signing two agreements with Armenia as he appeared to be carrying on his duties.
In a ceremony broadcast live on state TV, Mr Zarif signed two agreements to expand co-operation between Iran and Armenia.
The news came shortly after Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guards general Qassem Soleimani said on Wednesday that Mr Zarif had the backing of the country's leader and remained the person in charge of the country's foreign policy.
Mr Zarif announced in an Instagram post on Monday that he would be stepping down as foreign minister.
"Mr Zarif is in charge of the foreign policy of the Islamic Republic and has always been supported by the top officials,” Mr Soleimani, the head of the Quds Force — the extraterritorial branch of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps — was quoted as saying by Fars news agency.
Although Mr Soleimani did not address the resignation directly, his comments will be seen as a sign that Mr Zarif could stay on.
In his unexpected Instagram post on Monday, Mr Zarif apologised for his “shortcomings” as foreign minister.
His announcement was met with consternation by many in Tehran on Tuesday morning.
At least 150 MPs signed a letter to Mr Rouhani urging him to reject Mr Zarif’s resignation and the stock market took a hit in early trading dropping over 1 per cent on the back of the news when markets opened.
“Undoubtedly the Iranian people, government and state will not benefit from this resignation,” said Mostafa Kavakebian, a reformist MP who was among those calling for Mr Rouhani to reject the resignation.
The 59-year old Mr Zarif, who has served as Mr Rouhani’s foreign minister since 2013, has faced constant pressure and criticism from hardliners in the country as well as from the international community and the United States.
One of the architects of the 2015 nuclear deal with the West, Mr Zarif’s critics claimed vindication when US President Donald Trump announced that he was withdrawing from the agreement last year.
Since then, the US has pursued a maximalist approach to Iran and has imposed tough sanctions while at the same time corralling allies around the world to abide by them. The impact in Tehran has been acute with the economy taking a massive hit by the loss of oil exports.
The impact of a collapsing currency has hit the people of Iran with traders staging several rallies and protests at the lack of action to stabilise the economy.
But Mr Rouhani and his allies like Mr Zarif are also coming under increasing pressure from reformists in the country who criticise the government for failing to open up the country economically and socially.
The president has faced calls to resign in recent months and parliament has hauled him before MPs to be quizzed on his administration’s policies.
However, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that he has faith in the president and wants to see him see out his full term until 2021.
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The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
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Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
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Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
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Company%20Profile
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
Young women have more “financial grit”, but fall behind on investing
In an October survey of young adults aged 16 to 25, Charles Schwab found young women are more driven to reach financial independence than young men (67 per cent versus. 58 per cent). They are more likely to take on extra work to make ends meet and see more value than men in creating a plan to achieve their financial goals. Yet, despite all these good ‘first’ measures, they are investing and saving less than young men – falling early into the financial gender gap.
While the women surveyed report spending 36 per cent less than men, they have far less savings than men ($1,267 versus $2,000) – a nearly 60 per cent difference.
In addition, twice as many young men as women say they would invest spare cash, and almost twice as many young men as women report having investment accounts (though most young adults do not invest at all).
“Despite their good intentions, young women start to fall behind their male counterparts in savings and investing early on in life,” said Carrie Schwab-Pomerantz, senior vice president, Charles Schwab. “They start off showing a strong financial planning mindset, but there is still room for further education when it comes to managing their day-to-day finances.”
Ms Schwab-Pomerantz says parents should be conveying the same messages to boys and girls about money, but should tailor those conversations based on the individual and gender.
"Our study shows that while boys are spending more than girls, they also are saving more. Have open and honest conversations with your daughters about the wage and savings gap," she said. "Teach kids about the importance of investing – especially girls, who as we see in this study, aren’t investing as much. Part of being financially prepared is learning to make the most of your money, and that means investing early and consistently."
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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Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
Match info
Manchester United 1 (Van de Beek 80') Crystal Palace 3 (Townsend 7', Zaha pen 74' & 85')
Man of the match Wilfried Zaha (Crystal Palace)
TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
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The Perfect Couple
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Key facilities
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- Premier League-standard football pitch
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
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