The release of Jumpei Yasuda has given hope to groups championing the release of at least 40 other journalists who went missing in Syria or are held there.
The war-torn country has become one of the most dangerous places for journalists to operate since the conflict began in 2011. Over the last seven years, 211 journalists have been killed in the conflict and many more held captive.
Ranking third from last in the Reporters Without Borders Press Freedom Index, all sides in the brutal civil war have taken part in kidnappings, killings and expulsions of writers, photographers and video journalists from the country.
With the release of Mr Yasuda, at least 21 journalists or media contributors are still held hostage in Syria and another 26 imprisoned by President Bashar Al Assad's regime.
Samir Kassab, a Lebanese cameraman for Sky News Arabia disappeared in 2013 along with his colleagues, Ishak Moctar and a Syrian driver while en route from Turkey to Aleppo to cover Eid Al Adha celebrations.
Ayman Mhanna, the Executive Director of the Samir Kassir Foundation, said that any release of a prisoner is a reminder to local authorities that they have still failed to secure his release.
"Any news of a release of a hostage is always a source of hope, and as long as we don't have any clear evidence of the fate of Samir Kassab, we will stick to our belief that he is alive," he told The National.
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The Samir Kassir Foundation is a Beirut-based organisation that promotes cultural and media freedom is named after a journalist who was prominent for his writing against Syrian occupation of Lebanon until he was assassinated in 2005.
Mr Mohanna said Lebanon should leverage their strong relations with Syrian authorities, non-state actors operating in the country and their backers to secure the Lebanese journalist's release.
“This can only happen if there is very active Lebanese diplomacy towards these groups and towards the countries that sponsor these groups,” he said speaking about various sub-state actors within Syria. “As long as we don’t have clear evidence of this diplomacy, we will consider the Lebanese authorities aren’t doing enough,” he said.
Mr Yasuda is the latest foreign journalist to be released from Syrian captivity. Most recently, Hossam Mahmoud, a Syrian journalist was freed as part of an amnesty in June after being held by Hayat Tahrir Al Sham, the same group that held Mr Yasuda.
John Cantlie, a former Sunday Times reporter, was kidnapped near Syrian’s northern border in 2012 along with James Foley, who was later killed by ISIS who shared a video of the execution. Organisations in London have advocated for his release since he was last seen.
Mr Cantile was last seen in a video two years ago, where he was seen on the streets of Mosul commenting on the destruction of the city.
Previous to that, he was featured in an Isis propaganda video looking pale and skinnier than when he was last seen in 2012. He also featured in the Isis magazine Dabiq. Reporters Without Borders has previously said they believe he is being "exploited and used for propaganda purposes”.
The group said that there were unsubstantiated reports in Iraqi media that claimed Mr Cantlie has been killed in air strikes on Mosul.
Austin Tice, a former American Marine who worked as a journalist in Syria, has also been missing since 2012.
Earlier this year, the FBI increased their reward for information regarding Mr Tice’s whereabouts to $1 million. Officials have said Mr Tice is being held by the Syrian government or its allies.
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
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.”
Ziina users can donate to relief efforts in Beirut
Ziina users will be able to use the app to help relief efforts in Beirut, which has been left reeling after an August blast caused an estimated $15 billion in damage and left thousands homeless. Ziina has partnered with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to raise money for the Lebanese capital, co-founder Faisal Toukan says. “As of October 1, the UNHCR has the first certified badge on Ziina and is automatically part of user's top friends' list during this campaign. Users can now donate any amount to the Beirut relief with two clicks. The money raised will go towards rebuilding houses for the families that were impacted by the explosion.”
We Weren’t Supposed to Survive But We Did
We weren’t supposed to survive but we did.
We weren’t supposed to remember but we did.
We weren’t supposed to write but we did.
We weren’t supposed to fight but we did.
We weren’t supposed to organise but we did.
We weren’t supposed to rap but we did.
We weren’t supposed to find allies but we did.
We weren’t supposed to grow communities but we did.
We weren’t supposed to return but WE ARE.
Amira Sakalla
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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