Yemen's President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi has appointed Khaled Al Yamani as the country's foreign minister, replacing Abdel Malek Al Mekhlafi, according to a statement carried by the state news agency, Saba.
Mr Mekhlafi will become an adviser to the president, the report said, with Yemen's Ambassador to the United States, Ahmed Awadh bin Mubarak, absorbing the duties of Mr Yamani's past position as Yemen's representative to the United Nations.
Mr Hadi's internationally recognised government, supported by an Arab coalition, has been battling Iran-backed Houthi rebels across much of Yemen since 2014.
The administration is currently based in the southern port city of Aden after the Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa.
Mr Al Yamani was critical of Iran's influence in Yemen during his tenure as Yemen's representative to the UN. Before his appointment to the New York based UN in 2014, prior to the Houthi takeover of Sanaa, Mr Al Yamani worked in various roles in the foreign ministry.
The 58-year-old is believed to have met this week with the newly appointed UN envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, to discuss a peace plan, before his move back to head the foreign ministry.
Mr Griffiths is expected to present his final framework for talks by June 15.
The cabinet changes came as 10 members of Yemen's parliament, including deputy speaker Naser Bajeil, managed to flee from rebel-held Sanaa, according to media reports, after a six-month siege by the Houthis.
Mr Bajeil, who heads the General People's Congress (GPC) in the Shabwa province, arrived in Shabwa with his family on Wednesday night, Abdulrahman Mehdar, a GPC member, told The National.
"Residents of the area, including officials, tribes' leaders, and GPC members, rushed to welcome him as he arrived to the city of Ataq in the country's Shabwa governorate.
“Bajeil refused to follow the Houthi rebels' orders to take part in parliamentary meetings after the murder of former President Ali Abdullah Saleh. He stayed home and kept ignoring the Houthis’ threats until he was successfully able to sneak out of Sanaa."
Mr Mehdar said that Mr Bajeil did not disclose how he managed to escape the Iran-backed rebels, who killed Mr Saleh late last year after he broke their alliance and switched sides.
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Read more
Peace in Yemen needs more than two parties
Saudi's Adel Al Jubeir: Actions of Yemen's rebels prove 'terrorist' intentions
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Saudi-owned Al Arabiya television reported on Thursday morning that 10 parliamentarians escaped the Yemeni capital.
It cited sources as saying: "The 10 parliamentarians that fled Sanaa belong to the governorates of Ibb, Dhamar, Taez, Al Jawf, Raymah, Hodeidah, and Al Shabwa."
On Wednesday, a Yemeni source said that five members of parliament escaped Sanaa and arrived in Aden.
MP Ahmed Hashem said all members of parliament would leave the capital if given the opportunity.
"Everyone will go. I am their colleague and I know what is going on inside [their heads]," he said. "Some MPs sold their houses in Sanaa for next to nothing and headed to Aden."
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
The National's picks
4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young
UAE%20athletes%20heading%20to%20Paris%202024
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Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
The 12 Syrian entities delisted by UK
Ministry of Interior
Ministry of Defence
General Intelligence Directorate
Air Force Intelligence Agency
Political Security Directorate
Syrian National Security Bureau
Military Intelligence Directorate
Army Supply Bureau
General Organisation of Radio and TV
Al Watan newspaper
Cham Press TV
Sama TV
Countries offering golden visas
UK
Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany
Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy
The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland
Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada
Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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More from our Neighbourhood series:
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.”
