Denmark is in talks with Rwanda to transfer asylum seekers to the East African nation, similar to the recent plan announced by Britain that has proved so controversial.
The move would send migrants arriving in Denmark, just south of the Arctic Circle, about 6,600 kilometres to East Africa and a country just south of the equator.
A deal would also make Denmark the first European Union member to effectively bypass the bloc's fragmented migration and asylum system.
The revelation comes days after the UK announced its deal with Rwanda that has created days of controversy for Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
In the UK, the government is promoting it as a way to dissuade migrants using the English Channel route to enter the country, and to remove human traffickers from the system.
Opponents include the country’s most senior Christian leaders, the UN and charities working with refugees.
In Denmark, Immigration Minister Mattias Tesfaye said it also wanted to cut human traffickers from the migration equation.
He said wants to “ensure a more dignified approach than the criminal network of human traffickers that characterises migration across the Mediterranean today” .
“Our dialogue with the Rwandan government includes a mechanism for the transfer of asylum seekers,” he said.
Denmark has introduced increasingly harsh immigration policies in the past decade, and passed a law last year that allows refugees arriving on Danish soil to be moved to asylum centres in a partner country.
That move drew criticism from human rights advocates, the UN and the European Commission, but Denmark failed to find a partner country at that time.
The EU Commission has said relocating refugees outside Europe is “not possible” under current EU rules but Denmark is exempt from some EU rules, including asylum standards, because of an opt-out.
EU countries previously discussed setting up external centres to receive refugees in 2016-2018 after a surge in Mediterranean arrivals, but legal, humanitarian, political, safety and financial concerns at the time eclipsed the proposals.
Sending asylum seekers abroad for processing is “both irresponsible and lacking in solidarity”, said the Danish Refugee Council, an NGO.
Denmark has not yet struck a deal with Rwanda, Mr Tesfaye said, but immigration speakers in parliament have been summoned to a meeting on the matter on Thursday next week. The government needs parliamentary backing for a potential deal with Rwanda.
Company%20profile
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Uefa Nations League
League A:
Germany, Portugal, Belgium, Spain, France, England, Switzerland, Italy, Poland, Iceland, Croatia, Netherlands
League B:
Austria, Wales, Russia, Slovakia, Sweden, Ukraine, Republic of Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Czech Republic, Turkey
League C:
Hungary, Romania, Scotland, Slovenia, Greece, Serbia, Albania, Norway, Montenegro, Israel, Bulgaria, Finland, Cyprus, Estonia, Lithuania
League D:
Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Latvia, Faroe Islands, Luxembourg, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Liechtenstein, Malta, Andorra, Kosovo, San Marino, Gibraltar
UK%20record%20temperature
%3Cp%3E38.7C%20(101.7F)%20set%20in%20Cambridge%20in%202019%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Results
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStage%202%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Soudal%E2%80%93Quick-Step%20-%2018%E2%80%9911%E2%80%9D%3Cbr%3E2.%20EF%20Education%20%E2%80%93%20EasyPost%20-%201%22%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ineos%20Grenadiers%20-%203%22%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EGeneral%20classification%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3E1.%20Lucas%20Plapp%20(AUS)%20Ineos%20Grenadiers%3Cbr%3E2.%20Remco%20Evenepoel%20(BEL)%20Soudal%E2%80%93Quick-Step%20-%20ST%3Cbr%3E3.%20Nikias%20Arndt%20(GER)%20Bahrain%20Victorious%20-%203%22%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
RESULT
Argentina 0 Croatia 3
Croatia: Rebic (53'), Modric (80'), Rakitic (90' 1)
Background: Chemical Weapons
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
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.”
WandaVision
Starring: Elizabeth Olsen, Paul Bettany
Directed by: Matt Shakman
Rating: Four stars
Race card
4pm Al Bastakiya Listed US$300,000 (Dirt) 1,900m
4.35pm Mahab Al Shimaal Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,200m
5.10pm Nad Al Sheba Turf Group 3 $350,000 (Turf) 1,200m
5.45pm Burj Nahaar Group 3 $350,000 (D) 1,600m
6.20pm Jebel Hatta Group 1 $400,000 (T) 1,800m
6.55pm Al Maktoum Challenge Round-3 Group 1 $600,000 (D) 2,000m
7.30pm Dubai City Of Gold Group 2 $350,000 (T) 2,410m
The National selections:
4pm Zabardast
4.35pm Ibn Malik
5.10pm Space Blues
5.45pm Kimbear
6.20pm Barney Roy
6.55pm Matterhorn
7.30pm Defoe
SQUADS
India
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Expo details
Expo 2020 Dubai will be the first World Expo to be held in the Middle East, Africa and South Asia
The world fair will run for six months from October 20, 2020 to April 10, 2021.
It is expected to attract 25 million visits
Some 70 per cent visitors are projected to come from outside the UAE, the largest proportion of international visitors in the 167-year history of World Expos.
More than 30,000 volunteers are required for Expo 2020
The site covers a total of 4.38 sqkm, including a 2 sqkm gated area
It is located adjacent to Al Maktoum International Airport in Dubai South
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How the bonus system works
The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.
The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.
There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).
All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.
