The “Freedom Convoy” lorry driver protests that have brought chaos to parts of Canada and interrupted the flow of goods across the US border could soon spread, authorities said on Thursday, as copycat movements gathered steam as far afield as Europe and New Zealand.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a bulletin that drivers in Southern California could be gearing up for a protest as soon as this weekend, possibly with the goal of disrupting traffic around Sunday's Super Bowl.
A copy of the bulletin, obtained by AP, said drivers may then head to Washington in time for President Joe Biden's State of the Union speech to Congress. It said the protest could be disruptive and tie up traffic but that there have been no calls for violence.
The bulletin to local and state police agencies said the DHS had received reports that lorry drivers are planning to “potentially block roads in major metropolitan cities” in a protest against vaccine mandates and other issues.
In France, thousands of drivers inspired by the Canadian protests planned on Friday evening to converge on Paris, with some aiming to move onwards to Brussels.
In an attempt to head off the disruptions, authorities in Paris and Belgium are banning road blockades and threatening prison time for protesters.
Protests also reached New Zealand, where police in Wellington clashed with demonstrators near Parliament, arresting more than 120 people on Thursday.
In Ottawa, which has become ground zero for the Freedom Convoy, lorry drivers welcomed the idea of their American counterparts initiating a similar movement in the US.
“It's a great thing. It's about time we get on with our life,” said Daniel Doucet, 45, who lost his driving job because he refused to be vaccinated and take routine tests.
“This is a worldwide event now.”
Jason Robitaille, who said he hadn’t used any form of medication in the past 25 years, liked the idea of US lorry drivers resisting the mandates.
“It's good to see that people are standing up against being forced or coerced into putting something into their body that they are not interested in,” said Mr Robitaille, 37, who is a small business owner in Ontario.
Hundreds of demonstrators in lorries have paralysed the streets of central Ottawa for almost two weeks and dozens more have blocked the border crossing at Coutts, Alberta, protesting against vaccine mandates for cross-border drivers and other Covid-19 restrictions.
At the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Windsor, Ontario, to Detroit in the US state of Michigan, a bumper-to-bumper protest in its fourth day has severely disrupted the flow of car parts and other products over the border.
The bridge is the busiest US-Canadian border crossing, carrying 25 per cent of all trade between the two countries, and the effects of the blockade there were quickly felt.
Ford said its Windsor, Ontario, engine plant reopened on Thursday after being shut on Wednesday because of a lack of parts. But the factory and the company’s assembly plant in Oakville, Ontario, near Toronto, are operating at reduced capacity, the carmaker said.
“This interruption on the Detroit-Windsor bridge hurts customers, auto workers, suppliers, communities and companies on both sides of the border,” Ford said in a statement.
“We hope this situation is resolved quickly because it could have widespread impact on all automakers in the US and Canada.”
The White House on Thursday said US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg had spoken with their Canadian counterparts and urged them to help resolve the standoff.
The lorry protests have been promoted and cheered on by many right-wing media outlets, including Fox News, and have attracted support from the likes of former president Donald Trump and Ted Cruz, a senator from Texas.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, a major target of the protesters' ire, has said the demonstrations are undermining democracy, and the country's public safety minister has told US Republicans to stay out of Canada's domestic affairs.
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said on Wednesday that police had not removed protesters there for fear of inflaming the situation. But he added: “We’re not going to let this happen for a prolonged period of time.”
Protesters have been calling for Mr Trudeau’s removal, but most of the restrictive measures around Canada have been put in place by provincial governments. Those include requirements that people show proof-of-vaccination “passports” to enter restaurants, gyms, cinemas and sporting events.
Many provinces announced plans this week to remove or relax those restrictions after the surge in Omicron cases began to decline in the country.
Pandemic restrictions have been far stricter in Canada than in the US, but Canadians have largely supported them. Canada’s Covid-19 death rate is one third that of the US, where the virus has killed nearly one million people.
Agencies contributed to this report
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Arabian Gulf League fixtures:
Friday:
- Emirates v Hatta, 5.15pm
- Al Wahda v Al Dhafra, 5.25pm
- Al Ain v Shabab Al Ahli Dubai, 8.15pm
Saturday:
- Dibba v Ajman, 5.15pm
- Sharjah v Al Wasl, 5.20pm
- Al Jazira v Al Nasr, 8.15pm
Saudi Cup race day
Schedule in UAE time
5pm: Mohamed Yousuf Naghi Motors Cup (Turf), 5.35pm: 1351 Cup (T), 6.10pm: Longines Turf Handicap (T), 6.45pm: Obaiya Arabian Classic for Purebred Arabians (Dirt), 7.30pm: Jockey Club Handicap (D), 8.10pm: Samba Saudi Derby (D), 8.50pm: Saudia Sprint (D), 9.40pm: Saudi Cup (D)
Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
%3Cp%3EHigh%20fever%20(40%C2%B0C%2F104%C2%B0F)%3Cbr%3ESevere%20headache%3Cbr%3EPain%20behind%20the%20eyes%3Cbr%3EMuscle%20and%20joint%20pains%3Cbr%3ENausea%3Cbr%3EVomiting%3Cbr%3ESwollen%20glands%3Cbr%3ERash%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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.”
JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Directed by: Shaka King
Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Lakeith Stanfield, Jesse Plemons
Four stars
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
