Trump calls for US constitution to be 'terminated'

Donald Trump has called for parts of the US constitution to be “terminated” and launched a renewed attack on the integrity of the 2020 presidential election that he lost to Joe Biden by seven million votes.

Mr Trump's latest assault on US democratic norms comes after an investigative journalist published a series of tweets that showed how Twitter limited sharing of a New York Post article in 2020 detailing the alleged contents of a stolen laptop that reportedly belonged to Mr Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

“So, with the revelation of MASSIVE & WIDESPREAD FRAUD & DECEPTION in working closely with Big Tech Companies, the DNC, & the Democrat Party, do you throw the Presidential Election Results of 2020 OUT and declare the RIGHTFUL WINNER, or do you have a NEW ELECTION?” Mr Trump wrote on his Truth Social media platform on Saturday.

“A Massive Fraud of this type and magnitude allows for the termination of all rules, regulations, and articles, even those found in the Constitution. Our great 'Founders' did not want, and would not condone, False & Fraudulent Elections!”

A screengrab from his Truth Social media platform shows a message from former president Donald Trump in which he suggests parts of the US Constitution should be 'terminated'.

Mr Trump, who is running for president again in 2024, did not elaborate on which aspects of one of America's founding documents should be overturned.

His baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen through widespread election fraud have been repeatedly debunked by dozens of judges across the US.

Mr Trump's message came after journalist Matt Taibbi posted a series of tweets and images of what he said were leaked internal Twitter messages and emails.

He did not say where the messages came from but Twitter owner Elon Musk heralded the release of the emails and teased the publication of the so-called “Twitter Files”.

The story goes back to late 2020 during the closing stages of the presidential campaign, when Twitter limited access to a New York Post article containing unverified claims about Hunter Biden’s activities in Ukraine.

The contents of Hunter Biden's laptop reportedly include evidence of him using narcotics and paying women for sex. Republicans have vowed to bring renewed attention to the laptop when they take control of the House of Representatives in January.

At the time it restricted sharing of the New York Post story, Twitter said it did so because it included screenshots and images that violated the company’s Hacked Materials Policy.

Then-chief executive Jack Dorsey later said that such a move without providing more context had been “unacceptable”.

After Mr Trump called for parts of America's constitution to be overturned, the White House said such an attack on US norms should be “universally condemned”.

“The American constitution is a sacrosanct document that for over 200 years has guaranteed that freedom and the rule of law prevail in our great country,” the White House said.

“The constitution brings the American people together — regardless of party — and elected leaders swear to uphold it”.

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RESULTS

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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.”

Innotech Profile

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Founder/CEO: Othman Al Mandhari

Based: Muscat, Oman

Sector: Additive manufacturing, 3D printing technologies

Size: 15 full-time employees

Stage: Seed stage and seeking Series A round of financing

Investors: Oman Technology Fund from 2017 to 2019, exited through an agreement with a new investor to secure new funding that it under negotiation right now.

Persuasion

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Date started: 2018

Founders: Charaf El Mansouri, Nisma Benani, Leah Howe

Based: Abu Dhabi

Sector: TravelTech

Funding stage: Pre-series A

Investors: Convivialite Ventures, BY Partners, Shorooq Partners, L& Ventures, Flat6Labs

Bio:

Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour

Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people

Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

Favourite food: Fish and vegetables

Favourite place to visit: London

The biog

Name: Timothy Husband

Nationality: New Zealand

Education: Degree in zoology at The University of Sydney

Favourite book: Lemurs of Madagascar by Russell A Mittermeier

Favourite music: Billy Joel

Weekends and holidays: Talking about animals or visiting his farm in Australia

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Based: Dubai with operations in the UAE and US

Sector: Tech

Size: 20 employees

Stage of funding: Seed

Investors: Three founders (two silent co-founders) and one venture capital fund