Hello from The National and welcome to the View from London – your weekly guide to the big stories from our London bureau
Yemen's fate
Stalemate takes many forms in the divided Yemen after years of war.The internationally recognised government is based in Aden while the Houthi regime, an international pariah, holds the capital Sanaa.
Things are changing as Aden-based forces move to establish control along the coast. Mohamed Sahimi, the Southern Transitional Council representative in the UK, has been talking to The National about his party stepping into a security vacuum to shore up the region.
"Armed militias had been enabled by northern government troops in Hadhramaut, including those associated with the Muslim Brotherhood and other extremist groups, including [Al Qaeda in the Arabian Penninsula]," he said.
"Across the south, the STC is leading on security responsibilities to protect our civilians and counter the threat from the Houthis in the north. This is fully in the interests of Yemen, the region and the West."
One demonstration of the push changing the dynamic is the position of the Muslim Brotherhood-aligned Al Islah Party, which was put on display in Chatham House on Tuesday.
Abdul-Razak Al Hijri, the acting secretary general, made an appearance in London where he pleaded for a negotiated way out of the sudden switch of control around Aden and the southern coastal provinces.
The STC says it is taking control of the provinces to fight smuggling and terrorist networks in south-east Yemen, which were feeding the Houthis, Aqap and Al Shabab in Somalia.
It has accused a branch of the Yemeni army in Hadhramaut, known as the First Military Region, of tolerating these smuggling networks. The First Military Region is reportedly loyal to the Islah party.
Yemeni supporters of STC leader Aidarous Al Zubaidi at a rally. AFP
Al Hijri said he met STC leaders recently and believes that a diplomatic solution is possible. “The STC has their project, which is the restoration of the southern state. We do not have a problem with this issue being discussed,” he said.
“We met with them recently. We told them, 'Let's first work to restore the state and let‘s all of us present our reservations and concerns, and each one of us can present the guarantees they believe will reassure the other actors'."
Al Islah also appears to essentially favour the status quo with the Houthi domination of northern Yemen, including the capital Sanaa. STC leader Aidarous Al Zubaidi has suggested a “serious campaign to free the north” of Yemen, which is under Houthi control, could be next.
Paramount's bid for Warner Brothers Discovery has sent the media and international investment community into a frenzy.
It’s not simply the size of the hostile takeover attempt at $108 billion for Warner, or WBD, that has caused excitement. It’s also the fact that three Gulf sovereign wealth funds have come together on the same mega-play. Abu Dhabi’s L’imad Holding Company, the Qatar Investment Authority and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are jointly throwing their considerable weight behind the Paramount strike.
Chris Blackhurst writes on how a contribution of $24 billion to the offer led by David Ellison is potentially transformative. Mr Ellison controls Paramount and moved to hijack Netflix’s agreed rival approach for the Hollywood movie studio and owner of CNN, HBO and other media platforms.
The funds are determinedly pursuing policies of diversifying away from a historic concentration on oil and energy. They want to take their holdings and economies into new, digitally focused sectors. Media, sport, entertainment and tourism are key targets. Within that context, WBD is a glittering diamond.
Top-level Ukraine talks seem to have been non-stop for months. Europe has come under pressure from Washington to bring out concessions from Kyiv. The latest rounds this week have created optimism that a ceasefire may be imminent, although analysts suggest the main win is keeping the US on board.
This is because top US envoys went to Berlin on Monday to secure from Ukraine grudging acceptance that any deal would mean it could not join Nato. US President Donald Trump hailed potential progress from “very long and very good talks” with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the leaders of the UK, France, Germany and Nato.
US envoy Steve Witkoff looks up to German Chancellor Friedrich Merz. Reuters
Military and diplomatic analysts continue to pour cold water on the initiative driven by Mr Trump. Experts have warned that this optimism is likely to be misplaced, with the harsh reality that Russia has little incentive to accept the peace terms.
Keir Giles, a senior fellow at Chatham House, suggested to us that the flurry of statements about ceasefires and peace support forces are all “hypothetical”, with scant connection to political reality.
Something must be done and both Mr Trump and Friedrich Merz, the German chancellor, think a truce could happen before the end of the year.
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The Nobel Prize was created by wealthy Swedish chemist and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel.
In his will he dictated that the bulk of his estate should be used to fund "prizes to those who, during the preceding year, have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind".
Nobel is best known as the inventor of dynamite, but also wrote poetry and drama and could speak Russian, French, English and German by the age of 17. The five original prize categories reflect the interests closest to his heart.
Nobel died in 1896 but it took until 1901, following a legal battle over his will, before the first prizes were awarded.
The biog
Favourite hobby: I love to sing but I don’t get to sing as much nowadays sadly.
Favourite book: Anything by Sidney Sheldon.
Favourite movie: The Exorcist 2. It is a big thing in our family to sit around together and watch horror movies, I love watching them.
Favourite holiday destination: The favourite place I have been to is Florence, it is a beautiful city. My dream though has always been to visit Cyprus, I really want to go there.
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday Hertha Berlin v Union Berlin (11.30pm)
Saturday Freiburg v Borussia Monchengladbach, Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Dortmund, Cologne v Wolfsburg, Arminia Bielefeld v Mainz (6.30pm) Bayern Munich v RB Leipzig (9.30pm)
Sunday Werder Bremen v Stuttgart (6.30pm), Schalke v Bayer Leverkusen (9pm)
Monday Hoffenheim v Augsburg (11.30pm)
UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FIXTURES
All kick-off times 10.45pm UAE ( 4 GMT) unless stated
Tuesday
Sevilla v Maribor
Spartak Moscow v Liverpool
Manchester City v Shakhtar Donetsk
Napoli v Feyenoord
Besiktas v RB Leipzig
Monaco v Porto
Apoel Nicosia v Tottenham Hotspur
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid
Wednesday
Basel v Benfica
CSKA Moscow Manchester United
Paris Saint-Germain v Bayern Munich
Anderlecht v Celtic
Qarabag v Roma (8pm)
Atletico Madrid v Chelsea
Juventus v Olympiakos
Sporting Lisbon v Barcelona
MATCH INFO
Southampton 0
Manchester City 1 (Sterling 16')
Man of the match: Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City)
De De Pyaar De
Produced: Luv Films, YRF Films
Directed: Akiv Ali
Cast: Ajay Devgn, Tabu, Rakul Preet Singh, Jimmy Sheirgill, Jaaved Jaffrey
Rating: 3.5/5 stars
When: Thursday, 9pm Arizona time (Friday UAE, 8am)
Electric scooters: some rules to remember
Riders must be 14-years-old or over
Wear a protective helmet
Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
Do not drive outside designated lanes
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.”
THE LOWDOWN
Photograph
Rating: 4/5
Produced by: Poetic License Motion Pictures; RSVP Movies
