Yemen's Houthi militia will place 43 UN staff, most of them Yemenis, on trial over the Israeli air strikes in August that killed some of the group's top political leaders, a member of the rebel government has said.
In an interview with Reuters, the Houthis' Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Abdulwahid Abu Ras, said the group's judiciary and security agencies co-ordinated on the steps being taken.
“Therefore, as long as the prosecution is informed, it is certain that this process is moving towards its conclusion, leading to trials and the issuance of judicial rulings,” he said.
Mr Abu Ras accused the World Food Programme of involvement in Israel's attack on members of the Houthi government, which is made up of ministers and shadow ministers directly linked to the group.
The United Nations has repeatedly rejected accusations that its staff were involved in spying and espionage. If found guilty, they could be executed.
The United Nations renewed its call for the release of staff members detained by Yemen’s Houthi militia, urging the group to free all UN and aid workers being held.
“We call for the immediate release of all of our UN colleagues who have been detained arbitrarily, as well as those from NGOs and international diplomatic missions,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric told reporters in New York.
“We will continue engaging with the Houthis, with the de facto authorities in Sana’a, as well as Member States and partners, to continue to push for the release of our colleagues,” he added.
Israeli strikes on Sanaa, the rebel-held capital, on August 28 killed Houthi prime minister Ahmed Ghaleb Al Rahwi, nine ministers and two cabinet officials as they attended a government meeting.
The Houthis this month announced that their military chief of staff, Muhammad Abdel Kareem Al Ghamari, had been killed, without saying when or how. Israel claimed it was a result of the August air strikes.
Aid distribution
The Houthis detained the UN staff members earlier this month and raided the homes, putting pressure on the global body's agencies as they seek to continue operations in Yemen, where 70 per cent of people are reliant on aid after more than 12 years of war between the rebels and the internationally recognised government.
“These actions are forcing us to reassess the way in which we work in areas controlled by the Houthis,” UN deputy spokesman Farhan Haqq said after the arrests.
There are at least 55 staffers in the Houthi custody, most of them Yemeni nationals after a dozen international staff members were released last week.
Houthi security forces also raided several UN offices in Sanaa on Sunday but the Houthi official said the group will “support and assist” humanitarian organisations.
The Houthis have controlled large swathes of Yemen since they seized the capital in September 2014.
The Iran-backed rebels began a campaign of attacks on ships in the Red Sea a month after the start of Israel's war on Gaza in October 2023, in what they called a show of solidarity with the Palestinian enclave. The war was triggered by an attack on southern Israel by Hamas on October 7, 2023.
The Houthis have faced attacks by the US and western allies, as well as by Israel, in response to the attacks on shipping. They have also launched drones and missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted.
The specs
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- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
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.”
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Zidane's managerial achievements
La Liga: 2016/17
Spanish Super Cup: 2017
Uefa Champions League: 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18
Uefa Super Cup: 2016, 2017
Fifa Club World Cup: 2016, 2017
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Ireland 16 (Tries: Stockdale Cons: Sexton Pens: Sexton 3)
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History's medical milestones
1799 - First small pox vaccine administered
1846 - First public demonstration of anaesthesia in surgery
1861 - Louis Pasteur published his germ theory which proved that bacteria caused diseases
1895 - Discovery of x-rays
1923 - Heart valve surgery performed successfully for first time
1928 - Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin
1953 - Structure of DNA discovered
1952 - First organ transplant - a kidney - takes place
1954 - Clinical trials of birth control pill
1979 - MRI, or magnetic resonance imaging, scanned used to diagnose illness and injury.
1998 - The first adult live-donor liver transplant is carried out
What is cyberbullying?
Cyberbullying or online bullying could take many forms such as sending unkind or rude messages to someone, socially isolating people from groups, sharing embarrassing pictures of them, or spreading rumors about them.
Cyberbullying can take place on various platforms such as messages, on social media, on group chats, or games.
Parents should watch out for behavioural changes in their children.
When children are being bullied they they may be feel embarrassed and isolated, so parents should watch out for signs of signs of depression and anxiety
