As a peace drive to end years of war in Yemen gains pace, Houthi rebels resumed attacks around the country’s main port city, undermining attempts to secure a lasting ceasefire ahead of negotiations.
A proposed UN resolution circulated in the Security Council on Monday urged Yemen's warring parties to relaunch negotiations to end the three-year conflict and take urgent steps to tackle the world's worst humanitarian crisis, which has pushed the country to the brink of famine.
The Security Council resolution, according to the Associated Press, calls on Yemen's internationally recognised government and rival Houthi rebels to agree to a ceasefire around the key port of Hodeidah, including a halt to Houthi missile and drone attacks and for all roadblocks to the delivery of humanitarian aid to be removed within two weeks.
Kuwait's UN Ambassador Mansour Al Otaibi, the Arab representative on the Security Council, said he had "problems" with the draft resolution and hoped they would be addressed before a vote.
Negotiations on the draft are scheduled for Tuesday.
The British-drafted resolution, which expresses "unqualified support" for efforts by UN special envoy Martin Griffiths to bring warring parties to the negotiation table, came only days after the UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash affirmed the Arab Coalition's support for Yemen peace talks, which are set to be held in Sweden.
It also came almost a week after the Saudi-led coalition ordered a temporary halt to its offensive against Houthi rebels occupying parts of Hodeidah, raising hopes that a more lasting ceasefire could be reached.
The prospects of a lasting truce gained a boost on Monday when Mohammed Ali Al Houthi, head of the Iran-backed rebel group's Higher Revolutionary Committee, called for the Houthis to stop missile and drone attacks, in a show of support for peace efforts.
But hopes were dashed when Houthi rebels resumed attacks in Hodeidah on Monday night and fired a ballistic missile towards Saudi Arabia, Yemeni information minister Moamer Al Eryani said on Twitter, adding that the missile missed its target and crashed on the Yemeni side of the border.
"I confirm to the UN envoy and the international community that the Houthi militias have no covenant, no charter, no principles, and no culture of peace,” he wrote.
Houthi rebels also shelled positions of pro-government forces in Al Khamseen street, Sanaa street and Al Saleh city, Colonel Mamoon Al Mahjami, spokesperson of the pro-government Al Amalikah forces told The National. Those forces responded, he said.
"It was clear from the beginning that the Houthi militia doesn't have a real intention to halt attacks. We are familiar with how they work. The truce for them means gaining more time to reorganise their ranks and mobilise more fighters to replace those who died or escaped the frontline,” he added.
Colonel Al Mahjami claimed Houthi rebels plan to draw hundreds of reinforcements from Sanaa and Amran province to help boost their forces in Hodeidah. He said the rebel group is planning to use celebrations for the Prophet Mohammed's birthday as a front to call in all of these fighters.
The commander called on residents of Houthi-controlled parts of Hodeidah to avoid rebel celebrations, which he says should not be held in light of violations committed by the group.
"How can Houthis celebrate the prophet’s birthday while they are killing thousands of Muslims and blowing up hundreds of mosques and burning the Holy Quran in many mosques all over our country?” he asked.
Meanwhile, residents of Hodeidahh said rebels continued to fortify their defences in anticipation of more fighting.
Speaking to The National on the condition of anonymity, one resident said rebels were digging trenches and building barricades in and around Hodeidah's port.
They also leveraged the temporary halt in operations by the Saudi-led coalition to transfer heavy weapons into houses in densely-populated parts of the city, in an attempt to shield their arsenal from coalition airstrikes, the resident said.
Simultaneously, rebels stormed houses and rounded up suspects they accuse of cooperating with the Arab coalition, residents said.
"On Sunday, the Houthis stormed the house of my neighbour who works in a university in Hodeidahh because he refused to fight with them," a resident who asked not to be named told The National.
“They took him to their many detentions in the city centre,” the resident said.
The conflict in Yemen began with the 2014 takeover of the capital of Sanaa by the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, who toppled the government of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi. The Saudi-led coalition allied with the government has been fighting the Houthis since 2015.
Hodeidah and surrounding areas have been the centre of recent fighting between the rival forces. Yemenis are completely reliant on commercial and humanitarian supplies of food, water, fuel, medicine and other essential supplies, and more than 70 per cent of those are shipped through rebel-held Hodeidah.
The draft resolution circulated on Monday welcomes the coalition's recent de-escalation in Hodeidah and calls on the Houthis "to respond in kind in order to allow urgent deliveries of assistance and flows of life-saving commercial imports". It also welcomes "the renewed commitment from the Yemeni parties to work on a political solution" under Mr Griffiths' leadership.
The resolution also condemns "the unlawful military use of civilian infrastructure" and drone and missile attacks by the Houthis against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It also expresses concern at reports of civilians being used as human shields.
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'Worse than a prison sentence'
Marie Byrne, a counsellor who volunteers at the UAE government's mental health crisis helpline, said the ordeal the crew had been through would take time to overcome.
“It was worse than a prison sentence, where at least someone can deal with a set amount of time incarcerated," she said.
“They were living in perpetual mystery as to how their futures would pan out, and what that would be.
“Because of coronavirus, the world is very different now to the one they left, that will also have an impact.
“It will not fully register until they are on dry land. Some have not seen their young children grow up while others will have to rebuild relationships.
“It will be a challenge mentally, and to find other work to support their families as they have been out of circulation for so long. Hopefully they will get the care they need when they get home.”
Citadel: Honey Bunny first episode
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The specs: 2018 Kia Picanto
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Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Company%20Profile
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Dubai works towards better air quality by 2021
Dubai is on a mission to record good air quality for 90 per cent of the year – up from 86 per cent annually today – by 2021.
The municipality plans to have seven mobile air-monitoring stations by 2020 to capture more accurate data in hourly and daily trends of pollution.
These will be on the Palm Jumeirah, Al Qusais, Muhaisnah, Rashidiyah, Al Wasl, Al Quoz and Dubai Investment Park.
“It will allow real-time responding for emergency cases,” said Khaldoon Al Daraji, first environment safety officer at the municipality.
“We’re in a good position except for the cases that are out of our hands, such as sandstorms.
“Sandstorms are our main concern because the UAE is just a receiver.
“The hotspots are Iran, Saudi Arabia and southern Iraq, but we’re working hard with the region to reduce the cycle of sandstorm generation.”
Mr Al Daraji said monitoring as it stood covered 47 per cent of Dubai.
There are 12 fixed stations in the emirate, but Dubai also receives information from monitors belonging to other entities.
“There are 25 stations in total,” Mr Al Daraji said.
“We added new technology and equipment used for the first time for the detection of heavy metals.
“A hundred parameters can be detected but we want to expand it to make sure that the data captured can allow a baseline study in some areas to ensure they are well positioned.”
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Second Test
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Profile box
Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
Graduated from the American University of Sharjah
She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters
Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks
Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding
GOLF’S RAHMBO
- 5 wins in 22 months as pro
- Three wins in past 10 starts
- 45 pro starts worldwide: 5 wins, 17 top 5s
- Ranked 551th in world on debut, now No 4 (was No 2 earlier this year)
- 5th player in last 30 years to win 3 European Tour and 2 PGA Tour titles before age 24 (Woods, Garcia, McIlroy, Spieth)
