US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to staff at the US State Department during the first visit of US President Joe Biden in Washington. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to staff at the US State Department during the first visit of US President Joe Biden in Washington. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to staff at the US State Department during the first visit of US President Joe Biden in Washington. AFP
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to staff at the US State Department during the first visit of US President Joe Biden in Washington. AFP

Blinken to push UN’s Yemen peace plan amid Houthi attacks


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The US wants to work with partners to reinvigorate diplomatic efforts to end the Yemen war, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken told UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths on Sunday.

"He highlighted that the United States supports a unified, stable Yemen free from foreign influence, and that there is no military solution to the conflict," State Department spokesman Ned Price said.

A Saudi Arabia-led military coalition intervened in Yemen in 2015 after the Iran-allied Houthi group ousted the country's government from the capital Sanaa.

The UN describes Yemen as the world's worst humanitarian crisis, and six years into the conflict there is little sign of de-escalation. Saudi Arabia is increasingly being targeted by Yemeni drones and ballistic missiles.

On Monday, the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen said it intercepted and destroyed a drone launched by the Houthis towards the southern Saudi city of Khamis Mushait, state TV reported early on Monday.

The Houthis have also used ballistic missiles within Yemen – copies of Iranian missiles, which themselves are based on Soviet-era technology. Iran has been supplying the Houthis with rockets, missiles and small arms via clandestine sea cargoes, some of which are occasionally intercepted and seized by Coalition forces.

Taez missile attack

Yemen's Houthi forces fired a ballistic missile on Sunday at a school in the Taez region where pro-government forces are stationed, killing 15 soldiers, as well as three children who were near by, two residents and military sources said.

The residents told Reuters the children – two brothers and their relative – were in the area when the missile struck the school in Kadha district in the West of Taez governorate.

Two military sources said 15 soldiers were killed in the attack. They said the school had previously been used by Houthi forces and was taken over after pro-government fighters seized Kadha last week.

Fighting has recently escalated in the disputed Taez in south-west Yemen between fighters loyal to the internationally recognised government and the Houthi movement, which ousted it from power in the capital Sanaa in 2014.

The clashes in Taez and Marib in the north come as the United States and the United Nations intensify efforts for a ceasefire between a Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis to revive UN-sponsored peace talks stalled since late 2018.

The coalition intervened in Yemen in March 2015 against the Houthis but the war, which has killed tens of thousands of people, has been in a military stalemate for years. Taez has remained effectively under siege.

Military sources told Reuters fighting in Marib had eased on Sunday.

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THE BIO

Ms Al Ameri likes the variety of her job, and the daily environmental challenges she is presented with.

Regular contact with wildlife is the most appealing part of her role at the Environment Agency Abu Dhabi.

She loves to explore new destinations and lives by her motto of being a voice in the world, and not an echo.

She is the youngest of three children, and has a brother and sister.

Her favourite book, Moby Dick by Herman Melville helped inspire her towards a career exploring  the natural world.

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Conflict, drought, famine

Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.

Band Aid

Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What sanctions would be reimposed?

Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:

  • An arms embargo
  • A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
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  • A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
  • Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
THE SPECS

Engine: 3.5-litre supercharged V6

Power: 416hp at 7,000rpm

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to donate

Send “thenational” to the following numbers or call the hotline on: 0502955999
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Zimbabwe v UAE, ODI series

All matches at the Harare Sports Club:

1st ODI, Wednesday, April 10

2nd ODI, Friday, April 12

3rd ODI, Sunday, April 14

4th ODI, Tuesday, April 16

UAE squad: Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed

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The essentials

What: Emirates Airline Festival of Literature

When: Friday until March 9

Where: All main sessions are held in the InterContinental Dubai Festival City

Price: Sessions range from free entry to Dh125 tickets, with the exception of special events.

Hot Tip: If waiting for your book to be signed looks like it will be timeconsuming, ask the festival’s bookstore if they have pre-signed copies of the book you’re looking for. They should have a bunch from some of the festival’s biggest guest authors.

Information: www.emirateslitfest.com