It could be argued that Yemen’s conflict is merely a symptom of the Middle East’s wider geopolitical issues. Others might say it is a cause in itself, or a contributing factor. But one thing can be agreed: 35 years since its unification between the northern and southern halves of the country – the former once controlled by the Ottomans and the latter once controlled by the British – the country remains more fragmented than ever.
In 2014, the Houthis – a tribal militia and religious group from northern Yemen's poor, mountainous Saada region that had evolved into a major political and military force – took over Sanaa, the country’s capital. In doing so, the militants, with backing from Iran, removed Yemen’s internationally recognised government and went on to expand their rule to most of Yemen's north, where more than half of the country's population lives.
This remains the situation today, even after a Saudi-led military coalition helped take back swathes of land from the Houthis in a multi-year war and prevented the rebel group from overrunning the entire country. But this is not a simple, good versus evil conflict; Yemen's present-day divisions are multi-layered and multi-faceted.
An eight-member Presidential Leadership Council acts as the executive body of Yemen's internationally recognised government. Led by Rashad Al Alimi, the PLC was supposed to unite an otherwise divided anti-Houthi front. But tensions within the council are a poorly kept secret. Earlier this month, prime minister Ahmed bin Mubarak said he was stepping down after a little more than a year in office, blaming challenges he faced in making "necessary reforms" to state institutions.
With different council members having strong military representation on the ground, the PLC has become a tool for exerting power rather than governance. This is largely down to the absence of a proper legal framework regulating the PLC’s operations and defining its members' relationship to one another. The ambiguity surrounding the group’s exact functions and authority on the ground has inevitably resulted in allegations of overreach and corruption against some of the forces under its members’ control.
The halls of Yemen's government have remained largely empty as officials fail to hold the meetings needed to move the country forward
The result of this is a fractured government incapable of asserting itself against militarily and politically against the Houthis’ formidable forces. This has knock-on effects for the PLC’s ability to provide effective governance for the people living in its territories. In Aden, the interim capital, the halls of Yemen's government have remained largely empty as officials fail to hold the meetings needed to move the country forward. Outside, the streets are frequently filled with protesters calling for better services and a higher standard of living. There is a lack of reliable electricity. The city is often without power – a potentially deadly outcome in Yemen’s scorching summer heat, in which temperatures can exceed 40°C. Protesters have also focused on what they see as an overall worsening quality of life as well as the decline in the value of the Yemeni riyal.
Constitutional reform that clarifies and limits the role of the PLC’s members while strengthening the government as a whole would go a long way to resolving these issues. It would help to improve governance on the ground and the ability to provide basic services and provide a better quality of life for people who have escaped Houthi-run areas to government-held territory.
In the meantime, the Houthis continue to fire ballistic missiles towards Israel and ships in the Red Sea that they claim are linked to Israeli commercial interests, ostensibly in protest at its unrelenting offensive in Gaza. Yemen’s government has long been cut out of attempts to reach a peace deal with the Houthis, whether in 2023 when Saudi Arabia brokered a roadmap for a permanent ceasefire or, more recently, when US President Donald Trump announced a deal to end American air strikes on Houthi-held territory.
Yemen’s situation is becoming even more complex with a secessionist Southern Transitional Council that not only calls for the south's independence – a return to Yemen’s pre-1990 partition – but also holds three out of the PLC's eight seats.
A silver lining could be seen if the situation in Yemen were clearer and – even if bad – at least stable. But it's not. Matters have become worse, with US and Israeli forces targeting vital facilities like the port of Hodeidah, a lifeline for millions of Yemenis who rely on the humanitarian assistance that flows through it. Such attacks have put Yemen’s already fragile humanitarian response at further risk, worsening people's lives further still, fuelling their anger and deepening rifts between them and those in power.
Meanwhile, amid Yemen’s enduring poverty and even as conflicts continue to rage in Gaza and Sudan, funding is dwindling for humanitarian relief efforts. In February, the World Health Organisation’s Yemen country office appealed for $57.8 million to reach more than 10 million people with emergency health assistance.
Yemenis who have lost faith in their respective rulers – whether in Houthi or government-controlled areas – are now looking elsewhere for hope. Talks between the US and Iran about a new nuclear agreement are continuing and experts believe that Iran could make concessions, including pulling its financial and intelligence support to the Houthis in exchange for sanctions relief.
The declaration of the Republic of Yemen on May 22, 1990, was a decisive moment for the country. But the optimism that greeted this new start has long since faded. Whether Yemen’s conflict is the cause of some of today’s problems in the Middle East, or simply a reflection of them is a moot point for ordinary Yemeni civilians who, once again, have fallen victim to decisions made by local and regional powers, when all they really need is food on the table, hospitals to treat them and a nation they can call home.
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
Meatless Days
Sara Suleri, with an introduction by Kamila Shamsie
Penguin
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Six large-scale objects on show
- Concrete wall and windows from the now demolished Robin Hood Gardens housing estate in Poplar
- The 17th Century Agra Colonnade, from the bathhouse of the fort of Agra in India
- A stagecloth for The Ballet Russes that is 10m high – the largest Picasso in the world
- Frank Lloyd Wright’s 1930s Kaufmann Office
- A full-scale Frankfurt Kitchen designed by Margarete Schütte-Lihotzky, which transformed kitchen design in the 20th century
- Torrijos Palace dome
Small Victories: The True Story of Faith No More by Adrian Harte
Jawbone Press
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
Specs – Taycan 4S
Engine: Electric
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 571bhp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh431,800
Specs – Panamera
Engine: 3-litre V6 with 100kW electric motor
Transmission: 2-speed auto
Power: 455bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: from Dh431,800
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Friday's schedule at the Etihad Airways Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
GP3 qualifying, 10:15am
Formula 2, practice 11:30am
Formula 1, first practice, 1pm
GP3 qualifying session, 3.10pm
Formula 1 second practice, 5pm
Formula 2 qualifying, 7pm
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Water waste
In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.
Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.
A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.
The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.
UAE jiu-jitsu squad
Men: Hamad Nawad and Khalid Al Balushi (56kg), Omar Al Fadhli and Saeed Al Mazroui (62kg), Taleb Al Kirbi and Humaid Al Kaabi (69kg), Mohammed Al Qubaisi and Saud Al Hammadi (70kg), Khalfan Belhol and Mohammad Haitham Radhi (85kg), Faisal Al Ketbi and Zayed Al Kaabi (94kg)
Women: Wadima Al Yafei and Mahra Al Hanaei (49kg), Bashayer Al Matrooshi and Hessa Al Shamsi (62kg)
Zayed Sustainability Prize
Vaccine Progress in the Middle East
The Penguin
Starring: Colin Farrell, Cristin Milioti, Rhenzy Feliz
Creator: Lauren LeFranc
Rating: 4/5
More on Quran memorisation:
Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies direct from Dubai to Rio de Janeiro from Dh7,000 return including taxes. Avianca fliles from Rio to Cusco via Lima from $399 (Dhxx) return including taxes.
The trip
From US$1,830 per deluxe cabin, twin share, for the one-night Spirit of the Water itinerary and US$4,630 per deluxe cabin for the Peruvian Highlands itinerary, inclusive of meals, and beverages. Surcharges apply for some excursions.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Gulf Under 19s
Pools
A – Dubai College, Deira International School, Al Ain Amblers, Warriors
B – Dubai English Speaking College, Repton Royals, Jumeirah College, Gems World Academy
C – British School Al Khubairat, Abu Dhabi Harlequins, Dubai Hurricanes, Al Yasmina Academy
D – Dubai Exiles, Jumeirah English Speaking School, English College, Bahrain Colts
Recent winners
2018 – Dubai College
2017 – British School Al Khubairat
2016 – Dubai English Speaking School
2015 – Al Ain Amblers
2014 – Dubai College
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