Humanitarian organisations are ready to exchange detainees “within hours” in a bid to broker a ceasefire in war-torn Yemen but have been delayed by political wrangling.
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Peter Maurer told The National on Wednesday that he hopes to have "numbers acceptable to all sides [of the Yemen conflict] for a first bunch of releases and exchange", which the aid organisation is ready to help facilitate alongside the UN.
The ICRC and the United Nations have been involved in talks with officials from both government and Houthi rebels to help bring about the transfer of Yemenis detained in the civil war. International law states that in armed conflicts, the ICRC must be granted access to all prisoners in order to verify the conditions of their detention and to restore contacts between with their families.
“We could start within hours, and we are now waiting for weeks,” he said.
The final lists of names have been delayed as Houthi rebels have been slow to confirm that they are actually holding many of the names submitted by the government delegation. The names of four senior government officials have been particular contentious with the rebels refusing to even discuss the matter.
The men are former defence minister Gen Mahmood Al Soubaihi; Maj Gen Naser Mansour Hadi, who is the brother of President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, Maj Gen Faisal Rajab and the leader of Yemen's Islamist Al Islah party, Mohammed Qahtan. They have been detained since 2015 when the rebels seized much of the country.
Government sources have told The National that the release of the four would represent a significant step forward in building confidence and ensuing a progress can be made in peace talks.
The lists so far submitted by the rebels and the government are made up of thousands of detainees.
Mr Maurer is expecting a “big” exchange between different factions of the Yemen conflict, but said it was “up to political parties to give the greenlight, it’s their political agreement”.
ICRC’s president warned against complacency in bringing stability to Yemen, which has seen up to 80 percent of the population depending on aid handouts – the highest of any country globally.
“Let’s not fool ourselves. When this happens, we won’t have solved much yet. But it will be an important step forward. There are more agreements to come… once the Hodeidah ceasefire is implemented, and they are badly needed because Yemen remains the biggest humanitarian crisis.”
The port of Hodeidah is a frontline for aid workers in Yemen. In February, the UN warned that rice was rotting at the Red Sea Mills silo near the port despite a ceasefire agreed between the government and the rebels due to ongoing clashes. Aid agencies have since been able to reach the site and are assessing what is still fit to be handed out.
Elsewhere in the region, the former Swiss diplomat accused European powers of pushing away sub-Saharan migrants hoping to reach a better life across the Mediterranean Sea.
“European powers transfer the problem down south. These are huge issues. Then in the Sahel, people die because they’re on their fifth attempt.”
European Union member states were accused in February in an open letter by Oxfam of being "complicit" in the deaths of migrants in their attempt to prevent boat crossings.
An EU-backed deal between Libya and Italy two years ago saw the exchange of Italian funding and support for Libya’s coastguards in return for Libya preventing people from crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe.
According to the ICRC, the share of Libyans internally displaced within the country is higher by percentage compared to any other African nation.
Mr Maurer also warned the international community against leaving Syrian refugees in permanent exile from their homeland and by doing so turning them into the “new Palestinian issue”.
“The longer you wait, the more difficult it will be to bring people back to normal life”.
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:
Toss: India, opted to field
Australia 158-4 (17 ov)
Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24
India 169-7 (17 ov)
Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22
Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method
The five new places of worship
Church of South Indian Parish
St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch
St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch
St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais
Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais
The%20specs
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Multitasking pays off for money goals
Tackling money goals one at a time cost financial literacy expert Barbara O'Neill at least $1 million.
That's how much Ms O'Neill, a distinguished professor at Rutgers University in the US, figures she lost by starting saving for retirement only after she had created an emergency fund, bought a car with cash and purchased a home.
"I tell students that eventually, 30 years later, I hit the million-dollar mark, but I could've had $2 million," Ms O'Neill says.
Too often, financial experts say, people want to attack their money goals one at a time: "As soon as I pay off my credit card debt, then I'll start saving for a home," or, "As soon as I pay off my student loan debt, then I'll start saving for retirement"."
People do not realise how costly the words "as soon as" can be. Paying off debt is a worthy goal, but it should not come at the expense of other goals, particularly saving for retirement. The sooner money is contributed, the longer it can benefit from compounded returns. Compounded returns are when your investment gains earn their own gains, which can dramatically increase your balances over time.
"By putting off saving for the future, you are really inhibiting yourself from benefiting from that wonderful magic," says Kimberly Zimmerman Rand , an accredited financial counsellor and principal at Dragonfly Financial Solutions in Boston. "If you can start saving today ... you are going to have a lot more five years from now than if you decide to pay off debt for three years and start saving in year four."
Match info
Premier League
Manchester United 2 (Martial 30', Lingard 69')
Arsenal 2 (Mustafi 26', Rojo 68' OG)
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
ULTRA PROCESSED FOODS
- Carbonated drinks, sweet or savoury packaged snacks, confectionery, mass-produced packaged breads and buns
- Margarines and spreads; cookies, biscuits, pastries, cakes, and cake mixes, breakfast cereals, cereal and energy bars
- Energy drinks, milk drinks, fruit yoghurts and fruit drinks, cocoa drinks, meat and chicken extracts and instant sauces
- Infant formulas and follow-on milks, health and slimming products such as powdered or fortified meal and dish substitutes
- Many ready-to-heat products including pre-prepared pies and pasta and pizza dishes, poultry and fish nuggets and sticks, sausages, burgers, hot dogs, and other reconstituted meat products, powdered and packaged instant soups, noodles and desserts
A meeting of young minds
The 3,494 entries for the 2019 Sharjah Children Biennial come from:
435 – UAE
2,000 – China
808 – United Kingdom
165 – Argentina
38 – Lebanon
16 – Saudi Arabia
16 – Bangladesh
6 – Ireland
3 – Egypt
3 – France
2 – Sudan
1 – Kuwait
1 – Australia
