SANAA // On the day that the largest anti-government protests yet swept the country, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the president of Yemen, blamed the US and Israel for stirring up trouble in his country and the Arab world.
"There is an operations room in Tel Aviv that is controlled by the White House," Mr Saleh, who has worked with the US in the fight against terrorism, said yesterday in a speech at Sanaa University.
"Every day we hear a statement [from US President Barack Obama] … We want to know why Barack Obama is meddling in the affairs of the Arab countries," he said. "Is he the president of the United States of America or a president of the Arab states?"
Mr Saleh also accused the US and European Union ambassadors to his country of orchestrating the protests with opposition leaders, while telling government officials to "allow these people to demonstrate in the streets".
The president later fired the governors of five provinces where the demonstrations have been intense - Abyan, Hodiedah, Hadramaut, Aden and Lahj - without giving any reason. However, local media reported that the governor of Hodiedah, Ahmed al Jabali, resigned after refusing to organise counter-rallies in favour of the government.
Just outside the university, in Yemen's capital, tens of thousands flooded Change Square to demand that the president end his 32-year rule. The crowd included thousands of tribesmen from the surrounding areas, who managed to reach the site despite the security ban. Organisers said that several thousand more people were stopped by the security forces, which were deployed heavily around the cities.
Sheikh Abdulmajeed al Zindani, a religious leader and head of the Yemen Clerics Association, which is accused by the US of funding terrorism activities, joined the protest in Sanaa, leading noon prayers and warning the government not to use force against demonstrators.
"We hail the peaceful revolution of the youths and their legitimate demands and rights," he said.
He said that peaceful protests are a "religious duty and a form of jihad" and that "attacking peaceful protesters is a deliberate crime". Sheikh al Zindani has been leading a committee of clerics to broker talks between the government and the opposition.
The rallies, which took place in 12 of the country's provinces, were called by the Joint Meeting Parties, an coalition of opposition parties, to be a "day of anger" to denounce the clampdown on protests in the port city of Aden. About 20 people have been killed and dozens injured there since February 16.
Many of the opposition party leaders joined the protests for the first time, drawing hundreds of thousands into the streets, organisers said.
Yaseen Said Noman, secretary general of the Yemeni Socialist Party, which ruled south Yemen before it merged with the north in 1990, also joined the rally. The Socialist party is the largest opposition party in the south.
"I have come here from Amran to demand the ousting of the regime. We are hungry and we are suffering from corruption and price hikes," said Ahmed Mahyoub, 20, who was taking part in the Sanaa rally, a traditional Yemeni dagger hanging from his waist.
Ahmed Hashim Saleh, a military officer, joined the anti-government protest and said thousands of other military staff members would join the "youth revolution".
In Taiz, about 260km south of Sanaa, about 2,000 people took part in the rally, according to Bushra al Maktari, a protest leader.
In an effort to quell weeks of continued unrest in several major cities in the country, Mr Saleh called on Monday for the opposition to join a national unity government and enter dialogue.
The JMP rejected the offer and said it was too late, a significant change in the group's strategy, which had focused on extracting concessions and reforms.
malqhadi@thenational.ae
Film: Raid
Dir: Rajkumar Gupta
Starring: Ajay Devgn, Ileana D'cruz and Saurabh Shukla
Verdict: Three stars
SANCTIONED
- Kirill Shamalov, Russia's youngest billionaire and previously married to Putin's daughter Katarina
- Petr Fradkov, head of recently sanctioned Promsvyazbank and son of former head of Russian Foreign Intelligence, the FSB.
- Denis Bortnikov, Deputy President of Russia's largest bank VTB. He is the son of Alexander Bortnikov, head of the FSB which was responsible for the poisoning of political activist Alexey Navalny in August 2020 with banned chemical agent novichok.
- Yury Slyusar, director of United Aircraft Corporation, a major aircraft manufacturer for the Russian military.
- Elena Aleksandrovna Georgieva, chair of the board of Novikombank, a state-owned defence conglomerate.
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Read more from Johann Chacko
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
SPECS
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WHAT%20START-UPS%20IS%20VISA%20SEEKING%3F
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THREE
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More on Quran memorisation:
Tell-tale signs of burnout
- loss of confidence and appetite
- irritability and emotional outbursts
- sadness
- persistent physical ailments such as headaches, frequent infections and fatigue
- substance abuse, such as smoking or drinking more
- impaired judgement
- excessive and continuous worrying
- irregular sleep patterns
Tips to help overcome burnout
Acknowledge how you are feeling by listening to your warning signs. Set boundaries and learn to say ‘no’
Do activities that you want to do as well as things you have to do
Undertake at least 30 minutes of exercise per day. It releases an abundance of feel-good hormones
Find your form of relaxation and make time for it each day e.g. soothing music, reading or mindful meditation
Sleep and wake at the same time every day, even if your sleep pattern was disrupted. Without enough sleep condition such as stress, anxiety and depression can thrive.
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Match info
Bournemouth 1 (King 45 1')
Arsenal 2 (Lerma 30' og, Aubameyang 67')
Man of the Match: Sead Kolasinac (Arsenal)
Company%20Profile
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Roll%20of%20Honour%2C%20men%E2%80%99s%20domestic%20rugby%20season
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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
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
How it works
Each player begins with one of the great empires of history, from Julius Caesar's Rome to Ramses of Egypt, spread over Europe and the Middle East.
Round by round, the player expands their empire. The more land they have, the more money they can take from their coffers for each go.
As unruled land and soldiers are acquired, players must feed them. When a player comes up against land held by another army, they can choose to battle for supremacy.
A dice-based battle system is used and players can get the edge on their enemy with by deploying a renowned hero on the battlefield.
Players that lose battles and land will find their coffers dwindle and troops go hungry. The end goal? Global domination of course.
Bio:
Favourite Quote: Prophet Mohammad's quotes There is reward for kindness to every living thing and A good man treats women with honour
Favourite Hobby: Serving poor people
Favourite Book: The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho
Favourite food: Fish and vegetables
Favourite place to visit: London
THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The%20specs
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