SANA'A // While the fate of six foreign hostages is still unknown, the corpses of three found in the northern province of Sa'ada arrived yesterday in the Yemeni capital Sana'a.
The bodies of two Germans and a South Korean were carried by a military helicopter and accompanied by civil and military Yemeni officials. They were taken to the military hospital in Sana'a and from there they will be flown to their home countries.
The victims were identified as German nurses Rita Stewjab, 25, and Amita Julie, 25, and Korean teacher Youvet Singhum, 22.
"The information we have now is the bodies that were found are only three. We have no other information on any other dead bodies," Ghazi Ahmed Ismail, deputy health and population minister, said yesterday.
The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said the government has to assume that two of the bodies are those of German women who were kidnapped.
"We unfortunately have to assume that two German women who had been missing are among the dead," he said in Berlin, according to Agence France-Presse.
Mr Steinmeier said German forensics experts had been sent to Yemen to examine the bodies and determine cause of death.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel told reporters yesterday: "Naturally we condemn this act in the strongest possible terms."
The Brake bible school in Lemgo, Germany, said the two women were third-year students who had been doing work experience in Sa'ada since the start of June.
South Korea yesterday confirmed that one of its citizens had been murdered.
"The government expresses anger and shock over the confirmed killing of our citizen ... and seriously condemns this," the foreign ministry said.
Seoul urged its citizens to leave the country after that attack.
Nine foreigners, including seven German nationals, a British engineer and Singhum, belonging to an international relief group who had been working at Al Jumhuri hospital in Sa'ada, disappeared on Friday. On Monday, authorities found three of their bodies dumped in Nushoor valley east of Sa'ada city.
The state-run Saba news agency reported yesterday that security forces were conducting an intensive search for the rest of the hostages.
"We have announced a reward of five million rials (Dh91,481) to anyone who will provide information that would lead to the hideout of the kidnappers and the rest of the hostages," Hasan Mohammed Mana'a, governor of Sa'ada, was quoted as saying.
Saba also said that Abubakr al Qirbi, foreign minister, called his German counterpart to offer his condolences for the murder of the two German nurses.
Officials have accused rebels tied to the al Houthi movement in Sa'ada, who have been fighting against the government since 2004, of the murders. The rebel leader, Abdulmalik al Houthi, has denied his group's involvement and called for a protest today.
"We have called all the citizens of Sa'ada to take part in a massive demonstration to denounce such a crime, which we strongly condemn.
"We expect tens of thousands to participate in this protest where people will get together and some speeches will be delivered to express the stand of these people to this incident," Mr al Houthi's spokesman, Mohammed Abdulsalam, said.
He said he did not know whether their leader will attend the demonstration. Yemen's political parties joined in the condemnations with the ruling People's General Congress saying in a statement that "there must be no leniency with perpetrators of this terrorist crime".
The Joint Meeting Parties, a coalition of five opposition parties, called the killing of the three foreigners a "heinous crime [that] offends Yemen and Yemenis and is against all religious and humanitarian values" and "endangers the peace and stability of the country".
malqadhi@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
Cricket World Cup League 2 Fixtures
Saturday March 5, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy (all matches start at 9.30am)
Sunday March 6, Oman v Namibia, ICC Academy
Tuesday March 8, UAE v Namibia, ICC Academy
Wednesday March 9, UAE v Oman, ICC Academy
Friday March 11, Oman v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
Saturday March 12, UAE v Namibia, Sharjah Cricket Stadium
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri, Muhammad Waseem, CP Rizwan, Vriitya Aravind, Asif Khan, Basil Hameed, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Karthik Meiyappan, Akif Raja, Rahul Bhatia
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
What the law says
Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.
“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.
“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”
If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Blah
Started: 2018
Founder: Aliyah Al Abbar and Hend Al Marri
Based: Dubai
Industry: Technology and talent management
Initial investment: Dh20,000
Investors: Self-funded
Total customers: 40
The Transfiguration
Director: Michael O’Shea
Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine
Three stars
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Eco%20Way%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20December%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ivan%20Kroshnyi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%2C%20UAE%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Electric%20vehicles%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Bootstrapped%20with%20undisclosed%20funding.%20Looking%20to%20raise%20funds%20from%20outside%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors
Power: Combined output 920hp
Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic
Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km
On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
The years Ramadan fell in May
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
Mica
Director: Ismael Ferroukhi
Stars: Zakaria Inan, Sabrina Ouazani
3 stars
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Jetour T1 specs
Engine: 2-litre turbocharged
Power: 254hp
Torque: 390Nm
Price: From Dh126,000
Available: Now
More on Quran memorisation:
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
North Pole stats
Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
The five pillars of Islam
