Yemen's government will hold talks with Houthi rebels in the Jordanian capital on Thursday to arrange the next stage of a prisoner exchange deal, a government official told The National.
Majid Fadel, a member of the government's negotiating team, accused the Houthis of backtracking on an agreement reached at UN-led talks in Geneva in September to release all remaining prisoners, including four high-level government figures held by the rebels.
“The new negotiation round will start next Thursday in Amman and I would like to remind the Houthis that we have agreed in the last negotiation round in Montreux to implement a second swap deal to free all the remaining prisoners," Mr Fadel said.
A member of the Houthi negotiating team told the rebels' Al Masirah news channel on Saturday that the next round of talks would be based on an agreement signed in Amman in February under which the government would release 200 Houthis in exchange for 100 prisoners held by the rebels, including Naser Mansur Hadi, the brother of Yemeni President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi.
Mr Fadel rejected this, saying the agreement at the last round of talks in Geneva was for the rebels to free all prisoners. This would include the president's brother, former defence minister Brig Mahmoud Al Subaihi and two other senior figures.
“The Houthi militia continues its blatant fallacy regarding the prisoner file,” he said.
“Everybody knows that our demand since the Stockholm agreement was signed in December 2018 is to free all the prisoners and all the detainees on the basis of 'all for all', but the Houthi militia has been persisting in politicising this humanitarian file.”
The government and rebels made a breakthrough in the drawn-out prisoner exchange negotiations in September leading to the exchange of 1,081 prisoners last month, which the UN special envoy to Yemen, Martin Griffiths, hailed as one of the biggest prisoner swaps of its kind yet.
Mr Griffiths, who brokered peace talks in Sweden two years ago, said after the exchange that thousands of other men were still detained and an agreement must be reached to release them.
“We will soon convene the parties to discuss more releases, in line with the commitment they made in Stockholm in December 2018 to release all conflict-related prisoners and detainees,” he said.
8 traditional Jamaican dishes to try at Kingston 21
- Trench Town Rock: Jamaican-style curry goat served in a pastry basket with a carrot and potato garnish
- Rock Steady Jerk Chicken: chicken marinated for 24 hours and slow-cooked on the grill
- Mento Oxtail: flavoured oxtail stewed for five hours with herbs
- Ackee and salt fish: the national dish of Jamaica makes for a hearty breakfast
- Jamaican porridge: another breakfast favourite, can be made with peanut, cornmeal, banana and plantain
- Jamaican beef patty: a pastry with ground beef filling
- Hellshire Pon di Beach: Fresh fish with pickles
- Out of Many: traditional sweet potato pudding
Director: Paul Weitz
Stars: Kevin Hart
3/5 stars
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Etihad (etihad.com) flies from Abu Dhabi to Mykonos, with a flight change to its partner airline Olympic Air in Athens. Return flights cost from Dh4,105 per person, including taxes.
Where to stay
The modern-art-filled Ambassador hotel (myconianambassador.gr) is 15 minutes outside Mykonos Town on a hillside 500 metres from the Platis Gialos Beach, with a bus into town every 30 minutes (a taxi costs €15 [Dh66]). The Nammos and Scorpios beach clubs are a 10- to 20-minute walk (or water-taxi ride) away. All 70 rooms have a large balcony, many with a Jacuzzi, and of the 15 suites, five have a plunge pool. There’s also a private eight-bedroom villa. Double rooms cost from €240 (Dh1,063) including breakfast, out of season, and from €595 (Dh2,636) in July/August.
Roger Federer's 2018 record
Australian Open Champion
Rotterdam Champion
Indian Wells Runner-up
Miami Second round
Stuttgart Champion
Halle Runner-up
Wimbledon Quarter-finals
Cincinnati Runner-up
US Open Fourth round
Shanghai Semi-finals
Basel Champion
Paris Masters Semi-finals
Sun jukebox
Rufus Thomas, Bear Cat (The Answer to Hound Dog) (1953)
This rip-off of Leiber/Stoller’s early rock stomper brought a lawsuit against Phillips and necessitated Presley’s premature sale to RCA.
Elvis Presley, Mystery Train (1955)
The B-side of Presley’s final single for Sun bops with a drummer-less groove.
Johnny Cash and the Tennessee Two, Folsom Prison Blues (1955)
Originally recorded for Sun, Cash’s signature tune was performed for inmates of the titular prison 13 years later.
Carl Perkins, Blue Suede Shoes (1956)
Within a month of Sun’s February release Elvis had his version out on RCA.
Roy Orbison, Ooby Dooby (1956)
An essential piece of irreverent juvenilia from Orbison.
Jerry Lee Lewis, Great Balls of Fire (1957)
Lee’s trademark anthem is one of the era’s best-remembered – and best-selling – songs.
