Yemen’s warring sides are expected to agree to measures aimed at ending the war “in the immediate future”, the UN envoy to the country said on Thursday.
Martin Griffiths has presented proposals for a nationwide ceasefire agreement, as well as humanitarian and economic measures to Yemen’s internationally recognised government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the past two weeks.
“We have been in constant negotiations with the parties on the texts of these agreements," Mr Griffiths told the UN Security Council by video.
"We expect them to agree on and formally adopt these agreements in the immediate future."
Mr Griffiths said good progress had been made in reaching consensus, particularly about the truce.
He said economic and humanitarian measures could include the release of prisoners, opening Sanaa airport, paying civil servant salaries and opening access roads.
They would also include ensuring entry to Hodeidah ports for ships carrying commodities that will help in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Griffiths said.
The UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres last month urged a global ceasefire so the world could focus on fighting the disease.
“We are redoubling our efforts to bridge the outstanding differences between the parties before we convene them at a meeting where agreements will be tabled, confirmed and published,” Mr Griffiths said.
Meanwhile, UN aid chief Mark Lowcock warned that three quarters of the body’s major programmes will shut down in the next few weeks because of funding shortages.
"Of the UN’s 41 major programmes, 31 will start closing down in the next few weeks if we can’t secure additional funds,” Mr Lowcock told the Security Council.
“This means we will have to start eliminating many of the activities that may offer Yemenis their best chance to avoid catching the virus."
Battles in Yemen have continued on several fronts for three months, with Marib being the "centre of gravity", Mr Lowcock said.
Mr Griffiths said he feared war would continue until the formal agreement was sealed.
“All eyes are now on the parties to the conflict," he said. "This is the time for hard decisions.
"None of us should underestimate the demands that are on the leadership of both parties."
Yemen’s government and the Houthis have been fighting since 2014, when the rebels overran the capital Sanaa.
A Saudi-led coalition was asked by the government to intervene in 2015 to assist in restoring its power.
Saudi Arabia announced last Thursday a unilateral ceasefire to help Yemen fight off the coronavirus pandemic.
The country reported its first case on April 10.
“The arrival of the Covid-19 pandemic to Yemen threatens to bring deeper and more widespread suffering to the people," Mr Griffiths said.
"There cannot be a more timely moment for the two parties to commit to silencing the guns and ending the conflict through a peaceful, political solution."
The five-year war has killed more than 100,000 people and destroyed more than half of the country’s hospitals and clinics.
Saudi Arabia this month announced a contribution of $500 million (Dh1.83 billion) to the UN humanitarian response plan for Yemen, which was widely welcomed by the international community.
The kingdom also donated $25m to help combat the spread of the coronavirus in the country.
"We hope these funds can be quickly disbursed on similar terms as past years, which reflect global best practices in humanitarian donorship, so that the programmes I have described can continue," Mr Lowcock said.
Covid-19 is presenting a unique opportunity for Yemen, he said.
"It will reinvigorate the political process and move towards peace," Mr Lowcock said.
The years Ramadan fell in May
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Overview
What: The Arab Women’s Sports Tournament is a biennial multisport event exclusively for Arab women athletes.
When: From Sunday, February 2, to Wednesday, February 12.
Where: At 13 different centres across Sharjah.
Disciplines: Athletics, archery, basketball, fencing, Karate, table tennis, shooting (rifle and pistol), show jumping and volleyball.
Participating countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Comoros, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Qatar and UAE.
War 2
Director: Ayan Mukerji
Stars: Hrithik Roshan, NTR, Kiara Advani, Ashutosh Rana
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
TYPES%20OF%20ONLINE%20GIG%20WORK
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDesign%2C%20multimedia%20and%20creative%20work%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELogo%20design%2C%20website%20design%2C%20visualisations%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBusiness%20and%20professional%20management%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELegal%20or%20management%20consulting%2C%20architecture%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBusiness%20and%20professional%20support%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EResearch%20support%2C%20proofreading%2C%20bookkeeping%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ESales%20and%20marketing%20support%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESearch%20engine%20optimisation%2C%20social%20media%20marketing%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EData%20entry%2C%20administrative%2C%20and%20clerical%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EData%20entry%20tasks%2C%20virtual%20assistants%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIT%2C%20software%20development%20and%20tech%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EData%20analyst%2C%20back-end%20or%20front-end%20developers%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EWriting%20and%20translation%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EContent%20writing%2C%20ghost%20writing%2C%20translation%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EOnline%20microtasks%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EImage%20tagging%2C%20surveys%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3ESource%3A%20World%20Bank%3C%2Fem%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Terror attacks in Paris, November 13, 2015
- At 9.16pm, three suicide attackers killed one person outside the Atade de France during a foootball match between France and Germany
- At 9.25pm, three attackers opened fire on restaurants and cafes over 20 minutes, killing 39 people
- Shortly after 9.40pm, three other attackers launched a three-hour raid on the Bataclan, in which 1,500 people had gathered to watch a rock concert. In total, 90 people were killed
- Salah Abdeslam, the only survivor of the terrorists, did not directly participate in the attacks, thought to be due to a technical glitch in his suicide vest
- He fled to Belgium and was involved in attacks on Brussels in March 2016. He is serving a life sentence in France
