Yemen: UN and aid groups exempt from US Houthi terror designation

Aid and UN agencies operating in Houthi-controlled territory in Yemen are exempt from sanctions imposed on the rebels, the US said.

But relief groups said the decision to designate the movement as a foreign terrorist organisation would create a gap humanitarians would be unable to fill.

“Our concern from the beginning ... is the impact on the commercial sector and that the vast majority of food and other basic supplies that come into Yemen through the commercial sector,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.

Outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the sanctions against the Iran-backed organisation last week and they took effect on Tuesday.

The decision would freeze any American-related assets of the Houthis and ban the US from doing business with them, making it a crime to provide support or resources to the group.

The designation includes exemption of exports to Yemen of agricultural commodities, a category that includes live animals, vitamins and minerals, bottled drinking water and raw, processed and packaged food.

“We would propose to review that immediately to make sure that what we are doing is not impeding the provision of humanitarian assistance,” Antony Blinken, Mr Biden’s nominee for secretary of state, told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday.

UN officials are trying to revive peace talks to end the war as economic collapse and Covid-19 deepen Yemen’s suffering.

MWTC

Tickets start from Dh100 for adults and are now on sale at www.ticketmaster.ae and Virgin Megastores across the UAE. Three-day and travel packages are also available at 20 per cent discount.

Evacuations to France hit by controversy

Over 500 Gazans have been evacuated to France since November 2023
Evacuations were paused after a student already in France posted anti-Semitic content and was subsequently expelled to Qatar
The Foreign Ministry launched a review to determine how authorities failed to detect the posts before her entry
Artists and researchers fall under a programme called Pause that began in 2017
It has benefited more than 700 people from 44 countries, including Syria, Turkey, Iran, and Sudan
Since the start of the Gaza war, it has also included 45 Gazan beneficiaries
Unlike students, they are allowed to bring their families to France

On Women's Day

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Samar Elmnhrawy: How companies in the Middle East can catch up on gender equality

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

Who is Allegra Stratton?

Previously worked at The Guardian, BBC’s Newsnight programme and ITV News
Took up a public relations role for Chancellor Rishi Sunak in April 2020
In October 2020 she was hired to lead No 10’s planned daily televised press briefings
The idea was later scrapped and she was appointed spokeswoman for Cop26
Ms Stratton, 41, is married to James Forsyth, the political editor of The Spectator
She has strong connections to the Conservative establishment
Mr Sunak served as best man at her 2011 wedding to Mr Forsyth

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Fireball

Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.

A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.

"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.

Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.

Liz%20Truss

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Directed by Sam Mendes

Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays

4.5/5

Millennials step up campaign against plastic

Plastic associations point to recycling and consumer behaviour for pollution