The UN is seeking $144 million in international aid to move a huge amount of oil stored in a rusting tanker near the Yemeni coast to safety, an official said on Monday.
The FSO Safer has become emblematic of the stalemate in the conflict in Yemen over the past few years.
Neither the Iran-backed Houthi rebels nor the country’s internationally recognised government have been able to benefit significantly from the ship's static 1.1 million-barrel cargo.
On April 14 the two sides agreed to a two-month truce and have largely stuck to it.
David Gressly, the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator for Yemen, said a meeting with potential international donors would convene in the Hague on Wednesday to gather funding.
Mr Gressly estimated the total cost at $144m, including $80m for an initial "emergency" phase to protect the oil
He said he was “fully confident” that the money would be found.
"It is only a question of how long it will take to pull all of it together," Mr Gressly said in Amman, Jordan. "We are in a sort of a race to find the money."
He was referring to the risk of the oil spilling into the sea because of the deteriorating vessel.
The FSO Safer is a floating storage and offloading ship moored eight kilometres off Ras Isa port on Yemen’s Houthi-held west coast.
On March 5 the UN and the Houthis signed an agreement to unload the oil from the vessel.
The deal commits the UN "to providing and supplying a replacement equivalent to the FSO Safer suitable for export” to the Houthis within 18 months.
The Houthis are to grant access to the vessel under the deal.
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Day 2
England: 277 & 19-0
West Indies: 154
How to turn your property into a holiday home
- Ensure decoration and styling – and portal photography – quality is high to achieve maximum rates.
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Tips for newlyweds to better manage finances
All couples are unique and have to create a financial blueprint that is most suitable for their relationship, says Vijay Valecha, chief investment officer at Century Financial. He offers his top five tips for couples to better manage their finances.
Discuss your assets and debts: When married, it’s important to understand each other’s personal financial situation. It’s necessary to know upfront what each party brings to the table, as debts and assets affect spending habits and joint loan qualifications. Discussing all aspects of their finances as a couple prevents anyone from being blindsided later.
Decide on the financial/saving goals: Spouses should independently list their top goals and share their lists with one another to shape a joint plan. Writing down clear goals will help them determine how much to save each month, how much to put aside for short-term goals, and how they will reach their long-term financial goals.
Set a budget: A budget can keep the couple be mindful of their income and expenses. With a monthly budget, couples will know exactly how much they can spend in a category each month, how much they have to work with and what spending areas need to be evaluated.
Decide who manages what: When it comes to handling finances, it’s a good idea to decide who manages what. For example, one person might take on the day-to-day bills, while the other tackles long-term investments and retirement plans.
Money date nights: Talking about money should be a healthy, ongoing conversation and couples should not wait for something to go wrong. They should set time aside every month to talk about future financial decisions and see the progress they’ve made together towards accomplishing their goals.
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
How Alia's experiment will help humans get to Mars
Alia’s winning experiment examined how genes might change under the stresses caused by being in space, such as cosmic radiation and microgravity.
Her samples were placed in a machine on board the International Space Station. called a miniPCR thermal cycler, which can copy DNA multiple times.
After the samples were examined on return to Earth, scientists were able to successfully detect changes caused by being in space in the way DNA transmits instructions through proteins and other molecules in living organisms.
Although Alia’s samples were taken from nematode worms, the results have much bigger long term applications, especially for human space flight and long term missions, such as to Mars.
It also means that the first DNA experiments using human genomes can now be carried out on the ISS.
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
Read part three: the age of the electric vehicle begins
Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
