Yemen's four-year war has set back the country's economic development by 20 years, a top UN official said.
The conflict that began after Iran-aligned Houthi rebels captured the capital Sanaa in 2014 has killed tens of thousands of people and left millions on the brink of famine, according to the UN.
"Progress on socio-economic indicators has been set back by over 20 years and war has brought the country's economy to a halt," Achim Steiner, UN Development Programme administrator, said on Tuesday.
Yemen's civil war has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with nearly 80 per cent of the population, 24.1 million people, requiring some form of humanitarian assistance and protection.
“People are hungry, people are suffering, their institutions, their schools, their local administration have collapsed, and for many of them life as they knew it simply has ceased to exist,” Mr Steiner said.
Before the war, Yemen was already the Arab world’s poorest country.
Mr Steiner toured the country, visiting Aden, rebel held Sanaa and the vital port city of Hodeidah.
“I saw deep sadness…a nation that essentially has lost its ability to develop,” he said.
The UN official said one in every three Yemenis is at a risk of starving to death.
UN condemns Houthi attack on Saada
The UN warning comes after Houthi rebels launched a rocket attack on a busy market in the northern province of Saada on Monday.
Preliminary reports by the UN indicated that 14 people died, including four children.
"An additional 26 people, including 14 children, have been reportedly injured. Several of the wounded are in a critical condition," said the UN, citing reports by local health authorities.
Yemen's government criticised the UN, saying it had failed in the past to condemn Houthi crimes.
But a UN official told The National on Wednesday that the world body had continually condemned violations carried out by the rebels.
Yemeni government officials have called on UN Special Envoy to Yemen Martin Griffiths to condemn the Houthis. The UN official pointed out that his mandate "does not include monitoring of human rights".
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has a mandate to comment on human rights violations, the official said.
Lise Grande, the UN Humanitarian Co-ordinator in Yemen, issued a statement late on Tuesday denouncing the attack on Sadaa.
"This is a terrible turn of events. For three months, the number of reported civilian casualties in Saada has been falling," Ms Grande said.
"This is a reversal of everything everyone has been working towards these last weeks and months.
“Ending the fighting and the killing of civilians is the highest priority. Everything must be done to bring peace to Yemen.”
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BULKWHIZ PROFILE
Date started: February 2017
Founders: Amira Rashad (CEO), Yusuf Saber (CTO), Mahmoud Sayedahmed (adviser), Reda Bouraoui (adviser)
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: E-commerce
Size: 50 employees
Funding: approximately $6m
Investors: Beco Capital, Enabling Future and Wain in the UAE; China's MSA Capital; 500 Startups; Faith Capital and Savour Ventures in Kuwait
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NYBL PROFILE
Company name: Nybl
Date started: November 2018
Founder: Noor Alnahhas, Michael LeTan, Hafsa Yazdni, Sufyaan Abdul Haseeb, Waleed Rifaat, Mohammed Shono
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Software Technology / Artificial Intelligence
Initial investment: $500,000
Funding round: Series B (raising $5m)
Partners/Incubators: Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 4, Dubai Future Accelerators Cohort 6, AI Venture Labs Cohort 1, Microsoft Scale-up
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PROFILE BOX:
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Rami Salman, Rishav Jalan, Ayush Chordia
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Technology, Sales, Voice, Artificial Intelligence
Size: (employees/revenue) 10/ 100,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($800,000)
Investors: Eight first-round investors including, Beco Capital, 500 Startups, Dubai Silicon Oasis, Hala Fadel, Odin Financial Services, Dubai Angel Investors, Womena, Arzan VC
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Director: Milan Jhaveri
Producer: Emmay Entertainment and T-Series
Cast: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Rating: 2/5
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Why your domicile status is important
Your UK residence status is assessed using the statutory residence test. While your residence status – ie where you live - is assessed every year, your domicile status is assessed over your lifetime.
Your domicile of origin generally comes from your parents and if your parents were not married, then it is decided by your father. Your domicile is generally the country your father considered his permanent home when you were born.
UK residents who have their permanent home ("domicile") outside the UK may not have to pay UK tax on foreign income. For example, they do not pay tax on foreign income or gains if they are less than £2,000 in the tax year and do not transfer that gain to a UK bank account.
A UK-domiciled person, however, is liable for UK tax on their worldwide income and gains when they are resident in the UK.
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6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m
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8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m
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9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m
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A foster couple or family must:
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This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
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Sheikh Zayed's poem
When it is unveiled at Abu Dhabi Art, the Standing Tall exhibition will appear as an interplay of poetry and art. The 100 scarves are 100 fragments surrounding five, figurative, female sculptures, and both sculptures and scarves are hand-embroidered by a group of refugee women artisans, who used the Palestinian cross-stitch embroidery art of tatreez. Fragments of Sheikh Zayed’s poem Your Love is Ruling My Heart, written in Arabic as a love poem to his nation, are embroidered onto both the sculptures and the scarves. Here is the English translation.
Your love is ruling over my heart
Your love is ruling over my heart, even a mountain can’t bear all of it
Woe for my heart of such a love, if it befell it and made it its home
You came on me like a gleaming sun, you are the cure for my soul of its sickness
Be lenient on me, oh tender one, and have mercy on who because of you is in ruins
You are like the Ajeed Al-reem [leader of the gazelle herd] for my country, the source of all of its knowledge
You waddle even when you stand still, with feet white like the blooming of the dates of the palm
Oh, who wishes to deprive me of sleep, the night has ended and I still have not seen you
You are the cure for my sickness and my support, you dried my throat up let me go and damp it
Help me, oh children of mine, for in his love my life will pass me by.
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The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.