Yemen's prime minister Ahmed bin Dagher in Aden. Saleh Al Obeidi / AFP
Yemen's prime minister Ahmed bin Dagher in Aden. Saleh Al Obeidi / AFP
Yemen's prime minister Ahmed bin Dagher in Aden. Saleh Al Obeidi / AFP
Yemen's prime minister Ahmed bin Dagher in Aden. Saleh Al Obeidi / AFP

Yemen: peace to come with end of Houthis, PM says


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The complete defeat of Yemen's Houthi rebels, "politically or militarily", is the only road to peace in the country, Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher said.

The Yemeni government will not accept a peace plan proposed by the rebels that would leave them in control of the capital, Mr Bin Dagher told China’s ambassador to Yemen.

The Houthis seized Sanaa in 2014, launching a coup that prompted the Saudi-led Arab military coalition to intervene on behalf of the internationally recognised government.

Mr Bin Dagher and the Chinese ambassador discussed opportunities for Chinese investment in Yemen after the war during their meeting in Riyadh, the Saudi state news agency reported.

He said the government’s main priority was the safety of its people and stemming the bloodshed in the country.

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Read more:

Saudi Arabia's $2bn cash transfer gives hope to Yemenis

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Meanwhile, President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi on Saturday appointed General Ali Saleh Afash Al Humairi, a half-brother of the late president Ali Abdullah Saleh, to head the Reserve Forces.

The general was the commander of the Republican Guard, as the Reserve Forces was formerly known, before being replaced by Saleh's son. The army reserve has played a crucial role in maintaining order in a country rife with conflict.

Gen Al Humairi also served as director of the armed forces office until the overthrow of Saleh’s regime in 2011.

Government forces backed by the Arab coalition are waging offensives against the rebels on several fronts, including a campaign to liberate the main port of Hodeidah on the western coast. Air strikes by coalition jets on Saturday destroyed a training camp in the area, killing dozens of the Houthi fighters, and destroyed rebel ammunition stores and armoured vehicles.

The rebels are receiving military guidance from an Iranian expert holding European citizenship, particularly in their stronghold of Saada province, according to Yemeni military intelligence.

The Iranian expert had drawn up a plan to restructure the Houthi militias on the ground and rearrange their military positions, an intelligence source told Yemen National Web.

Meanwhile, the Yemeni minister for local administration has called on the international community to pressure on the rebels to lift sieges on areas under their control.

Abdul Raqib Fatah said the Houthis had imposed a siege on Al Shaar in eastern of Ibb province several days ago, forcing civilians to leave their homes and preventing the movement of supplies into neighbouring districts, Yemen's official News Agency reported.

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Mobile phone packages comparison
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

La Mer lowdown

La Mer beach is open from 10am until midnight, daily, and is located in Jumeirah 1, well after Kite Beach. Some restaurants, like Cupagahwa, are open from 8am for breakfast; most others start at noon. At the time of writing, we noticed that signs for Vicolo, an Italian eatery, and Kaftan, a Turkish restaurant, indicated that these two restaurants will be open soon, most likely this month. Parking is available, as well as a Dh100 all-day valet option or a Dh50 valet service if you’re just stopping by for a few hours.
 

Specs

Engine: 51.5kW electric motor

Range: 400km

Power: 134bhp

Torque: 175Nm

Price: From Dh98,800

Available: Now

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%E2%80%98FSO%20Safer%E2%80%99%20-%20a%20ticking%20bomb
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UAE gold medallists:

Omar Al Suweidi (46kg), Khaled Al Shehhi (50kg), Khalifa Humaid Al Kaabi (60kg), Omar Al Fadhli (62kg), Mohammed Ali Al Suweidi (66kg), Omar Ahmed Al Hosani (73), all in the U18’s, and Khalid Eskandar Al Blooshi (56kg) in the U21s.

Company%20Profile
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What is Reform?

Reform is a right-wing, populist party led by Nigel Farage, a former MEP who won a seat in the House of Commons last year at his eighth attempt and a prominent figure in the campaign for the UK to leave the European Union.

It was founded in 2018 and originally called the Brexit Party.

Many of its members previously belonged to UKIP or the mainstream Conservatives.

After Brexit took place, the party focused on the reformation of British democracy.

Former Tory deputy chairman Lee Anderson became its first MP after defecting in March 2024.

The party gained support from Elon Musk, and had hoped the tech billionaire would make a £100m donation. However, Mr Musk changed his mind and called for Mr Farage to step down as leader in a row involving the US tycoon's support for far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson who is in prison for contempt of court.

Key facilities
  • Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
  • Premier League-standard football pitch
  • 400m Olympic running track
  • NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
  • 600-seat auditorium
  • Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
  • An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
  • Specialist robotics and science laboratories
  • AR and VR-enabled learning centres
  • Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
The specs: 2018 Volkswagen Teramont

Price, base / as tested Dh137,000 / Dh189,950

Engine 3.6-litre V6

Gearbox Eight-speed automatic

Power 280hp @ 6,200rpm

Torque 360Nm @ 2,750rpm

Fuel economy, combined 11.7L / 100km

The specs
 
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)

Banthology: Stories from Unwanted Nations
Edited by Sarah Cleave, Comma Press

The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands

50-man Royal Rumble

Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match

Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe

SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos

Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho

John Cena v Triple H

Matches to be announced

WWE World Heavyweight Championship, Raw Tag Team Championship, United States Championship and the Cruiserweight Championship are all due to be defended

Another way to earn air miles

In addition to the Emirates and Etihad programmes, there is the Air Miles Middle East card, which offers members the ability to choose any airline, has no black-out dates and no restrictions on seat availability. Air Miles is linked up to HSBC credit cards and can also be earned through retail partners such as Spinneys, Sharaf DG and The Toy Store.

An Emirates Dubai-London round-trip ticket costs 180,000 miles on the Air Miles website. But customers earn these ‘miles’ at a much faster rate than airline miles. Adidas offers two air miles per Dh1 spent. Air Miles has partnerships with websites as well, so booking.com and agoda.com offer three miles per Dh1 spent.

“If you use your HSBC credit card when shopping at our partners, you are able to earn Air Miles twice which will mean you can get that flight reward faster and for less spend,” says Paul Lacey, the managing director for Europe, Middle East and India for Aimia, which owns and operates Air Miles Middle East.

if you go

The flights

Air France offer flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi to Cayenne, connecting in Paris from Dh7,300.

The tour

Cox & Kings (coxandkings.com) has a 14-night Hidden Guianas tour of Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana. It includes accommodation, domestic flights, transfers, a local tour manager and guided sightseeing. Contact for price.