Marib, Yemen // A UN-brokered ceasefire took hold in Yemen on Monday despite sporadic clashes, raising hopes that peace talks due next week may finally resolve the conflict.
Forces loyal to President Abdrabu Mansur Hadi, the Iran-backed Houthi rebels who drove his government out of the capital, and the Saudi-led Arab coalition that intervened in Yemen last year all pledged to honour the truce that took effect at midnight on Sunday.
The UN special envoy for Yemen, Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed, called the ceasefire “a first step in Yemen’s return to peace”.
“This is critical, urgent and much needed. Yemen cannot afford the loss of more lives,” he said
General Mohamed Ali Al Makdashi, the chief of staff for Mr Hadi’s forces, said early on Monday the ceasefire was largely holding despite some violations by rebels.
“The truce has not collapsed and we hope the rebels end their attacks and respect the ceasefire,” he said, alleging breaches in several areas including the cities of Taez in the south-west and Marib east of Sanaa.
Loyalists accused Houthis of 25 violations around Taez, where one civilian was killed in rebel bombing.
The rebels, meanwhile, said in a statement there was at least one coalition air strike in Taez province, and accused loyalists of being behind 33 truce violations north and east of Sanaa, as well as in the south.
Five soldiers were killed in clashes with rebels in Marib province and Taez, military sources said.
A committee of representatives from both sides will try to ensure the ceasefire is respected.
Coalition spokesman Brigadier General Ahmed Assiri earlier described the violations as “minor”.
“It is the first day and we should be patient,” the top Saudi officer said. “Day by day, it will be better.”
In Sanaa, the capital seized by the rebels in 2014, witnesses said there had not been air strikes by coalition warplanes since Sunday.
Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher also played down violations, saying that the truce “seems good”, adding after meeting the UN envoy in Riyadh that “we want a durable peace”.
“Now is the time to step back from the brink,” the UN’s Cheikh Ahmed said.
“The progress made represents a real opportunity to rebuild a country that has suffered far too much violence for far too long.”
The Houthis, allied with troops loyal to ex-president Ali Abdullah Saleh, also committed to the ceasefire in a letter sent to the United Nations, according to a statement carried by the rebel-run Saba news agency.
Previous efforts to stop the fighting in Yemen — which has killed thousands and forced more than two million people from their homes — collapsed in January.
Militants including from Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula have exploited the conflict to seize territory and gain influence.
But pressure had been building for the ceasefire and there are hopes it can be the cornerstone of a long-lasting peace deal that can be hammered out at talks taking place next week in Kuwait.
The Houthis, a northern minority that has long complained of marginalisation, descended on the capital Sanaa from their mountainous region in September 2014, seizing the city with little resistance.
As they advanced into other areas, Mr Hadi and other officials fled first to Aden and eventually to Riyadh.
Saudi Arabia and a coalition including the UAE launched air strikes in March last year against the Huthis and later sent ground troops to support pro-government forces.
The loyalists have since managed to reclaim large parts of the south, establishing a temporary capital in Aden, but have failed to dislodge the Houthis from Sanaa and other key areas.
The coalition has come under fire from rights groups, which allege its air war has caused heavy civilian casualties.
The United Nations says more than 6,300 people have been killed in Yemen since March last year, around half of them civilians.
*Agence France-Presse
Abu Dhabi Card
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SPECS
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Confirmed bouts (more to be added)
Cory Sandhagen v Umar Nurmagomedov
Nick Diaz v Vicente Luque
Michael Chiesa v Tony Ferguson
Deiveson Figueiredo v Marlon Vera
Mackenzie Dern v Loopy Godinez
Tickets for the August 3 Fight Night, held in partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism Abu Dhabi, went on sale earlier this month, through www.etihadarena.ae and www.ticketmaster.ae.
Australia tour of Pakistan
March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi
March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi
March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore
March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi
March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi
April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi
April 5: T20I, Rawalpindi
Diriyah project at a glance
- Diriyah’s 1.9km King Salman Boulevard, a Parisian Champs-Elysees-inspired avenue, is scheduled for completion in 2028
- The Royal Diriyah Opera House is expected to be completed in four years
- Diriyah’s first of 42 hotels, the Bab Samhan hotel, will open in the first quarter of 2024
- On completion in 2030, the Diriyah project is forecast to accommodate more than 100,000 people
- The $63.2 billion Diriyah project will contribute $7.2 billion to the kingdom’s GDP
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- About 2,000 people work for the Diriyah Company, with more than 86 per cent being Saudi citizens
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
LUKA CHUPPI
Director: Laxman Utekar
Producer: Maddock Films, Jio Cinema
Cast: Kartik Aaryan, Kriti Sanon, Pankaj Tripathi, Vinay Pathak, Aparshakti Khurana
Rating: 3/5
if you go
The flights
Etihad, Emirates and Singapore Airlines fly direct from the UAE to Singapore from Dh2,265 return including taxes. The flight takes about 7 hours.
The hotel
Rooms at the M Social Singapore cost from SG $179 (Dh488) per night including taxes.
The tour
Makan Makan Walking group tours costs from SG $90 (Dh245) per person for about three hours. Tailor-made tours can be arranged. For details go to www.woknstroll.com.sg
Haemoglobin disorders explained
Thalassaemia is part of a family of genetic conditions affecting the blood known as haemoglobin disorders.
Haemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells that carries oxygen and a lack of it triggers anemia, leaving patients very weak, short of breath and pale.
The most severe type of the condition is typically inherited when both parents are carriers. Those patients often require regular blood transfusions - about 450 of the UAE's 2,000 thalassaemia patients - though frequent transfusions can lead to too much iron in the body and heart and liver problems.
The condition mainly affects people of Mediterranean, South Asian, South-East Asian and Middle Eastern origin. Saudi Arabia recorded 45,892 cases of carriers between 2004 and 2014.
A World Health Organisation study estimated that globally there are at least 950,000 'new carrier couples' every year and annually there are 1.33 million at-risk pregnancies.
Company Profile
Company name: myZoi
Started: 2021
Founders: Syed Ali, Christian Buchholz, Shanawaz Rouf, Arsalan Siddiqui, Nabid Hassan
Based: UAE
Number of staff: 37
Investment: Initial undisclosed funding from SC Ventures; second round of funding totalling $14 million from a consortium of SBI, a Japanese VC firm, and SC Venture
IF YOU GO
The flights: FlyDubai offers direct flights to Catania Airport from Dubai International Terminal 2 daily with return fares starting from Dh1,895.
The details: Access to the 2,900-metre elevation point at Mount Etna by cable car and 4x4 transport vehicle cost around €57.50 (Dh248) per adult. Entry into Teatro Greco costs €10 (Dh43). For more go to www.visitsicily.info
Where to stay: Hilton Giardini Naxos offers beachfront access and accessible to Taormina and Mount Etna. Rooms start from around €130 (Dh561) per night, including taxes.
Company profile
Company name: Tuhoon
Year started: June 2021
Co-founders: Fares Ghandour, Dr Naif Almutawa, Aymane Sennoussi
Based: Riyadh
Sector: health care
Size: 15 employees, $250,000 in revenue
Investment stage: seed
Investors: Wamda Capital, Nuwa Capital, angel investors
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE SQUAD
Men: Saif Al Zaabi, Salem Al Marzooqi, Zayed Al Ansaari, Saud Abdulaziz Rahmatalla, Adel Shanbih, Ahmed Khamis Al Blooshi, Abdalla Al Naqbi, Khaled Al Hammadi, Mohammed Khamis Khalaf, Mohammad Fahad, Abdulla Al Arimi.
Women: Mozah Al Zeyoudi, Haifa Al Naqbi, Ayesha Al Mutaiwei.
The bio
Job: Coder, website designer and chief executive, Trinet solutions
School: Year 8 pupil at Elite English School in Abu Hail, Deira
Role Models: Mark Zuckerberg and Elon Musk
Dream City: San Francisco
Hometown: Dubai
City of birth: Thiruvilla, Kerala
Women’s T20 World Cup Qualifier
UAE fixtures
25 April – Ireland v UAE*
27 April – UAE v Zimbabwe**
29 April – Netherlands v UAE*
3 May – UAE v Vanuatu*
5 May – Semi-finals
7 May – Final
UAE squad: Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Avanee Patel, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Kavisha Kumari, Khushi Sharma, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish, Vaishnave Mahesh.
*Zayed Cricket Stadium
**Tolerance Oval
Company Profile
Company name: Cargoz
Date started: January 2022
Founders: Premlal Pullisserry and Lijo Antony
Based: Dubai
Number of staff: 30
Investment stage: Seed
TWISTERS
Director:+Lee+Isaac+Chung
Starring:+Glen+Powell,+Daisy+Edgar-Jones,+Anthony+Ramos
Rating:+2.5/5
UAE athletes heading to Paris 2024
Equestrian
Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, Abdullah Al Marri, Omar Al Marzooqi, Salem Al Suwaidi, and Ali Al Karbi (four to be selected).
Judo
Men: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (66kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg), Aram Grigorian (90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (+100kg); women's Khorloodoi Bishrelt (52kg).
Cycling
Safia Al Sayegh (women's road race).
Swimming
Men: Yousef Rashid Al Matroushi (100m freestyle); women: Maha Abdullah Al Shehi (200m freestyle).
Athletics
Maryam Mohammed Al Farsi (women's 100 metres).
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices