ADEN // As Yemen’s government and the Houthis began UN-brokered peace talks in Switzerland on Tuesday, the rebels failed to honour a week-long ceasefire in several parts of the country.
Both sides had agreed to the truce, which was supposed to start at midday local time, but the Houthis continued shelling civilian and pro-government targets in the provinces of Marib, Taez and Dalea – areas where the worst of the fighting had been taking place.
Meanwhile, the Saudi-led coalition of mostly Arab states halted its air strikes. The coalition, which includes the UAE, is fighting the Houthis to restore the internationally-recognised government of Abdrabu Mansur Hadi to power.
Fareed Al Homaid, a journalist in Taez city, the capital of Taez province in the country's south-west, told The National that rebels there had continued shelling civilian homes after the ceasefire had begun, while pro-government Popular Resistance fighters had stopped fighting the Houthis.
According to witnesses and medics, seven civilians were killed and 15 wounded in the shelling.
“The Houthis shelled Taez less today than in the past few days, but they did not stop completely,” Mr Al Homaid said, adding that the rebels had also targeted the resistance at Al Shoraiga front.
“I do not think the resistance fighters will be patient if the Houthis continue to target them and civilians,” he said.
The Houthis also continued to shell resistance fighters in the Morais district of Dalea province, which borders Taez.
“The resistance fighters in Dalea want the peace talks to succeed and so they have not yet responded to the Houthis’ shelling,” Waleed Al Khateeb, an anti-Houthi activist in Dalea city, said.
But, he added: “I think they will return fire if the Houthis do not stop.”
Meanwhile, Mohammed Al Gadasi, a journalist based in Marib, east of Sanaa, said at least one resistance fighter had been killed in Houthi shelling in the province.
“The Houthis attacked Al Khazan, Qareen, Ghorz, Al Falaqah, and Al Sawdah localities in the areas of Magzer and Hahlan. One or two resistance fighters were killed, while others were injured,” he said.
Most of Marib was liberated in October but pockets of Houthis remain.
Mr Al Gadasi similarly said he did not expect the truce to hold in the province if the rebels continued to target the resistance.
“If the resistance do not fight back then the Houthis will take over the whole province,” he said.
In the Swiss city of Geneva, meanwhile, UN spokesman Ahmad Fawzi said 12 negotiators and six advisers made up each of the two delegations taking part in the “open-ended” peace talks.
UN special envoy for Yemen Ismail Ould Cheikh Ahmed said the talks “should mark the end of military violence in Yemen”.
“The people of Yemen are daily, indeed hourly, anticipating the outcome of these discussions. This meeting is their only glimmer of hope and must not be extinguished,” the envoy said in his opening remarks. “The tongues of fire, the scenes of destruction, the reverberation of bombs and the soaring prices have turned their daily lives into a series of ongoing tragedies.”
Past efforts to end the violence have ended in failure, with the government insisting the Houthis comply with a UN resolution that requires them to return seized weapons and territory they have captured over the past year, including the capital, Sanaa. In response, the Houthis demanded negotiations over the country’s political future.
The World Health Organisation said on Tuesday that its plans to distribute medical supplies across the country during the ceasefire were on track despite reported violations.
“We have requested unconditional movement of supplies, personnel and teams to all parts of the country and we got the confirmation that this will definitely be granted,” said the WHO representative in Yemen, Ahmed Shadoul.
He said the UN agency had prepared “around 19 trucks which will be distributed to different parts of the country, probably to 14 locations”, and that he believed the lorries had already left warehouses in Sanaa and the southern province of Aden.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
* With additional reporting by agencies
Company Profile
Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Blackpink World Tour [Born Pink] In Cinemas
Starring: Rose, Jisoo, Jennie, Lisa
Directors: Min Geun, Oh Yoon-Dong
Rating: 3/5
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Top 10 most polluted cities
- Bhiwadi, India
- Ghaziabad, India
- Hotan, China
- Delhi, India
- Jaunpur, India
- Faisalabad, Pakistan
- Noida, India
- Bahawalpur, Pakistan
- Peshawar, Pakistan
- Bagpat, India
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl
Power: 153hp at 6,000rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 4,000rpm
Transmission: 6-speed auto
Price: Dh99,000
On sale: now
TEACHERS' PAY - WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
Pay varies significantly depending on the school, its rating and the curriculum. Here's a rough guide as of January 2021:
- top end schools tend to pay Dh16,000-17,000 a month - plus a monthly housing allowance of up to Dh6,000. These tend to be British curriculum schools rated 'outstanding' or 'very good', followed by American schools
- average salary across curriculums and skill levels is about Dh10,000, recruiters say
- it is becoming more common for schools to provide accommodation, sometimes in an apartment block with other teachers, rather than hand teachers a cash housing allowance
- some strong performing schools have cut back on salaries since the pandemic began, sometimes offering Dh16,000 including the housing allowance, which reflects the slump in rental costs, and sheer demand for jobs
- maths and science teachers are most in demand and some schools will pay up to Dh3,000 more than other teachers in recognition of their technical skills
- at the other end of the market, teachers in some Indian schools, where fees are lower and competition among applicants is intense, can be paid as low as Dh3,000 per month
- in Indian schools, it has also become common for teachers to share residential accommodation, living in a block with colleagues
Sri Lanka's T20I squad
Thisara Perera (captain), Dilshan Munaweera, Danushka Gunathilaka, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Ashan Priyanjan, Mahela Udawatte, Dasun Shanaka, Sachith Pathirana, Vikum Sanjaya, Lahiru Gamage, Seekkuge Prasanna, Vishwa Fernando, Isuru Udana, Jeffrey Vandersay and Chathuranga de Silva.
Company%20Profile
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RACE RESULTS
1. Valtteri Bottas (FIN/Mercedes) 1hr 21min 48.527sec
2. Sebastian Vettel (GER/Ferrari) at 0.658sec
3. Daniel Ricciardo (AUS/Red Bull) 6.012
4. Lewis Hamilton (GBR/Mercedes) 7.430
5. Kimi Räikkönen (FIN/Ferrari) 20.370
6. Romain Grosjean (FRA/Haas) 1:13.160
7. Sergio Pérez (MEX/Force India) 1 lap
8. Esteban Ocon (FRA/Force India) 1 lap
9. Felipe Massa (BRA/Williams) 1 lap
10. Lance Stroll (CAN/Williams) 1 lap
11. Jolyon Palmer (GBR/Renault) 1 lap
12. Stoffel Vandoorne (BEL/McLaren) 1 lap
13. Nico Hülkenberg (GER/Renault) 1 lap
14. Pascal Wehrlein (GER/Sauber) 1 lap
15. Marcus Ericsson (SWE/Sauber) 2 laps
16. Daniil Kvyat (RUS/Toro Rosso) 3 laps
Thor: Ragnarok
Dir: Taika Waititi
Starring: Chris Hemsworth, Tom Hiddleston, Cate Blanchett, Jeff Goldblum, Mark Ruffalo, Tessa Thompson
Four stars
The%20specs
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Cinco in numbers
Dh3.7 million
The estimated cost of Victoria Swarovski’s gem-encrusted Michael Cinco wedding gown
46
The number, in kilograms, that Swarovski’s wedding gown weighed.
1,000
The hours it took to create Cinco’s vermillion petal gown, as seen in his atelier [note, is the one he’s playing with in the corner of a room]
50
How many looks Cinco has created in a new collection to celebrate Ballet Philippines’ 50th birthday
3,000
The hours needed to create the butterfly gown worn by Aishwarya Rai to the 2018 Cannes Film Festival.
1.1 million
The number of followers that Michael Cinco’s Instagram account has garnered.
Sugary teas and iced coffees
The tax authority is yet to release a list of the taxed products, but it appears likely that sugary iced teas and cold coffees will be hit.
For instance, the non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Cold coffee brands are likely to be hit too. Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
What%20is%20Dungeons%20%26%20Dragons%3F%20
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The biog
Name: Fareed Lafta
Age: 40
From: Baghdad, Iraq
Mission: Promote world peace
Favourite poet: Al Mutanabbi
Role models: His parents
Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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