RIYADH: Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, general supervisor of the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSrelief), met the Swedish special envoy for Yemen, Peter Semneby, at the headquarters of KSrelief in Riyadh on Sunday.
During the meeting, Al-Rabeeah reviewed the 590 projects that the Kingdom has implemented through KSrelief in Yemen so far.
They discussed matters of common interest related to humanitarian and relief affairs in Yemen, and the efforts made to alleviate the suffering of the Yemeni people.
Semneby praised the pioneering role provided by the Kingdom through KSrelief in support of countries in need, and the special attention given to the Yemeni people.
Meanwhile, KSrelief distributed more than 27 tons of food baskets to displaced families in Yemen’s Marib governorate, benefiting 1,554 individuals. The center also continued distributing Ramadan food baskets to Syrian and Palestinian refugees and Lebanese families in Lebanon.
Saudi aid agency chief meets Swedish envoy for Yemen
https://arab.news/jy5j3
Saudi aid agency chief meets Swedish envoy for Yemen
- KSrelief distributed more than 27 tons of food baskets to displaced families in Yemen’s Marib governorate, benefiting 1,554 individuals
Palestinian ambassador: UK should recognize statehood to help end ‘deadly status quo’
- Husam Zomlot urges Britain to ‘right historic wrongs,’ show ‘political courage’
- UN conference on 2-state solution could see states, including France, Canada, recognize Palestine
LONDON: The Palestinian ambassador to the UK has called on the Labour government to fulfill its manifesto pledge and recognize his nation as an independent sovereign state.
Husam Zomlot wrote in The Guardian that the move was “long overdue” ahead of a UN conference on the two-state solution next week in New York, and that it would help end the “deadly status quo” with Israel.
“I call on the British government to end this vicious path, right its historic wrongs and officially recognize the state of Palestine while the conditions are uniquely ripe to do so,” Zomlot wrote.
“Recognition is neither a reward for one party nor a punishment for another. It is a long-overdue affirmation of the Palestinian people’s unconditional right to exist and live freely in our homeland,” he added.
“Peace is not made between occupier and occupied. It can only exist between equals.”
Ahead of the UN conference on June 17, set to be co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia, several states yet to recognize Palestine have begun discussions about doing so, including the UK and Canada.
Middle East Minister Hamish Falconer came under pressure in the House of Commons on Tuesday for the government to recognize Palestine unconditionally.
Foreign Secretary David Lammy recently told Parliament the UK had held direct talks with France about Palestinian statehood, but added the UK wanted the move to amount to more than just a symbolic gesture.
But Zomlot wrote: “Recognition (should not) be subject to ever more conditions on the Palestinian side. Delaying recognition simply reinforces the deadly status quo, denying Palestinians’ equal rights until Israel consents, thus granting our occupier a permanent veto over the future.”
Ahead of the conference, the French government, which is also believed to be among those set to recognize Palestine, published a letter laying out political commitments made by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, including that a future Palestinian state would require Hamas “laying down its weapons” and “no longer ruling Gaza.”
The commitments included holding democratic presidential elections within a year, and Hamas accepting nonviolence, disarmament, and the two-state solution. Abbas also condemned the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel by the militant group, and demanded the release of all remaining hostages in Gaza.
Hugh Lovatt, from the European Council on Foreign Relations, told The Guardian: “Recognition would certainly allow London and Paris to press the PA towards political renewal, including the holding of long-overdue elections, but it does not provide them with much leverage over Hamas which does not consider recognition by itself as being of sufficient value of itself to disarm before a peace agreement with Israel is reached.”
A senior diplomat from a Gulf state told The Guardian that Hamas had agreed to the proposal to end its rule in Gaza, but not to disarming.
Another Gulf diplomat told the paper: “Israel is seeking the total annihilation of Hamas and will not be willing to hand security in Gaza to the PA or a multinational force.”
The US government sent a diplomatic cable on Tuesday urging countries not to attend the conference, calling it “counterproductive to ongoing, lifesaving efforts to end the war in Gaza and free hostages.”
But Zomlot wrote: “This is a moment of historic consequence. It demands moral clarity and political courage. I urge the UK to rise to the moment and act now.”
Japan’s foreign minister praises Djibouti’s work on maritime security
TOKYO: Japanese foreign minister Takeshi Iwaya met with Dileita Mohamed Dileita, President of the National Assembly of the Republic of Djibouti, on Friday and praised the “deepening of cooperation between the two countries in the field of maritime security.”
Iwaya stated that Djibouti, located at the southern end of the Red Sea and an important sea lane linking Europe and Asia, is a strategically important partner in the quest for a “Free and Open Indo-Pacific (FOIP).”
Referring to the good relations between the two countries and his own special attachment toward Japan, President Dileita expressed his appreciation and gratitude for Japan’s development cooperation in various fields and for the Self-Defense Force facility in Djibouti, noting the strategic importance of his country.
The two sides exchanged views on issues that included the regional situation in Africa and in East Asia and agreed to further strengthening bilateral relations and cooperation in regional and international arena, with a view to TICAD 9 in August and Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan.
Bangladesh’s Yunus meets key party leader in London
- Tarique Rahman, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party
- Yunus’s government warned last month that political power struggles risked jeopardizing gains that have been made
DHAKA: Bangladesh’s interim leader Muhammad Yunus met in London on Friday with the leader of the South Asian nation’s key party that many expect to be the frontrunner in elections next year.
Tarique Rahman, 59, the son of former prime minister Khaleda Zia, is the acting chairman of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP), which is widely seen as likely to sweep elections that Yunus said will be held in April.
The exact date of the elections remains a sticking point but they will be the first in the nation of around 170 million people since a student-led revolt ousted former premier Sheikh Hasina in August 2024, ending her iron-fisted 15-year rule.
Yunus and Rahman were shown smiling and shaking hands in the meeting in London, according to photographs released by the government press team, although relations between the caretaker government and the BNP have been rocky.
Yunus’s government warned last month that political power struggles risked jeopardizing gains that have been made, saying that holding elections by mid-2026 would give them time to overhaul democratic institutions.
Hasina’s rule saw widespread human rights abuses and her government was accused of politicizing courts and the civil service, as well as staging lopsided elections.
Under pressure from political parties, including the BNP, Yunus said this month that polls will be held in April.
However, the BNP has continued to push for an earlier date.
The BNP said on Friday it wanted to hold the elections before Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting, begins around February 17.
Khalilur Rahman, a senior member of Yunus’ cabinet, said it was possible that the “election will be held earlier provided significant progresses in reforms and trials are made.”
Key BNP leader Amir Khasru Mahmud Chowdhury said they “hope we can reach a consensus on the reforms soon.”
Yunus, 84, a Nobel Peace Prize winner, has said he will not continue the caretaker role he took up at the behest of student protesters after Hasina fled by helicopter to India.
WHO says Pakistan receives less than half of 5 million blood donations it needs annually
- About 1.9 million of Pakistan’s 2.3 million annual blood donations come from family or replacement donors, says WHO
- WHO says voluntary blood donations are considered safest, most sustainable as such donors less likely to transmit diseases
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan receives less than half of the five million blood donations it needs each year, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday, highlighting critical gaps in the country’s health care system as it vowed to promote voluntary donations.
About 1.9 million of Pakistan’s 2.3 million annual blood donations come from family or replacement donors, while only 18 percent are voluntary and unpaid, according to official data cited by the WHO.
This reliance often delays treatment and poses risks for patients with chronic conditions such as thalassemia, hemophilia and cancer, who require regular transfusions.
“Medical centers in Pakistan need over 5 million blood donations annually and will require 5.6 million by 2030 but they are currently receiving only approximately 2.3 million donations per year,” the WHO said in a statement released on World Blood Donor Day.
The WHO and Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences held a blood donation drive in which around 150 volunteers participated under the theme “Give blood, give hope – together we save lives.”
As per the WHO, voluntary blood donations are considered the safest and most sustainable as such donors are less likely to transmit infectious diseases, it added. WHO’s representative in Pakistan, Dr. Dapeng Luo, highlighted that each blood donation could save up to three lives.
“Every patient who needs blood should be able to receive it,” he said. “WHO will continue to work with Pakistan to strengthen a blood service that promotes voluntary donations and gives patients access to safe blood and blood products in sufficient quantity.”
Pakistan’s health ministry and the WHO urged the public to donate blood voluntarily to help address a shortage that is straining hospitals’ ability to save lives.
Pakistan’s Director General of Health, Shabana Saleem, welcomed the technical support from the WHO, saying it would lead to improved screening and testing.
“Giving blood is giving life, and together we can do this,” she said. “We are in the phase of revitalizing the Regional Blood Transfusion Center.”
The WHO concluded that it was supporting Pakistan in strengthening blood banks and promoting standardized screening methods to ensure safe and sufficient blood supplies for all.
Palestinian child arrives in Saudi Arabia for treatment under King Salman’s directives
RIYADH: Palestinian Mohammed Khaled Hijazi, 7, arrived in the Kingdom on Thursday with his parents to receive medical care and was immediately transferred to the King Khaled Eye Specialist Hospital and Research Center in Riyadh.
The supervisor general at the Saudi aid agency KSrelief, Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, thanked King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman for the humanitarian initiative to treat the Palestinian boy in the Kingdom.
Al-Rabeeah said that Hijazi lost his right eye while his left eye was severely damaged by an explosion while he was playing with friends near their house, which was completely destroyed, in the Jabalia camp, north of Gaza, last month.
The supervisor general prayed for the boy’s speedy recovery and for the Palestinian people to be relieved of their suffering.
He clarified that this initiative is a continuation of the relief and humanitarian efforts provided by the Kingdom to the Palestinian people in times of crisis and adversity, particularly the most vulnerable categories, such as children, who innocently pay the price of conflicts.
Al-Rabeeah also saidthat the initiative is part of the humanitarian approach adopted by the Kingdom toward needy peoples through KSrelief, which does not discriminate based on gender, race, or religion, and is fundamentally rooted in noble human principles of compassion and human solidarity.
The Palestinian boy’s parents expressed their appreciation and gratitude to the Kingdom for treating their son, affirming that this brotherly gesture is not unusual from the Kingdom’s leadership, which has always been known for its honorable stance in support of the Palestinian people.
