DUBAI: Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels have detained more than a dozen aid workers, including United Nations staff, in an apparently coordinated sweep, the Yemeni government and an NGO said Friday.
At least 18 Yemeni aid workers were kidnapped in four rebel-held parts of the war-torn country, the Yemeni Mayyun Organization for Human Rights said, listing 10 workers from UN agencies.
Yemen’s internationally-recognized government condemned the “massive abduction campaign,” saying it targeted “dozens of employees of the United Nations agencies, the office of the UN envoy Hans Grundberg, and several international organizations working” in the capital Sanaa and other Houthi-run areas.
In a statement on social media platform X , Information Minister Moammar Al-Eryani called it an “unprecedented escalation and a flagrant violation of international laws and conventions.”
A diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, also told AFP that more than a dozen aid workers including UN staff were kidnapped on Thursday.
There was no immediate comment from the Houthis or the United Nations.
The abductions underline the perilous task facing aid workers in Yemen, whose long-running civil war has precipitated one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
“The Houthi armed group raided the homes and kidnapped staff of the United Nations and other international organizations operating in four governorates under” their control, the Mayyun Organization said.
This “serious escalation... constitutes a violation of the privileges and immunities of United Nations personnel,” it added, describing the abductions as “blackmail practices in order to obtain political and economic gains.”
The “simultaneous” abductions took place in the capital Sanaa, the key port of Hodeida, Amran and Saada, the rebels’ traditional stronghold, the aid group said.
“The Houthis’ actions are undermining essential humanitarian work in Yemen at a time when the majority of Yemenis do not have adequate access to basic necessities like food and water,” Niku Jafarnia, Yemen researcher at Human Rights Watch, told AFP.
The Houthis have kidnapped, arbitrarily detained, and tortured hundreds of civilians, including UN and NGO workers, since the start of Yemen’s conflict in 2014, according to rights groups.
Several aid workers have been killed or kidnapped throughout the conflict, forcing international agencies to temporarily suspend operations or pull out international staff as a security precaution.
The Yemani information minister said the Houthis have “previously abducted dozens of United Nations employees,” with at least three kidnapped over the past three years still in detention.
Last year, the charity Save the Children suspended operations for 10 days in northern Yemen after a staff member died in detention in the rebel-held capital.
Also last year, a long-serving staffer with the UN World Food Programme was shot and killed in the southern city of Taiz by unknown gunmen.
The Houthis seized control of Sanaa in September 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention on behalf of the government the following March.
Yemen Houthis detain aid workers, UN staff
https://arab.news/n42bk
Yemen Houthis detain aid workers, UN staff
- The Houthis have kidnapped, arbitrarily detained, and tortured hundreds of civilians, according to rights groups
Suzuki Motor former boss Osamu Suzuki, who turned minicar maker into global player, dies at 94
- Suzuki was known for his candid remarks and friendliness, calling himself an ‘old guy from a small to mid-size company’
- Born on Jan. 30, 1930 as Osamu Matsuda, Suzuki worked in banking after graduating from Tokyo’s Chuo University School of Law
TOKYO: Osamu Suzuki, the charismatic former boss of Suzuki Motor Corp. who helped turn the Japanese mini-vehicle maker into a globally competitive company, has died, the company said Friday. He was 94.
Suzuki was known for his candid remarks and friendliness, calling himself an “old guy from a small to mid-size company.” He became CEO of Suzuki in 1978 and was leading the company when it became the first Japanese automaker to start local production in India, where its cars proved hugely popular.
Born on Jan. 30, 1930 as Osamu Matsuda, Suzuki worked in banking after graduating from Tokyo’s Chuo University School of Law. He joined Suzuki Motor, which is based in the central Japanese city of Hamamatsu, in 1958 when he married a daughter of the company’s then-president Shunzo Suzuki, who belonged to the company’s founding family. As is sometimes the custom in such situations, Matsuda adopted his wife’s maiden name.
In 1979, a year after he became Suzuki Motor’s fourth company president, he launched an affordable minicar, which became a big hit and was promoted to world markets.
Under Suzuki’s leadership, the company’s sales grew more than tenfold to 3 trillion yen ($19 billion) in the 2000s. .
Suzuki also led business tie-ups with other global leaders such as General Motors and Volkswagen AG in the 2000s. Amid intensifying competition and industrial transformation, Suzuki also formed a capital alliance with Toyota Motor Corp. in 2019 to co-develop self-driving vehicles.
While other Japanese automakers have expanded in the US and Chinese markets, offering a wide range of vehicles, Suzuki has stuck with mini and compact cars, mostly in South and Southeast Asia.
Suzuki stressed the importance of understanding the grassroots level.
“Making good quality and low-price products is the basis of manufacturing,” Suzuki once told an interview with the broadcaster NHK television. “We cannot lower costs while sitting in the offices of president or chairperson, so I have to be in a factory to understand the work and get ideas.”
Suzuki stepped down as president at age 85 in 2015, handing the post to his son, Toshihiro Suzuki. He served as an adviser to the company after resigning as chairman in 2021.
The company said Suzuki died Wednesday of malignant lymphoma.
Humanitarian disaster in Yemen could get even worse if attacks by Israel continue, UN warns
- Israeli strikes on air and sea ports, and continuing detentions by the Houthis cause great anxiety among aid workers, UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Yemen tells Arab News
- Israeli warplanes struck the international airport in Sanaa on Thursday, as well as seaports and power stations on the Red Sea coast, killing at least 4 people
NEW YORK CITY: The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, already one of the most dire in the world, threatens to get even worse should Israel continue to attack Hodeidah seaport and Sanaa airport and puts them out of action, the UN warned on Friday.
Julien Harneis, the organization’s resident and humanitarian coordinator for Yemen, said the number of people in the country in need of aid to survive is expected to reach 19 million in the coming year.
Speaking from Sanaa, he said Yemen, the poorest country in the Arabian Peninsula, has the second-highest number of malnourished children of any nation, and ranks third in terms of food insecurity.
The civil war there, which has dragged on for nearly a decade, has decimated the economy and left millions of civilians without access to the basic necessities of life, he added. The country is in the throes of a “survival crisis” and the number of people unable to access healthcare services is one of the highest in the world.
On Thursday, Israeli warplanes struck the international airport in Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, as well as seaports and power stations on the Red Sea coast, killing at least four people. Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said the attacks were a response to more than a year of missile and drone attacks by the Iran-backed Houthis, and were “just getting started.”
The Houthis began attacking Israel and international shipping lanes shortly after the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023. They have vowed to continue as long as the war goes on.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres condemned the Israeli airstrikes and said he was “gravely concerned” about the intensified escalation of hostilities. He said the strikes on the airport and seaports were “especially alarming,” and warned that they pose “grave risks to humanitarian operations” in the war-torn country.
Harneis, who was in the vicinity of the airport during the strikes, told of the destruction of its air traffic control tower, which left the facility temporarily nonoperational. A member of the UN staff was injured in the strike, and there were significant concerns about the safety of humanitarian workers in the area, he added. The airstrikes took place while a Yemeni civilian airliner was landing, additionally raising fears for the safety of passengers.
The airport is a critical hub for the delivery of humanitarian aid, and a key departure point for Yemenis seeking medical treatment abroad. Harneis said destruction of the airport would have far-reaching implications for international aid operations and the ability of Yemenis to access life-saving healthcare.
Hodeidah seaport is another focal point for humanitarian efforts in Yemen, with 80 percent of the country’s food and 95 percent of medical supplies arriving through this gateway. The recent airstrikes, which damaged tugs used to guide large ships, have reduced the port’s capacity by 50 percent.
“Any damage to this crucial facility would only deepen the suffering of the Yemeni population,” Harneis warned. He also reiterated that the one of the UN’s tasks is to ensure the harbor is used solely for civilian purposes in accordance with international law.
In addition to the immediate physical dangers airstrikes pose to its staff, the UN is also grappling with the detention of 17 of its workers by the Houthis, which casts another shadow over humanitarian operations.
Harneis said the UN has been in negotiations with the Houthis in Sanaa and continues to work “tirelessly” to secure the release of detained staff.
About 3,000 UN employees are currently working in Yemen, Harneis told Arab News, and the ongoing detentions and the threat of further airstrikes continue to create an atmosphere of anxiety. Given these risks, the emotional toll on staff is significant, he said.
“Many colleagues were very anxious about even coming to the office or going out on field missions. It’s very heavy for everyone,” he added.
Though there have been some improvements in operating conditions for humanitarian workers in recent months, Harneis said that when staff see that 16 of their colleagues are still detained “there’s obviously a great deal of anxiety.”
He added: “Then if you add in to that air strikes and the fear of more airstrikes, there is the fear of what’s going to happen next? Are we going to see attacks against bridges, roads, electricity systems? What does that mean for them?”
Despite the challenges to aid efforts, Harneis stressed that as the situation continues to evolve it is the response from the international community that will determine whether or not Yemen can avoid descending even more deeply into disaster.
Ex-FM slams ‘foreign interference’ in Pakistani politics, vows to defend nuclear program
- Bhutto-Zardari’s statement comes days after the US imposed sanctions on entities related to nuclear-armed Pakistan’s missile program
- It also follows Trump nominee Richard Grenell’s call for the US administration to push for ex-PM Imran Khan’s release from Pakistan jail
ISLAMABAD: Former Pakistani foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari on Friday slammed “foreign interference” in Pakistan’s politics, saying that its real target was the South Asian country’s nuclear program.
Bhutto-Zardari’s statement came days after US President-elect Donald Trump’s special envoy nominee Richard Grenell urged President Joe Biden’s administration to use its last days in power to push for former prime minister Imran Khan’s release from prison so he could run for office in Pakistan.
Grenell has been in the news in Pakistan in recent weeks over social media posts calling for the release of Khan. His comments came more than a week after the US State Department imposed sanctions on four entities related to nuclear-armed Pakistan’s long-range ballistic-missile program, including on the state-owned defense agency that oversees the program.
Speaking at his Pakistan Peoples Party rally in Larkana, Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan was currently facing internal issues, economic crisis and a surge in militancy as well as several difficulties on the external front, which required unity of all political stakeholders.
“No one is worried about Pakistan’s democracy, human rights or about a prisoner in Pakistan,” he said, without naming anyone.
“Imran [Khan] is only an excuse, but the target is Pakistan’s atomic program.”
Bhutto-Zardari said Pakistan’s opponents were looking at the country’s nuclear capability with an “evil eye.”
“They wish that no Muslim country should have such [nuclear] power and they are trying to deprive you of this power some way or the other,” he said.
“As long as the Pakistan Peoples Party is there, we will not let anyone make a compromise on our atomic power.”
Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch declined to comment on Grenell’s statement, while Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif this week alleged that Western voices backed by Israel were demanding Khan’s release from prison as part of an “anti-Pakistan campaign.”
Pakistan has been gripped by political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power through a parliamentary no-confidence vote in April 2022. He blames his removal from the PM’s office on his political rivals led by PM Shehbaz Sharif and the all-powerful military. Both reject the charge.
Khan has been in jail since August last year on a slew of cases he says are politically motivated to keep him away from power.
Rival protests planned in South Korea after second leader impeached
- Vast protests both for and against suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol have rocked South Korea
- Yoon sought to impose martial law in early December, plunging the country into its worst political crisis in decades
SEOUL: Protests were planned across South Korea on Saturday, as supporters and opponents of suspended president Yoon Suk Yeol prepared to hold rival rallies two weeks after he was impeached.
Vast protests both for and against Yoon have rocked South Korea since he sought to impose martial law in early December, plunging the country into its worst political crisis in decades.
Lawmakers on Friday impeached Yoon’s replacement, acting president Han Duck-soo, after he refused demands to complete Yoon’s impeachment process and to bring him to justice.
It is up to the Constitutional Court to decide Yoon’s, and now Han’s fate, but demonstrators from both camps have vowed to keep up pressure in the meantime.
“Nearly two million people will come together to protect president Yoon,” said Rhee kang-san, a supporter of Yoon who is one of the rally organizers in Seoul.
“The rally continues our efforts to amplify the people’s voice against impeachment.”
An organizer of a rival anti-Yoon rally said the anger of those who supported his impeachment was “burning even more intensely.”
“The people are now strongly demanding Yoon’s immediate dismissal and punishment,” she added.
At the heart of the backlash against Han was his refusal to appoint additional judges to the Constitutional Court, which has three vacant seats.
While the six current judges can decide whether to uphold parliament’s decision to impeach Yoon, a single dissenting vote would reinstate him.
The opposition wanted Han to approve three more nominees to fill the nine-member bench, which he had refused to do, leaving both sides in deadlock.
The second impeachment on Friday thrust Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok into the roles of acting president and prime minister.
It also took the country into uncharted territory.
“We’ve had an acting president before,” said Lee Jun-han, a professor at Incheon National University. “But this is the first time we’ve had a substitute for a substitute.”
Choi said in a statement after the impeachment that “minimizing governmental turmoil is of utmost importance at this moment,” adding that “the government will also dedicate all its efforts to overcoming this period of turmoil.”
Like Han, Choi will face pressure from the opposition to accept the appointment of new judges.
If he refuses, he could face his own impeachment vote.
Bloodied Ukrainian troops risk losing more hard-won land in Kursk to Russia
- Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders cannot evacuate the dead
- Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack
KYIV: Five months after their shock offensive into Russia, Ukrainian troops are bloodied and demoralized by the rising risk of defeat in Kursk, a region some want to hold at all costs while others question the value of having gone in at all.
Battles are so intense that some Ukrainian commanders can’t evacuate the dead. Communication lags and poorly timed tactics have cost lives, and troops have little way to counterattack, seven front-line soldiers and commanders told The Associated Press on condition of anonymity so they could discuss sensitive operations.
Since being caught unaware by the lightning Ukrainian incursion, Russia has amassed more than 50,000 troops in the region, including some from its ally North Korea. Precise numbers are hard to obtain, but Moscow’s counterattack has killed and wounded thousands and the overstretched Ukrainians have lost more than 40 percent of the 984 square kilometers (380 square miles) of Kursk they seized in August.
Its full-scale invasion three years ago left Russia holding a fifth of Ukraine, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has hinted that he hopes controlling Kursk will help force Moscow to negotiate an end to the war. But five Ukrainian and Western officials in Kyiv who spoke on condition of anonymity to freely discuss sensitive military matters said they fear gambling on Kursk will weaken the whole 1000-kilometer front line, and Ukraine is losing precious ground in the east.
“We have, as they say, hit a hornet’s nest. We have stirred up another hot spot,” said Stepan Lutsiv, a major in the 95th Airborne Assault Brigade.
The border raid that became an occupation
Army chief Oleksandr Syrskyi has said that Ukraine launched the operation because officials thought Russia was about to launch a new attack on northeast Ukraine.
It began on Aug. 5 with an order to leave Ukraine’s Sumy region for what they thought would be a nine-day raid to stun the enemy. It became an occupation that Ukrainians welcomed as their smaller country gained leverage and embarrassed Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Gathering his men, one company commander told them: “We’re making history; the whole world will know about us because this hasn’t been done since World War II.
Privately, he was less certain.
“It seemed crazy,” he said. “I didn’t understand why.”
Shocked by success achieved largely because the Russians were caught by surprise, the Ukrainians were ordered to advance beyond the original mission to the town of Korenevo, 25 kilometers into Russia. That was one of the first places where Russian troops counterattacked.
By early November the Russians began regaining territory rapidly. Once in awe of what they accomplished, troops’ opinions are shifting as they come to terms with losses. The company commander said half of his troops are dead or wounded.
Some front-line commanders said conditions are tough, morale is low and troops are questioning command decisions, even the very purpose of occupying Kursk.
Another commander said that some orders his men have received don’t reflect reality because of delays in communication. Delays occur especially when territory is lost to Russian troops, he said.
“They don’t understand where our side is, where the enemy is, what’s under our control, and what isn’t,” he said. “They don’t understand the operational situation, we so act at our own discretion.”
One platoon commander said higher ups have repeatedly turned down his requests to change his unit’s defensive position because he knows his men can’t hold the line.
“Those people who stand until the end are ending up MIA,” he said. He said he also knows of at least 20 Ukrainian soldiers whose bodies had been abandoned over the last four months because the battles were too intense to evacuate them without more casualties.
No option to retreat as Russia doubles down
Ukrainian soldiers said they were not prepared for the aggressive Russian response in Kursk, and cannot counterattack or pull back.
“There’s no other option. We’ll fight here because if we just pull back to our borders, they won’t stop; they’ll keep advancing,” said one drone unit commander.
The AP requested comment from Ukraine’s General Staff but did not receive a response before publication.
American longer-range weapons have slowed the Russian advance and North Korean soldiers who joined the fighting last month are easy targets for drones and artillery because they lack combat discipline and often move in large groups in the open, Ukrainian troops said.
On Monday, Zelensky said 3,000 North Korean soldiers had been killed and wounded. But they appear to be learning from their mistakes, soldiers added, by becoming more adept at camouflaging near forested lines.
One clash took place last week near Vorontsovo tract, a forested area between the settlements of Kremenne and Vorontsovo.
Until last week, the area was under Ukraine’s control. This week part of it has been lost to Russian forces and Ukrainian troops fear they will reach a crucial logistics route.
Eyeing frontline losses in the eastern region known as the Donbas — where Russia is closing on a crucial supply hub — some soldiers are more vocal about whether Kursk has been worth it.
“All the military can think about now is that Donbas has simply been sold,” the platoon commander said. “At what price?”
