AL-MUKALLA: Yemen’s National Center of Meteorology issued an orange notice on Thursday warning that further extreme weather is coming, after seven days of torrential rain and flash floods that have killed at least 45 people and displaced thousands across the nation.
The center cautioned people in the central highlands and along western and southern coasts not to drive through or remain in watercourses or valleys.
Officials in the western province of Hodeidah said on Wednesday that at least 30 people died and thousands had to leave their homes as a result of heavy rainfall and flash flooding in most districts in recent days.
Mohammed Guhim, the Houthi governor of Hodeidah, told Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV that five people were missing and the rains and flooding had affected thousands of residents in about 500 properties.
On Thursday, pro-government militia the Giants Brigades reported that one of its soldiers was killed and two were missing after flash floods carried them away while they were driving in the Hays area of Hodeidah.
Images and videos shared on social media showed severe rains hammering most of Hodeidah’s provincial districts, resulting in flash floods that inundated houses, cut many others off and washed away roads, residences, cars and farm crops. Bodies of flood victims were being found across Hodeidah and residents issued urgent pleas for help.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs confirmed on Wednesday that the rains had significantly affected thousands of people in Hodeidah province, leaving dozens dead, missing or injured, and severely damaging houses and infrastructure.
It said 15 people were killed by severe flooding in the Maqbanah District of Taiz on Aug. 2, which also displaced 10,000, buried at least 80 wells, swept away fields of crops, and wrecked and damaged houses and infrastructure. Heavy rains and flash floods also claimed lives and damaged property in the provinces of Hajjah, Mahweet and Raymah.
The UN Population Fund’s office in Yemen told Arab News on Thursday that they have distributed emergency relief to 6,797 people in Hodeidah, 3,976 in Hajjah, and 665 in Al-Mahweet and Raymah. It said many people were in desperate need of aid, including relief items, cash assistance, additional food assistance, and non-food items such as clothing.
“The challenges are enormous, including difficult access to affected populations because floods ruin roads and water is everywhere, as well as a shortage of supply to meet all the increasing needs,” the fund said.
In Hodeidah, residents described as “unprecedented” the heavy rain and flash floods that raged across villages and towns. A Yemeni government soldier in the Hays District of Hodeidah, who gave his name as Ali, told Arab News that military barricades, trenches, ammunition, water tanks and other equipment was washed away in the maelstrom, along with mango and banana trees.
“We haven’t witnessed severe rains and violent floods on such a large scale in 20 years,” he said, adding that the flooding had also unearthed land mines planted by the Houthis.
The devastating damage cause by the floods prompted Yemen’s internationally recognized government to issue an urgent request for assistance from foreign donors.
“The grave situation … necessitates immediate and thorough action to tackle the consequences and relieve the pain of affected individuals, provide them with required alternatives in the most impacted locations, and conduct urgent flood-draining measures,” the Ministry of Planning and International Cooperation said in a statement reported by the official Yemen News Agency.
Torrential rain and flash floods in Yemen kill 45 and displace thousands
https://arab.news/cj7eh
Torrential rain and flash floods in Yemen kill 45 and displace thousands
- Forecasters warn of further extreme weather to come, urge residents to be cautious and avoid particularly risky areas
- UN Population Fund distributes aid to thousands of people, says many more are in desperate need of help but the ‘challenges are enormous’
Israel urges ICC to drop arrest warrants against PM
- In ruling that made headlines, ICC found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for war crimes, crimes against humanity
THE HAGUE: Israel has asked the International Criminal Court to dismiss its arrest warrants against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former defense minister Yoav Gallant while ICC judges reconsider complex jurisdictional questions.
In a 14-page document dated May 9 but posted on the ICC website on Monday, Israel argued the warrants issued in November were null and void while judges weigh a previous Israeli challenge to the ICC’s jurisdiction in the case.
In a ruling that made headlines around the world, the ICC found “reasonable grounds” to believe Netanyahu and Gallant bore “criminal responsibility” for war crimes and crimes against humanity related to the war in Gaza.
The court also issued a war crimes warrant against top Hamas commander Mohammed Deif over the October 7 attacks that sparked the conflict. The case against Deif was dropped in February after his death.
Israel, not one of the ICC’s 125 members, challenged the court’s jurisdiction but judges on the ICC’s “Pre-Trial Chamber” dismissed the bid and issued the arrest warrants.
But last month, the ICC’s Appeals Chamber ruled the Pre-Trial Chamber was wrong to dismiss the challenge and ordered it to look again in detail at Israel’s arguments.
Israel says now that the arrest warrants should not stay in place while this complex and lengthy process is ongoing.
“Unless and until the Pre-Trial Chamber has ruled on the substance of the jurisdiction challenge... the prerequisite jurisdictional finding does not exist,” Israel argued.
“It follows that the arrest warrants issued on 21 November 2024 must be withdrawn or vacated pending the Pre-Trial Chamber’s determination of Israel’s jurisdictional challenge.”
Israel and its allies reacted furiously to the warrants issued on November 21, Netanyahu describing it as an “anti-Semitic decision” and then US president Joe Biden slamming it as “outrageous.”
Technically, any member of the ICC is required to arrest Netanyahu if he travels there, although the court has no independent power to enforce warrants.
Israel argued in its submission that Netanyahu could theoretically be arrested while the court was still weighing whether it had jurisdiction in the case.
“Depriving persons of their liberty on the basis of an arrest warrant issued in the absence of the necessary legal pre-conditions is an egregious violation of fundamental human rights and of the rule of law,” Israel argued.
Allowing the warrants to stay in place during the deliberations “is unlawful and undermines the legitimacy of the court,” said Israel.
Syrian, Turkish foreign ministers address security issues in Ankara
- Officials convened during trilateral meeting involving Syria, Turkiye and Jordan
LONDON: Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani met his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan, in Ankara on Monday.
The officials convened during trilateral talks, which included Jordan’s foreign minister, to address joint security and economic issues in the region.
The ministers discussed various issues, including Israeli actions in the southern Syrian Arab Republic since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024, as well as coordination with Arab states and the international community to support Syria’s security, stability and sovereignty.
Emir of Kuwait, Lebanese president discuss historic opportunity to shape future
- The meeting at Bayan Palace in Kuwait addressed the recent developments in Lebanon
- Officials highlighted that Lebanon has a historic opportunity to shape its future
LONDON: Emir of Kuwait Sheikh Meshal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah met with Lebanese President Gen. Joseph Aoun on Monday morning to discuss ways to enhance collaboration between their countries in various sectors.
The meeting at Bayan Palace in Kuwait addressed the recent developments in Lebanon. Crown Prince Sheikh Sabah Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Sabah, acting Prime Minister Sheikh Fahad Yusuf Saud Al-Sabah, and senior officials from both countries attended the meeting.
Minister of Amiri Diwan Affairs Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah Al-Mubarak Al-Sabah stated that the discussions centered on strengthening ties and exploring ways to develop them across all possible areas.
Officials highlighted that Lebanon has a historic opportunity to shape its future, overcome past challenges, and initiate reconstruction and development to fulfil the aspirations of the Lebanese people for security and stability, the Kuwait News Agency reported.
Sheikh Mohammad noted that the session also addressed key issues of mutual interest, methods to enhance unified Arab action, and recent regional and international developments.
Hundreds march in West Bank against killings of Palestinian medics
- Protesters carried symbolic white shrouds bearing the names and pictures of the dead, as well as signs demanding the release of three staff members
RAMALLAH: Hundreds of Palestinian Red Crescent staff marched in the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on Monday to protest the killing of medical workers in Gaza over the past 19 months of war.
Gathering in the city’s Clock Square, medical personnel, support staff and volunteers wore white and orange vests and waved flags bearing the Red Crescent’s emblem.
The demonstration marked World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, usually observed on May 8, and called for the “protection for medical and humanitarian workers.”
In a statement released Monday, the Red Crescent said 48 of their staff members have been killed in Gaza and the West Bank since the war began on October 7, 2023 — including 30 who “were killed while performing their humanitarian duty wearing the Red Crescent emblem.”
Protesters carried symbolic white shrouds bearing the names and pictures of the dead, as well as signs demanding the release of three staff members who have been detained by the Israeli army for over a year.
Some 1,400 humanitarian and medical workers have been killed in Gaza since the beginning of the war, according to the statement, which added that “dozens of medical personnel working in Gaza... were detained while performing their humanitarian duties.”
It highlighted a particularly deadly attack in March in the southern Gaza city of Rafah, when 15 first responders including eight Red Crescent paramedics were killed by the Israeli army.
The first responders were answering distress calls after Israeli air strikes.
The incident drew international condemnation, including concern about possible war crimes from UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk.
An Israeli military investigation, the results of which were published, acknowledged “professional failures” and “violations of orders” during the shooting.
Syria leader to miss Arab summit in Iraq: diplomatic source
- Powerful Iraqi politicians have rejected hosting the former jihadist leader who became Syria's interim president
- Ahmed Al-Sharaa was imprisoned for years in Iraq on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda following the 2003 US-led invasion
BAGHDAD: Syria’s interim president, Ahmed Al-Sharaa, will not attend an upcoming Arab League summit in Baghdad, an Arab diplomatic source said Monday, as powerful Iraqi politicians have rejected hosting a former jihadist leader.
Sharaa, whose Islamist group spearheaded the offensive that toppled Syria’s longtime ruler Bashar Assad in December, was imprisoned for years in Iraq on charges of belonging to Al-Qaeda following the 2003 US-led invasion.
The Iraqi government has invited Sharaa for the meeting planned for Saturday, but he “will not attend the Arab Summit,” the diplomatic source told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Instead, Foreign Minister Asaad Al-Shaibani will lead the Syrian delegation.
Several powerful Iraqi politicians have voiced opposition to Sharaa’s planned visit to Iraq.
They include former prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki, a leading member of Iraq’s main pro-Iran coalition that holds a parliamentary majority.
Armed groups aligned with Tehran have also joined the call against Sharaa, including the powerful faction Kataeb Hezbollah which has previously fought in Syria alongside Assad’s forces.
Several Iraqi security sources told AFP that an old arrest warrant for Sharaa from his time as a member of Al-Qaeda remains in place.
However, authorities seek good relations with Syria’s new leadership to help maintain regional stability, the sources said.
The fall of Assad, who was a close ally of the government in Baghdad, has complicated relations between the neighboring countries.
Iraq, where the majority are Shiite Muslims, remains deeply scarred by decades of conflict following the US-led invasion, which triggered sectarian violence and the rise of Sunni jihadist groups including Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State.
