Saudi distributes 30,000 food baskets in Yemen’s Hodeidah

October 23, 2016

Riyadh, Oct 23: The King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief) on Friday distributed 30,000 food baskets to needy families in all governorates of Hodeidah in Yemen.

Kingdom

An estimated 180,000 people are expected to benefit from this relief, bringing the total number of beneficiaries from such aid programs until October to 400,000 as a result of joint efforts from local and international partners.

The head of KSRelief and adviser at the royal court, Abdulllah Al-Rabeeah, said in a statement that the center is implementing many projects in coordination with the United Nations and the World Food Program for food emergency aid in 16 Yemeni governorates including in Al-Mahwiet, Omran, Albaidaa, Jouf, Aal Daleh, the capital’s municipality, Marib, Abb, Taiz, Hija, Rima, Ibn, Sanaa, Thamaar, and Lahj. The project is to distribute 134,000 food baskets by the end of October benefiting 938,000 people.

Al-Rabeeah added that the center is continuing with the distribution of food baskets and tents for those that are displaced in Jouf, Mareb and Hadrmout. Items for distribution include 21,700 food baskets, 1,064 tents and 17,710 blankets. The beneficiaries to date total 130,200.

KSRelief gives direct and indirect aid to those suffering from the present crises. Aid is either for relief and/or humanitarian purposes, and in such areas as education.

The teachers training program enables Yemenis to operate educational programs include e-teaching and long-distance teaching as 500 teachers are being trained on these educational technologies being implemented for the first time to meet teacher shortages.

Education and lessons are being recorded and will be aired on television. Most educational curricula have been made digital at all school levels with e-platforms to be aired to students with additional psychological support messages by Yemeni experts.

Al-Rabeeah also said the center is coordinating this program with the Yemeni orphan’s establishment as a local partner, and for indirect support, it is cooperating with 2,000 programs with the UNFPA in protecting women and children.

In addition, the center is working with different UN organizations to help farmers in growing crops and using fertilizer, agricultural implements, pesticides, vaccines and medicines in farming and animal husbandry.

He said it is supporting civil society organizations through the UNDP through training those unemployed, supporting small projects, and supervising psychological support through civil society organizations, where 313,000 have so far benefited.

Also hostels, rehabilitation and training centers have been set up in different Yemeni governorates with help in paying rents, helping those in need for livelihood and small projects at $31 million.

He added that the medical, environmental and water projects currently carried out in Yemen are continuing. So far, these involved treating 3,601 patients for injuries, which means that there are 150 injured people treated and cared for each month.

Al-Rabeeah said the projects of treating Yemenis in Sudan and Jordan are also continuing, with relatives accompanying patients. He added these are in addition to those injured who are treated inside Yemen in private hospitals, which stand at 1,800, and that coordination is continuing with their partners.

He stressed the fact that the medical, environmental and water projects are continuing according to need, and with local and international partners in line with world standards.

He added that the center still wants to operate the Saudi Hospital in Jija that will serve 270,000 patients, and to operate the Al-Salam Hospital in Saada to serve more than 356,332 patients with helping the Al-Jamhouri Hospital, Al-Thawara Hospital, Kuwaiti Hospital and the University Hospital, all in Sanaa. This is in addition to helping the central clinic in Sanaa, the Military Hospital and providing power and oxygen.

Al-Rabeeah said KSRelief is implementing food and medical aid program interventions for boys and girls below the age of five, pregnant women and those breastfeeding through UNICEF with the number of beneficiaries till now standing at 270,0000, in all of Yemen. The project for emergency aid (public, health, pharmaceuticals, medical apparatuses and oxygen) is being conducted with WHO with 750,0000 beneficiaries so far.

He said the Marib Public Hospital is being supported with beneficiaries standing at 74,480, as is the Al-Jamhouri Hospital in Aden, that serves 57,666. Two projects are being implemented for these hospitals to provide the necessary medical cadres and this will begin implementation on Nov. 5, in coordination with the stated partners in Aden, Hadramout, Marib, Saada and Taiz.

A project to establish a prosthetic center in Marib to serve all Yemenis is also being implemented.

As to supporting environmental sanitation, Al-Rabeeah said the center is implementing a project to support water services, and sterilization and sanitation from Medical Corps International to serve around 7,869,356 beneficiaries in Sanaa, Aden, Taiz, Lahj and Marib. He said the project to provide wheelchairs to 371 health facilities has been completed. This was in coordination with the Yemeni Ministry of Health, with the support of 97 public and private health facilities, clinics, and labs through WHO, but financed by the center.

The head of the center said this comes about through the orders of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman to help the Yemeni people.

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News Network
January 6,2020

Riyadh, Jan 6: Saudi Arabia was not consulted by its ally Washington over a US drone strike that killed a top Iranian general, an official said Sunday, as the kingdom sought to defuse soaring regional tensions.

Saudi Arabia is vulnerable to possible Iranian reprisals after Tehran vowed "revenge" following the strike on Friday that killed powerful commander Qasem Soleimani in Baghdad.

"The kingdom of Saudi Arabia was not consulted regarding the US strike," a Saudi official told AFP, requesting anonymity.

"In light of the rapid developments, the kingdom stresses the importance of exercising restraint to guard against all acts that may lead to escalation, with severe consequences," the official added.

Saudi Arabia's foreign ministry made a similar call for restraint at the weekend and King Salman emphasised the need for measures to defuse tensions in a phone call on Saturday with Iraqi President Barham Saleh.

In a separate phone call with Iraq's Prime Minister Adel Abdel Mahdi, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman stressed "the need to make efforts to calm the situation and de-escalate tensions", the official Saudi Press Agency reported.

The crown prince has instructed Prince Khalid bin Salman, his younger brother and deputy defence minister, to travel to Washington and London in the next few days to urge restraint, the pan-Arab Asharq al-Awsat newspaper reported.

Prince Khalid will meet White House and US defence officials, the paper said, citing unnamed sources.

The killing of Soleimani, seen as the second most powerful man in Iran, is the most dramatic escalation yet in spiralling tensions between Washington and Tehran and has prompted fears of a major conflagration in the Middle East.

US President Donald Trump, who ordered the drone strike, has warned that Washington will hit Iran "very fast and very hard" if the Islamic republic attacks American personnel or assets.

The American embassy in Riyadh on Sunday warned its citizens living close to military bases and oil and gas installations in the kingdom of a "heightened risk of missile and drone attacks".

A string of attacks blamed on Iran has caused anxiety in recent months, as Riyadh and Washington deliberated over how to react.

In particular, devastating strikes against Saudi oil installations last September led Riyadh and Abu Dhabi to adopt a more conciliatory approach aimed at avoiding confrontation with Tehran.

Analysts warn that pro-Iran groups have the capacity to carry out attacks on US bases in Gulf states as well as against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz -- the strategic waterway that Tehran could close at will.

"Expect Iranian reprisals (directly or through partner groups in Iraq, Lebanon or elsewhere) to target US partners in the region including Saudi Arabia," said Thomas Juneau, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa.

"Given the climate in the US, where support for Saudi in the media and Congress is at an all time low, it will be difficult for Trump to commit significant resources to come to its aid."

Yemen's pro-Iran Huthi rebels, locked in a five-year conflict with a Saudi-led military coalition, have also called for swift reprisals for Soleimani's killing.

"The aggression... will not go without a response," said Huthi political council member Mohammed Al-Bukhaiti.

"How the response is going to be, when and where will be determined by Iraq and Iran, and we will stand with them as a hub for the resistance."

It was unclear if the Huthi warning was directed in part at Saudi Arabia, which has stepped up efforts to end Yemen's conflict amid a lull in Huthi attacks on the kingdom.

Saudi Arabian military commanders recently met with counterparts from "friendly countries" to formulate a new strategy to tackle the Yemeni rebels, particularly those "opposing" a political solution, according to Asharq al-Awsat.

Riyadh has said it will host a separate meeting of foreign ministers of Arab and African coastal states on Monday.

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News Network
January 10,2020

Dubai, Jan 10: Iran denied on Thursday that a Ukrainian airliner that crashed near Tehran had been hit by a missile, Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said in a statement, according to state TV.

"All these reports are a psychological warfare against Iran. All those countries whose citizens were aboard the plane can send representatives and we urge Boeing to send its representative to join the process of investigating the black box".

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News Network
April 25,2020

Apr 25: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Friday spoke to his counterparts from Qatar, the UAE, Niger, Palestine and Czech Republic and held discussions around the coronavirus infection.

In conversation with Qatar Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, Jaishankar discussed their experience of dealing with coronavirus infection and also thanked him for taking care of the Indian community.

"A cordial conversation with FM @MBA_AlThani_ of #Qatar. Discussed our #coronavirus experiences. Thanked him for taking care of the Indian community. Such challenging times will only further strengthen our friendship," he said in a tweet.

Jaishankar also spoke to United Arab Emirates Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed.

"Pandemics further highlight the need for international cooperation. Few better examples than our relationship with #UAE. Applaud the generosity of spirit and clarity of policy that has characterised its approach. Thank HH @ABZayed for the warm conversation today," he said in another tweet.

Jaishankar also spoke to Niger Foreign Minister Kalla Ankourao and assured him of India's support in meeting the coronavirus challenge, including medicines.

"Just spoke with FM @kallaankourao of #Niger. Assured him of India's support in meeting the #coronavirus challenge, including medicines. Discussed its global implications in the context of the United Nations," he tweeted.

Jaishankar also discussed the coronavirus situation with Palestine Foreign Minister Riad Al Malki. "Welcomed speaking with FM Riad Al Malki of #Palestine. Discussed the #coronavirus situation. Assured him of Indian medical assistance," he said in a tweet.

He also exchanged experiences on coronavirus response with Czech Foreign Minister Tomas Petricek.

The minister said the two leaders agreed that there are valuable lessons for international cooperation.

"Glad to catch up with FM @TPetricek of #CzechRepublic. Exchanged our experiences on #coronavirus response. Agreed that there are valuable lessons for international cooperation. Look forward to keeping in touch," he said in a tweet.

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