Yemeni Interior Minister: Saleh in Poor Health

 Yemeni Minister of Interior General Hussein Arab (R) meets with Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabiah (L). SPA
Yemeni Minister of Interior General Hussein Arab (R) meets with Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabiah (L). SPA
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Yemeni Interior Minister: Saleh in Poor Health

 Yemeni Minister of Interior General Hussein Arab (R) meets with Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabiah (L). SPA
Yemeni Minister of Interior General Hussein Arab (R) meets with Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabiah (L). SPA

Yemeni Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior General Hussein Arab said that ousted Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is in a poor health condition.

Saleh was suffering from a disease that required the intervention of a medical team from Russia to treat him at the Russian Embassy in Yemen, he added.

During his meeting with Dr. Abdullah bin Abdulaziz al-Rabiah, Consultant at the Royal Court and General Supervisor of King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief) in Riyadh on Monday, Arab said that the coup in Yemen led to the destruction of the infrastructure since all the establishments of the Interior Ministry were destroyed by Houthi militias, who also looted all the ministry’s equipment.

Arab pointed out that Yemen’s interior ministry was able to re-establish its building and role in the country with the help of coalition countries.

He added that the KSRelief has saved many lives in Yemen and the rest countries of the world, confirming that the center supports Yemeni hospitals and health centers through providing medical supplies and medicines.

The great support, upon directives by the Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Deputy Premier and Minister of Defense, led to a decline in the cholera epidemic in Yemen, Arab stressed.

The Yemeni minister added that the Kingdom provided treatment to the injured people inside and outside Yemen as well as in the hospitals of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Sudan.

“Iran has goals in Yemen,” Arab said, adding that “the Persian plan in Yemen is clear, and everyone knows that the Iranian mentality continues to try to reach its goals, and the intervention of the Arab coalition obstructed the achievement of these goals.”

He also talked about the latest report issued by the United Nations and said that the report was based on false information, explaining that the information given to the UN was from people who tried to find incorrect information and upload pictures of crimes carried out by the Houthi militias in Taiz and claiming they were carried out by Arab coalition forces.

Arab stressed that the Arab coalition is keen on following the rules of engagement and to refuse to carry out random military strikes, fearing for the lives of civilians or women.



Iraq, UK Agree on Trade Package Worth up to $15 Billion, Defense Deal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
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Iraq, UK Agree on Trade Package Worth up to $15 Billion, Defense Deal

British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer (R) and Iraq's Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani (L) shake hands during their meeting in Downing Street in London, Britain, 14 January 2025. (EPA)

Iraq and Britain have agreed on a trade package worth up to 12.3 billion pounds ($14.98 billion) and a bilateral defense deal, the Iraqi and British prime ministers said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The deal, envisaging more than 10 times the total of bilateral trade in 2024, was announced after a meeting between Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani and British counterpart Keir Starmer at the latter's Downing Street offices.

It includes a 1.2-billion-pound project in which British-made power transmission systems will be used for a grid interconnection project between Iraq and Saudi Arabia, as well as a 500-million-pound plan to upgrade the Al-Qayyarah air base in northern Iraq.

A water infrastructure project by a UK-led consortium that will help provide clean water in arid southern and western Iraq is also part of the deal, the statement said. The project would be worth up to 5.3 billion pounds in UK exports.

Sudani and Starmer also signed a defense deal that "establishes the basis for a new era in security cooperation".

Sudani said earlier that the UK-Iraqi security deal would develop bilateral military ties after last year's announcement that the US-led coalition set up to fight ISIS would end its work in Iraq in 2026.

The Iraqi premier began an official visit to the United Kingdom on Monday amid historic geopolitical shifts in the Middle East.

Iraq is trying to avoid becoming a conflict zone once again amid a period of regional upheaval that has seen Iran's allies Hamas degraded in Gaza and Hezbollah battered in Lebanon during wars with Israel, and Bashar al-Assad toppled in Syria.