Yemen PM Stresses Need to End Iranian Meddling

Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher attends a conference to raise funds for Yemen on April 25, 2017 at the United Nations office in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP
Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher attends a conference to raise funds for Yemen on April 25, 2017 at the United Nations office in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP
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Yemen PM Stresses Need to End Iranian Meddling

Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher attends a conference to raise funds for Yemen on April 25, 2017 at the United Nations office in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP
Yemen's Prime Minister Ahmed bin Dagher attends a conference to raise funds for Yemen on April 25, 2017 at the United Nations office in Geneva. Fabrice Coffrini / AFP

Yemeni Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Dagher has called for halting Iranian meddling in his country and ending the Houthi coup against legitimacy whether through a peace deal or a military solution.

According to Saba Net, bin Dagher said during a meeting on Thursday with the British ambassador to Yemen, Michael Aron, that the Yemeni government and people highly appreciate British efforts to achieve security and stability in Yemen.

He also praised UK’s support for the legitimate Yemeni government.

The prime minister briefed the newly-appointed diplomat on the situation in Yemen and UN and international efforts to solve the war politically.

Bin Dagher and Aron jointly stressed the importance of making the new UN envoy's mission successful.

The Yemeni prime minister stated that the legitimate government will deal constructively with UN initiatives for new consultations, provided that the militia proves its intention to solve the country’s crisis rather than trying to waste time.

Bin Dagher said: “The Arab Coalition’s intervention came in response to a call made by the legitimate Yemeni President after the Houthi militia took over several provinces, reaching Aden, Taiz and Marib.”

The Houthis “took up weapons against the State, cracked down on citizens and posed an existential threat to Yemen and its Arab neighbors and threatened international navigation ... to carry out Iran's agenda and plan in the region with the aim of blackmailing the international community,” he added.

The meeting also addressed the government's ongoing efforts to combat terrorism and normalize the situation in government-held areas.

For his part, the British ambassador reiterated support for Yemen’s unity, security and stability, and rejection of Iranian interference in the country’s affairs.



Wars Top Global Risk as Davos Elite Gathers in Shadow of Fragmented World

A view of a logo during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a logo during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 19, 2024. (Reuters)
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Wars Top Global Risk as Davos Elite Gathers in Shadow of Fragmented World

A view of a logo during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 19, 2024. (Reuters)
A view of a logo during the 54th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, in Davos, Switzerland, January 19, 2024. (Reuters)

Armed conflict is the top risk in 2025, a World Economic Forum (WEF) survey released on Wednesday showed, a reminder of the deepening global fragmentation as government and business leaders attend an annual gathering in Davos next week.

Nearly one in four of the more than 900 experts surveyed across academia, business and policymaking ranked conflict, including wars and terrorism, as the most severe risk to economic growth for the year ahead.

Extreme weather, the no. 1 concern in 2024, was the second-ranked danger.

"In a world marked by deepening divides and cascading risks, global leaders have a choice: to foster collaboration and resilience, or face compounding instability," WEF Managing Director Mirek Dusek said in a statement accompanying the report.

"The stakes have never been higher."

The WEF gets underway on Jan. 20 and Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the 47th president of the United States the same day and has promised to end the war in Ukraine, will address the meeting virtually on Jan. 23. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy will attend the meeting and give a speech on Jan. 21, according to the WEF organizers.

Among other global leaders due to attend the meeting are European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and China's Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang.

Syria, the "terrible humanitarian situation in Gaza" and the potential escalation of the conflict in the Middle East will be a focus at the gathering, according to WEF President and CEO Borge Brende.

Negotiators were hammering out the final details of a potential ceasefire in Gaza on Wednesday, following marathon talks in Qatar.

The threat of misinformation and disinformation was ranked as the most severe global risk over the next two years, according to the survey, the same ranking as in 2024.

Over a 10-year horizon environmental threats dominated experts' risk concerns, the survey showed. Extreme weather was the top longer-term global risk, followed by biodiversity loss, critical change to earth's systems and a shortage of natural resources.

Global temperatures last year exceeded 1.5 degrees Celsius (34.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial era for the first time, bringing the world closer to breaching the pledge governments made under the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

A global risk is defined by the survey as a condition that would negatively affect a significant proportion of global GDP, population or natural resources. Experts were surveyed in September and October.

The majority of respondents, 64%, expect a multipolar, fragmented global order to persist.