Public Institutions to Reopen in Yemen’s Cyclone-Stricken Mahra

Saudi aid arrives in Yemen’s Mahra. (SPA)
Saudi aid arrives in Yemen’s Mahra. (SPA)
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Public Institutions to Reopen in Yemen’s Cyclone-Stricken Mahra

Saudi aid arrives in Yemen’s Mahra. (SPA)
Saudi aid arrives in Yemen’s Mahra. (SPA)

Rageh Bakreet, governor of Yemen’s al-Mahra governorate, announced that public services will resume in the province on Monday they recovered enough from damage caused by the Luban category 1 cyclone.

He tweeted that all government employees must return to work according to schedule, but said that schools will remain closed until further notice.

Schools are expected to reopen gates on Tuesday.

Some school buildings are currently functioning as shelters for families that had escaped flooding.

On the other hand, the King Salman Humanitarian Aid and Relief Center (KSRelief) program for airlifting relief to the storm-ravaged Mahra continued its aid efforts to those affected by the cyclone.

A third relief shipment landed in Mahra, delivering tents which are being distributed by a specialized KSRelief team that is also expected to assess the current situation.

Efforts exerted by Saudi Arabia to aid Yemen through its hardship are acting under direct orders of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman bin Abdulaziz and Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense.

The Kingdom’s aid is vital to the Yemeni people and is ensuring that basic needs, like food and shelter, are being provided.

Saudi relief teams distributed 49 tons of emergency food aid to displaced Yemenis in schools and areas affected by Luban, reaching some 3,960 people.

On Wednesday, KSRelief announced that it distributed 45 tons of emergency food aid and 480 blankets to displaced people in schools and besieged areas in Mahra districts, benefiting 4,080 people.

As part of its efforts to aid Yemenis, the internationally-recognized Yemeni government in Aden sent a relief convoy to Mahra.

The convoy will be delivering basic supplies, such as wheat, flour, oil, water, dates, shelter materials, blankets, clothes, plastic materials and 20 tons in medical supplies, in partnership with the World Health Organization.

Industry and Trade Minister Salem al-Wali praised the government agencies and the private sector for carrying out necessary efforts to aid Mahra.



Relatives of Bashar Assad Arrested as They Tried to Fly Out of Lebanon, Officials Say

A torn poster of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad hangs near the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, in Daraa, Syria, December 27, 2024. (Reuters)
A torn poster of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad hangs near the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, in Daraa, Syria, December 27, 2024. (Reuters)
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Relatives of Bashar Assad Arrested as They Tried to Fly Out of Lebanon, Officials Say

A torn poster of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad hangs near the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, in Daraa, Syria, December 27, 2024. (Reuters)
A torn poster of Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad hangs near the flag adopted by the new Syrian rulers, in Daraa, Syria, December 27, 2024. (Reuters)

The wife and daughter of one of deposed Syrian president Bashar al-Assad ’s cousins were arrested Friday at the Beirut airport, where they attempted to fly out with allegedly forged passports, Lebanese judicial and security officials said. Assad’s uncle departed the day before.

Rasha Khazem, the wife of Duraid Assad — the son of former Syrian Vice President Rifaat Assad, the uncle of Bashar Assad — and their daughter, Shams, were smuggled illegally into Lebanon and were trying to fly to Egypt when they were arrested, according to five Lebanese officials familiar with the case.

They were being detained by Lebanese General Security. Rifaat had flown out the day before on his real passport and was not stopped, the officials said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case publicly.

Swiss federal prosecutors in March indicted Rifaat on charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity for allegedly ordering murder and torture more than four decades ago.

Rifaat Assad, the brother of Bashar Assad's father Hafez Assad, Syria's former ruler, led the artillery unit that shelled the city of Hama and killed thousands, earning him the nickname the “Butcher of Hama.”

Earlier this year, Rifaat Assad was indicted in Switzerland for war crimes and crimes against humanity in connection with Hama.

Tens of thousands of Syrians are believed to have entered Lebanon illegally on the night of Assad’s fall earlier this month, when insurgent forces entered Damascus.

The Lebanese security and judicial officials said that more than 20 members of the former Syrian Army’s notorious 4th Division, military intelligence officers and others affiliated with Assad’s security forces were arrested earlier in Lebanon. Some of them were arrested when they attempted to sell their weapons.

Lebanon’s public prosecution office also received an Interpol notice requesting the arrest of Jamil al-Hassan, the former director of Syrian intelligence under Assad. Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati previously told Reuters that Lebanon would cooperate with the Interpol request to arrest al-Hassan.