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.



Syria’s Al-Sharaa Hosts Ukraine’s Foreign Minister

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa looks on as he meets with senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)
Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa looks on as he meets with senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)
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Syria’s Al-Sharaa Hosts Ukraine’s Foreign Minister

Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa looks on as he meets with senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)
Syria's de facto leader Ahmed al-Sharaa looks on as he meets with senior Ukrainian delegation led by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, after the ousting of Syria's Bashar al-Assad, in Damascus, Syria, December 30, 2024. (Reuters)

Syria's de facto ruler Ahmed al-Sharaa held talks on Monday with a senior Ukrainian delegation led by Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, the Syrian state news agency (SANA) reported, as Kyiv moves to build ties with the new leadership in Damascus.

SANA provided no immediate details about their talks, held in Damascus, but Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said last Friday his country had sent its first batch of food aid to Syria, which is traditionally a close ally of Russia.

Zelenskiy said that 500 metric tons of wheat flour were already on their way to Syria as part of Kyiv's humanitarian "Grain from Ukraine" initiative in cooperation with the United Nations World Food Program.

Ukraine, a global producer and exporter of grain and oilseeds, has said it wants to restore relations with Syria following the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad and his flight into exile in Russia.

Ukraine, which has been battling invading Russian forces for nearly three years, traditionally exports wheat and corn to countries in the Middle East, but not to Syria, which in the Assad era imported food from Russia.

Russian wheat supplies to Syria have been suspended because of uncertainty about the new government in Damascus and payment delays, Russian and Syrian sources told Reuters in early December.

Russia had supplied wheat to Syria using complex financial and logistical arrangements to circumvent Western sanctions imposed on both Moscow and Damascus.

The ousting of Assad by al-Sharaa Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group has thrown the future of Russia's military bases in Syria - the Hmeimim airbase in Latakia and the Tartous naval facility - into question.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the status of Russia's military bases would be the subject of negotiations with the new leadership in Damascus.

Al-Sharaa said this month that Syria's relations with Russia should serve common interests.