Aden Governor to Asharq Al-Awsat: Security, Basic Services a Priority

 Yemeni boys play in the Crater district of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on September 4, 2015. Saleh Al Obeidi/AFP Photo
Yemeni boys play in the Crater district of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on September 4, 2015. Saleh Al Obeidi/AFP Photo
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Aden Governor to Asharq Al-Awsat: Security, Basic Services a Priority

 Yemeni boys play in the Crater district of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on September 4, 2015. Saleh Al Obeidi/AFP Photo
Yemeni boys play in the Crater district of the southern Yemeni port city of Aden on September 4, 2015. Saleh Al Obeidi/AFP Photo

Ahmed Salim Rubea, the new governor of Yemen's temporary capital, Aden, said Thursday that services and security should be tackled in the next phase.

In a telephone conversation with Asharq Al-Awsat, Rubea stressed that basic services in the temporary capital of Aden require urgent intervention and quick solutions.

“Basic services include electricity, water, sanitation, hygiene, and health,” the governor said, adding that he had already tackled those issues during a meeting held Thursday with Aden’s governorate employees.

Yemen's Internationally-backed President Abdu-Rabbu Mansour Hadi had appointed Rubea Thursday in a new presidential decree, according to state-run Saba news agency.

Rubea said he plans to place an extended action plan to find means for achieving results in best ways possible and based on a scheduled timetable.

“Aden’s immediate needs were already presented to the cabinet to have them quickly implemented,” he said.

Although the governor explained that currently, the Cabinet would not be ready to treat all services-related issues, he said the government would still be capable to contribute in offering those facilities in a better way.

Concerning security and what Aden needs during the current phase, the new governor uncovered the presence of a new plan already proposed by the Prime Minister in this regard.

There are also ongoing efforts to establish a new electricity plant in with a capacity of producing 264 megawatts.

“This will help stimulate many basic services,” Rubea said, adding that treating problems that residents face in their day-to-day lives would very much reflect on the general normative. However, the governor said, “during this phase, big strategic projects in Aden overpass our financial capacities.”



Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
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Blinken Speaks to Israel’s Dermer about Humanitarian Situation in Gaza

 A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)
A man sits on rubble of a house destroyed in an Israeli strike at the Nuseirat refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, on November 12, 2024, amid the ongoing war between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas. (AFP)

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken emphasized the importance of improving the humanitarian situation in Gaza in a meeting with Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer in Washington on Monday, the State Department said.

Dermer updated Blinken on operational changes and policy decisions taken by Israel in response to a US letter sent in October, the department said in a statement on Tuesday.

Blinken "emphasized the importance of ensuring those changes lead to an actual improvement in the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza, including through the delivery of additional assistance to civilians throughout Gaza," State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said in the statement.