Yemeni PM Declares War on Corruption at Land, Air, Sea Ports

The Yemen PM meets with ministers and officials on Sunday. (Saba)
The Yemen PM meets with ministers and officials on Sunday. (Saba)
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Yemeni PM Declares War on Corruption at Land, Air, Sea Ports

The Yemen PM meets with ministers and officials on Sunday. (Saba)
The Yemen PM meets with ministers and officials on Sunday. (Saba)

Faced with a new drop in the value of the Yemeni rial, Prime minister Maeen Abdulmalik said land, air and sea ports are among the arteries of the national economy and that the government will activate all anti-corruption systems to control state revenues.

On Sunday, the exchange rate of the Yemeni rial stood at 850 to the dollar in government-controlled areas. The dip follows the war-torn country’s currency having registered a slight recovery after the newly formed government arriving in the interim capital, Aden.

Yemeni bankers blamed the policy adopted by the Iran-backed Houthi militias on fighting the circulation of new banknotes for the deterioration of the rial’s price.

The Houthis’ outlawing of the use and possession of crisp new rial bills issued by the legitimate government is a form of economic vandalism, they said.

What the national economy is passing through requires building a real economy that does not depend only on conventional revenues, Abdulmalik said at a meeting on national ports in Aden.

The meeting gathered the concerned ministries and thrashed out the relationship between them and local authorities and discussed means of improving local and state revenues.

It approved the formation of a joint committee tasked with field visits to all ports and crossings to address problems and assess performances in a way which guarantees improving port operations, unifying revenue collection measures and putting an end to overlapping powers.

According to the Saba News Agency, the joint committee will be composed from representatives of the ministries of finance, interior, transport and defense.
Attendees at the meeting put forward a number of proposals to assist the joint committee in performing its work within an integrated approach between ministries and concerned authorities.

They also focused on ways for developing a healthy relationship with the local authorities without giving way to violations, such as smuggling.



US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
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US Defers Removal of Some Lebanese, Citing Israel-Hezbollah Tensions

Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)
Smoke billows from a site targeted by Lebanon's Hezbollah, along the northern Israeli border with Lebanon on July 25, 2024, amid ongoing cross-border clashes between Israeli troops and Hezbollah fighters. (AFP)

The United States is deferring the removal of certain Lebanese citizens from the country, President Joe Biden said on Friday, citing humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon amid tensions between Israel and Hezbollah.

The deferred designation, which lasts 18 months, allows Lebanese citizens to remain in the country with the right to work, according to a memorandum Biden sent to the Department of Homeland Security.

"Humanitarian conditions in southern Lebanon have significantly deteriorated due to tensions between Hezbollah and Israel," Biden said in the memo.

"While I remain focused on de-escalating the situation and improving humanitarian conditions, many civilians remain in danger; therefore, I am directing the deferral of removal of certain Lebanese nationals who are present in the United States."

Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have been trading fire since Hezbollah announced a "support front" with Palestinians shortly after its ally Hamas attacked southern Israeli border communities on Oct. 7, triggering Israel's military assault in Gaza.

The fighting in Lebanon has killed more than 100 civilians and more than 300 Hezbollah fighters, according to a Reuters tally, and led to levels of destruction in Lebanese border towns and villages not seen since the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

On the Israeli side, 10 Israeli civilians, a foreign agricultural worker and 20 Israeli soldiers have been killed. Tens of thousands have been evacuated from both sides of the border.