Yemen Parliament Approves Budget as Presidential Council Stresses Partnership

PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi is sworn in before PM Abdulmalik in Aden. (Saba)
PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi is sworn in before PM Abdulmalik in Aden. (Saba)
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Yemen Parliament Approves Budget as Presidential Council Stresses Partnership

PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi is sworn in before PM Abdulmalik in Aden. (Saba)
PLC Chairman Rashad al-Alimi is sworn in before PM Abdulmalik in Aden. (Saba)

The Yemeni parliament approved on Thursday the state budget that was submitted by the government.

The budget was approved after extensive deliberations. The government was requested to present answers to inquiries posed by the lawmakers.

A senior Yemeni official told Asharq Al-Awsat that state institutions are now functioning in an official and legal manner. The parliament is monitoring the situation and holding sides and individuals to account.

Meanwhile, the Presidential Leadership Council (PLC), chaired by Rashad al-Alimi, held its first meeting with the consultation and reconciliation body in the interim capital, Aden, revealed official sources.

The body is comprised of 50 figures, representing all national forces. The meeting was attended by the seven members of the PLC, Aydarous al-Zubaidi, Sheikh Sultan al-Aradah, Tariq Saleh, Abdel-Rahman al-Mahrami, Abdullah al-Alimi, Otham Majaly and Faraj al-Bahsani.

They all stressed that the "spirit of consensus and partnership" will mark the transitional period.

Chairman Alimi hoped during the meeting that that the consultation body would assist the PLC and for its members, who are experienced in politics and administrative work, to be up to the task assigned to them.

"Our people expect you to embody consensus in order to help the PLC and this, in turn, will reflect on the interests of the Yemenis and their aspirations for peace and development," he added, according to the Saba news agency.

The PLC had convened on Wednesday to address services and living conditions throughout Yemen, especially in Aden.

Official sources said the meeting was attended by Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik and Aden Governor Ahmed Lamlas.

The officials tackled various pressing issues that needed to be addressed, especially electricity, healthcare, education, and the state of roads. Several urgent decisions were taken.



As Syrian Opposition Sweep into Aleppo, Army Closes Airport and Roads

A destroyed Syrian army tank in the village of Anjara on the outskirts of Aleppo, Nov. 29. (AP)
A destroyed Syrian army tank in the village of Anjara on the outskirts of Aleppo, Nov. 29. (AP)
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As Syrian Opposition Sweep into Aleppo, Army Closes Airport and Roads

A destroyed Syrian army tank in the village of Anjara on the outskirts of Aleppo, Nov. 29. (AP)
A destroyed Syrian army tank in the village of Anjara on the outskirts of Aleppo, Nov. 29. (AP)

Syrian authorities closed Aleppo airport as well as all roads leading into the city on Saturday, three military sources told Reuters, as the groups opposed to President Bashar al-Assad said they had reached the heart of Aleppo.
The opposition fighters, led by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group, carried out a surprise sweep through government-held towns this week and reached Aleppo nearly a decade after having been forced out by Assad and his allies.
Russia, one of Assad's key allies, has promised Damascus extra military aid to thwart the opposition, two military sources said, adding new hardware would start arriving in the next 72 hours.
The Syrian army has been told to follow "safe withdrawal" orders from the main areas of the city that the opposition have entered, three army sources said.
The fighters began their incursion on Wednesday and by late Friday an operations room representing the offensive said they were sweeping through various neighbourhoods of Aleppo.
They are returning to the city for the first time since 2016, when Assad and his allies Russia, Iran, and regional Shi'ite militias retook it, with the insurgents agreeing to withdraw after months of bombardment and siege.
Mustafa Abdul Jaber, a commander in the Jaish al-Izza opposition brigade, said their speedy advance this week had been helped by a lack of Iran-backed manpower in the broader Aleppo province. Iran's allies in the region have suffered a series of blows at the hands of Israel as the Gaza war has expanded through the Middle East.
The opposition fighters have said the campaign was in response to stepped-up strikes in recent weeks against civilians by the Russian and Syrian air force on areas in opposition-held Idlib, and to preempt any attacks by the Syrian army.
Opposition sources in touch with Turkish intelligence said Turkiye, which supports the opposition, had given a green light to the offensive.
But Turkish foreign ministry spokesperson Oncu Keceli said on Friday that Turkiye sought to avoid greater instability in the region and had warned recent attacks undermined de-escalation agreements.
The attack is the biggest since March 2020, when Russia and Turkiye agreed to a deal to de-escalate the conflict.
CIVILIANS KILLED IN FIGHTING
On Friday, Syrian state television denied opposition had reached the city and said Russia was providing Syria's military with air support.
The Syrian military said it was fighting back against the attack and had inflicted heavy losses on the insurgents in the countryside of Aleppo and Idlib.
David Carden, UN Deputy Regional Humanitarian Coordinator for the Syria Crisis, said: "We're deeply alarmed by the situation unfolding in northwest Syria."
"Relentless attacks over the past three days have claimed the lives of at least 27 civilians, including children as young as 8 years old."
Syrian state news agency SANA said four civilians including two students were killed on Friday in Aleppo by insurgent shelling of university student dormitories. It was not clear if they were among the 27 dead reported by the UN official.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday that Moscow regarded the attack as a violation of Syria's sovereignty.
"We are in favor of the Syrian authorities bringing order to the area and restoring constitutional order as soon as possible," he said.