Saudi Arabia, Yemen Sign 12 Solar-Powered Water Projects Agreements

The signing ceremony was attended by the director of the SDRPY office in Aden, Ahmed Madkhali, and several local officials. (SDRPY)
The signing ceremony was attended by the director of the SDRPY office in Aden, Ahmed Madkhali, and several local officials. (SDRPY)
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Saudi Arabia, Yemen Sign 12 Solar-Powered Water Projects Agreements

The signing ceremony was attended by the director of the SDRPY office in Aden, Ahmed Madkhali, and several local officials. (SDRPY)
The signing ceremony was attended by the director of the SDRPY office in Aden, Ahmed Madkhali, and several local officials. (SDRPY)

Yemen’s interim capital, Aden, witnessed on Monday the signing of agreements for 12 potable water projects using solar energy technologies in three governorates. The agreements will also enable projects for improving the quality of life for Yemenis in five governorates.

The projects come with a tripartite contribution from the Saudi Program for the Development and Reconstruction of Yemen (SDRPY), the Arab Gulf Program for Development (AGFUND) and the Sela Foundation for Development.

They will target five governorates: Hadramout, Abyan, Lahj, Taiz and Hodeidah.

The signing ceremony was attended by the director of SDRPY office in Aden, Ahmed Madkhali, and several local officials.

During the ceremony, Madkhali explained that Saudi Arabia, through SDRPY, made qualitative contributions in meeting the needs of various basic and vital sectors in Yemen.

Madkhali stressed SDRPY’s keenness to unify efforts to achieve a stable and prosperous future for Yemenis.

According to the director, SDRPY is operating in cooperation with the Yemeni government and development partners in Yemen.

“The SDRPY seeks to contribute to improving the standard of living of the Yemeni people and their daily life, especially in the field of water. This important project will contribute to providing fresh and safe water sources with clean and renewable energy,” said Madkhali.

Participating through videoconference at the signing ceremony, an AGFUND representative explained that the projects were inspired by the need to end the suffering that Yemeni governorates are witnessing in the lack of access to potable water.

Sela Foundation for Development Executive Director Ali Hassan Bashmakh said that the projects will raise the operational efficiency of drinking water projects in the targeted governorates and will meet their daily needs of fresh and clean water.

Bashmakh praised the efforts of SDRPY and AGFUND in financing such sustainable projects in the field of water.

SDRPY has implemented as many as 224 development projects and initiatives in various Yemeni governorates to serve Yemeni people in seven main sectors: education, health, water, energy, transport, agriculture, and fishery, and building the capacity of government institutions and development programs.



Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
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Syrian Christians Celebrate Christmas in Damascus Amid Tight Security

An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)
An aerial picture shows a view of a crowd around a Christmas tree in Damascus on December 25, 2024. (Photo by Bakr ALKASEM / AFP)

Syrian Christians gathered at churches in the country's capital Damascus on Wednesday amid tight security measures to celebrate their first Christmas after the fall of Bashar al-Assad.

"Today there is a large deployment of security to protect the churches, fearing sabotage, but things are normal," Nicola Yazgi told dpa, while attending a mass in eastern Damascus.

Security forces affiliated with Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), which is now leading Syria's interim government, were deployed outside churches and in the streets in Christian-majority neighborhoods in the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

According to the UK-based war monitor, churches across Syria - including in the southern city of al-Sweida, and in the northern cities of Aleppo and Idlib - opened their doors for Christmas celebrations.

Yazgi said he was celebrating two things this year: "Christmas and the victory of the revolution and the fall of the tyrant. We hope that today will be the day of salvation from the era of al-Assad family injustices."

Suad al-Zein, an engineer, also joined the mass in Damascus. She expressed her joy despite the lack of decorations in the streets: "For us, joy is in our hearts."

Civil war broke out in Syria in 2011 following pro-democracy protests against al-Assad's regime.

In late November, HTS and other opposition groups launched a rapid offensive, making major territorial gains before capturing Damascus earlier this month. Al-Assad fled to Russia with his family.

Since then, HTS leader Ahmed al-Sharaa has tried to reassure minorities in Syria, promising moderation and respect for all religious sects.

A group of people burnt a Christmas tree in Hama province on Monday evening, prompting hundreds of protesters to take to the streets in several cities.