Yemen: Al-Alimi Says Military Ready for Decisive Battle

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi (Saba News Agency)
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi (Saba News Agency)
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Yemen: Al-Alimi Says Military Ready for Decisive Battle

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi (Saba News Agency)
Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi (Saba News Agency)

Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) chief Rashad al-Alimi said there are promising signs of a shift in the balance of power in the country’s long-running conflict, citing growing unity among anti-Houthi factions.

Al-Alimi praised what he described as “broad national alignment,” highlighting the readiness of the armed forces, security units, and all military formations to wage what he called “a battle for salvation” against the Iran-aligned Houthi group.

He said the emerging consensus among Yemen’s diverse political and military components to confront a common enemy was a key development on the ground.

Al-Alimi met late Tuesday with the head of the Consultation and Reconciliation Commission, his deputies, and senior figures from political parties and factions represented in the body, as efforts to unify anti-Houthi forces continue.

The meeting came amid ongoing US airstrikes targeting Houthi positions across several provinces, including the capital Sanaa, as well as Saada, Hajjah, and Hodeidah.

Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi has acknowledged that the group has been hit by over 1,000 air and naval strikes since the campaign began.

US President Donald Trump launched the military campaign against the Houthis on March 15, vowing to use “deadly force” to eliminate the group, which Washington accuses of threatening maritime security in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and launching attacks against Israel.

The meeting attended by al-Alimi focused on the necessary actions to transform the trajectory of Yemen’s pivotal battle, aiming to end the humanitarian suffering exacerbated by Houthi militia attacks on oil facilities and commercial shipping vessels.

Al-Alimi highlighted a significant positive shift in the international community’s stance, which he attributed to a united effort in countering misleading narratives about Yemen's crisis. He emphasized the government’s role as a close partner to the international community, while exposing the Houthis not as a peace project, but as a constant threat to global security, according to the official Saba News Agency.

“We have presented the Yemeni people’s vision and aspirations in the best possible light, promoting a discourse focused on security, peace, development, equality, and active partnership with the international community,” al-Alimi said.

“Today, we see promising elements that could shift the balance of power on the ground, with the key being the unity of all national components in their shared goal and common enemy,” he added.

The PLC chief expressed his gratitude for the critical support provided by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, highlighting their economic, developmental, and humanitarian contributions as vital to the Yemeni state’s continued fulfillment of its obligations.

Al-Alimi also commended the efforts of Yemen’s security forces in countering Houthi militia attempts to destabilize the internal front, accusing the group of colluding with terrorist organizations in its reckless plans.



Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
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Lebanese President: We are Determined to Hold Parliamentary Elections on Time

President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)
President Joseph Aoun between Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Speaker Nabih Berri (Lebanese Presidency file photo)

Lebanese President Joseph Aoun reiterated on Thursday that the country’s parliamentary elections are a constitutional obligation that must be carried out on time.

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency quoted Aoun as saying that he, alongside Prime Minister Nawaf Salam and Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, is determined to hold the elections on schedule.

Aoun also emphasized that diplomatic efforts have continued unabated to keep the specter of war at bay, noting that "things are heading in a positive direction".

The agency also cited Berri reaffirming that the elections will take place as planned, with "no delays, no extensions".

The Lebanese parliamentary elections are scheduled for May next year.


Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
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Israel Calls Countries Condemning New West Bank Settlements ‘Morally Wrong’

Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)
Newly constructed buildings are pictured in the Israeli settlement of Givat Zeev near the Palestinian city of Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on October 24, 2025. (AFP)

Israel reacted furiously on Thursday to a condemnation by 14 countries including France and Britain of its approval of new settlements in the occupied West Bank, calling the criticism discriminatory against Jews.

"Foreign governments will not restrict the right of Jews to live in the Land of Israel, and any such call is morally wrong and discriminatory against Jews," Foreign Minister Gideon Saar said.

"The cabinet decision to establish 11 new settlements and to formalize eight additional settlements is intended, among other things, to help address the security threats Israel is facing."

On Sunday, Israel's far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced that authorities had greenlit the settlements, saying the move was aimed at preventing the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Fourteen countries, including Britain, France, Germany, Spain and Canada, then issued a statement urging Israel to reverse its decision, "as well as the expansion of settlements".

Such unilateral actions, they said, "violate international law", and risk undermining a fragile ceasefire in Gaza in force since October 10.

They also reaffirmed their "unwavering commitment to a comprehensive, just and lasting peace based on the two-state solution... where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side-by-side in peace and security".

Israel has occupied the West Bank following the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.

Excluding east Jerusalem, which was occupied and annexed by Israel in 1967, more than 500,000 Israelis live in the West Bank, along with about three million Palestinian residents.

Earlier this month, the United Nations said the expansion of Israeli settlements in the West Bank, all of which are illegal under international law, had reached its highest level since at least 2017.


Iraq Criminalizes Volunteering in Russia-Ukraine War

A photo circulated on social media shows a 24-year-old Iraqi who traveled to Russia to join its armed forces. (AFP)
A photo circulated on social media shows a 24-year-old Iraqi who traveled to Russia to join its armed forces. (AFP)
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Iraq Criminalizes Volunteering in Russia-Ukraine War

A photo circulated on social media shows a 24-year-old Iraqi who traveled to Russia to join its armed forces. (AFP)
A photo circulated on social media shows a 24-year-old Iraqi who traveled to Russia to join its armed forces. (AFP)

The Iraqi judiciary warned on Wednesday that people involved in the war between Russia and Ukraine will face jail as it attempts to crack down on the recruitment of Iraqis joining the conflict.

Faiq Zidan, the head of Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council, received on Wednesday National Security Advisor Qasim Al-Araji and members of a committee tasked with combating the recruitment of Iraqis.

Zaidan stressed that Iraq criminalizes any Iraqi who joins the armed forces of another nation without the approval of the government.

The judiciary does not have a fixed prison term for anyone accused of the crime, but a court in Najaf last week sentenced to life an Iraqi accused of human trafficking.

He was convicted of belonging to an international criminal gang that recruits Iraqis to fight for Russia in its war against Ukraine.

In November, Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani ordered the formation of a committee, headed by Araji, to crack down on the recruitment of Iraqis to fight for the Russian and Ukrainian militaries.

Iraq does not have official figures detailing how many of its citizens have joined the war. Media reports said some 50,000 Iraqis have joined Russian ranks, while unofficial figures put the number at around 5,000, with 3,000 fighting for Russia and 2,000 for Ukraine.

The debate over the recruitment played out over the media between the Russian and Ukrainian ambassadors to Iraq.

Ukrainian Ambassador Ivan Dovhanych accused Russia of recruiting Iraqis. Last week, the Ukrainian government sent a letter to the Iraqi government about the recruitment.

It hailed Baghdad’s criminalization of such activity. The letter also revealed that Ukrainian authorities had arrested an Iraqi who was fighting for Russia.

Ukraine has denied that it has recruited Iraqis to join the conflict, but reports indicate otherwise.

Meanwhile, Russian Ambassador to Baghdad Elbrus Kutrashev acknowledged that Iraqi fighters had joined the Russian army.

Speaking to the media, he declined to give exact figures, but dismissed claims that they reached 50,000 or even 5,000, saying instead they number no more than a few hundred.

He confirmed that Iraqis had joined the Russian army and “that some four to five had lost their lives”.

He revealed that the Russian embassy in Baghdad had granted visas to Russia to the families of the deceased on humanitarian grounds.

Russian law allows any foreign national residing in Russia and who speaks Russian to join its army with a salary of around 2,500 to 3,000 dollars.

There have been mounting calls in Iraq for the authorities to crack down on human trafficking gangs.

Would-be recruits are often lured by the monthly salary and the possibility of gaining the Russian or Ukrainian nationality.

Critics of the authorities have said Iraqi youths are lured to join foreign wars given the lack of job opportunities in Iraq.