Category: General

The Ministry of Education participated in the work of the thirteenth conference of Arab ministers of education in Morocco.

A ministry statement stated: “The Undersecretary for Scientific Affairs, Adel Al-Busaisi, attended the conclusion of the conference on behalf of the Minister of Education, Ibrahim Namis Al-Jubouri. He delivered a speech in which he praised the conference’s agenda for development and exchange of experiences.”

Al-Busaisi stressed: “The Ministry of Education abides by international treaties, out of its belief that the future need in education requires access to digital transformation in different directions.”

During the ending session, the Minister of Education was honored with the shield of the Arab League for Education, Culture and Science (ALESCO) in recognition and appreciation of the Ministry’s efforts in e-learning and the creation of an educational environment suitable for education. Al-Busaisi also met with a number of Arab ministers of education and officials of Arab and international organizations in order to build bridges of communication in the fields of science and knowledge.

Source: National Iraqi News Agency

The Ministry of Fisheries welcomed on Thursday the arrival of the Dutch vessel at the port of Ras Issa in Hodeida to save Safer vessel.

In a statement received by SABA, the Ministry commended efforts to secure the floating reservoir and avoid an oil spill and environmental disaster in the Red Sea.

The Ministry stressed the need to implement all necessary steps to facilitate and accelerate the rescue of Safer ship and the unloading of its oil and to ensure a safe transport and no oil spill.

It urged the need to work together to prevent marine pollution and preserve the marine environment for future generations, stressing its keenness to preserve the safety of the Red Sea and its natural resources.

Source: Yemen News Agency

It seems strange in our world today that there are war crimes of the magnitude, gross violations of human rights, and slavery practices that are unparalleled anywhere in the world. Unfortunately, these practices still exist and are entrenched in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, where new data and reports show that the two countries (Saudi Arabia and the UAE) occupy advanced ranks. In committing war crimes, human rights violations, and practicing slavery.

A detailed report recently published by the non-governmental organization Walk Free in Australia on the modern slavery phenomenon in the world in 2023 revealed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are among the top ten countries in the world for the slavery index.

The “Global Slavery” Index for 2023, published by the organization, also revealed that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are at the forefront of the classification because these two countries follow the “sponsorship system” that restricts the freedoms of foreign workers and domestic maids.

The report indicated that about 50 million people suffered from what is called “modern slavery” around the world in 2021, an increase estimated at about ten million people compared to the statistics conducted by the same organization in 2016.

The report also revealed that 28 million people suffer from forced labor and 22 million from the forced marriage phenomenon, pointing out that the situation has deteriorated as a result of “increasing armed conflicts, which have become more complex, and widespread environmental deterioration” that some regions of the world know, as well as the repercussions of the “Covid-19″ epidemic. 19” and other factors.

According to the data collected by the same organization, it indicated that modern slavery includes “debt slavery, exploitation for commercial purposes, human trafficking, slavery-like practices, and the sale and exploitation of children.”

The sponsorship system encourages slavery.

The report states that the “sponsorship” system used in Saudi Arabia in particular keeps foreign workers at the disposal of the companies’ owners, factories and exposes them to “slavery”, whether at the level of construction companies or inside homes, where some foreign maids who came from African or Asian countries suffer from domestic violence and repressive practices by the people.

According to the same report, about 1.7 million people suffered from modern slavery in the Arab countries in 2021, or about 101 people out of a thousand, while about 4.8 percent of the population of the region were subjected to forced marriage.

Although forced labor is becoming more common in low-income countries, it is mainly related to demand from higher-income countries, according to the report, which indicated that two-thirds of all forced labor cases are linked to global supply chains.

The report stated that the G20 countries, which include the European Union, along with the 19 largest economies in the world, are currently importing products worth $468 billion that are likely to be produced using forced labour, compared to $354 billion in the previous report.

Walk Free is a global organization that fights modern slavery and defends human rights. It includes statisticians and criminal lawyers who work to uproot modern slavery.

In the same context, Amnesty International revealed in its annual report, which monitors the death penalty around the world during the year 2022, recently that Saudi Arabia executed 81 people in just one day, which is a shocking number.

The highest number in five years, as the notorious capital punishment countries in the Middle East and North Africa relentlessly carried out killing spree.

International Secretary-General, Agnès Callamard, said: “The countries of the Middle East and Africa have violated the international law by escalating the death penalty during the year 2022, which shows a blatant disregard for human life; the number of individuals whose lives were lost has increased dramatically across the region.”

Executions tripled in Saudi Arabia, from 65 in 2021 to 196 in 2022, the highest number monitored by Amnesty International in this country in 30 years.

Also in the context, the United Nations says from time to time that there is evidence of Saudi and Emirati war crimes in Yemen.

The third report of the United Nations Human Rights Council committee revealed the existence of “reasonable evidence” that Saudi Arabia and the UAE committed war crimes in Yemen.

The 55-page report was prepared for submission to the 45th session of the Human Rights Council on September 29, 2020.

According to the UN report, there is reasonable evidence that Saudi Arabia and the UAE committed war crimes in Yemen, as this report sheds light on the war crimes committed by individuals (officers or soldiers) of the two countries, which constitute the main structure of the aggression coalition against Yemen.

The UN report stated at the time that the UAE still has a military presence in Yemen, and that its air force attacks are still continuing.

The report indicated that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are responsible for gross human rights violations, including crimes of depriving the right to life, arbitrary detention, violence and torture.

The report mentioned, in particular, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, which violated human rights, stressing the existence of “reasonable evidence” that they committed war crimes in Yemen.

Source: Yemen News Agency

Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) and Editor-in-Chief Nasr al-Din Amer inspected on Thursday the activities of the summer courses at the Shahid al-Munbar al-Murtada al-Mahatwari Center in al-Mahabsha district of Hajjah province.

Amer, along with mobilization official in the square of al-Sharafin districts Kamil al-Hakim and a number of social figures, listened from director of the center Khaled Qarieh to an explanation about the level of discipline and the progress of implementing religious and scientific programs, as well as sports, cultural and agricultural activities.

Amer affirmed the interest of the revolutionary leadership and the Supreme Political Council in the summer courses to enhance the faith identity and the values of loyalty and belonging among the youth.

He urged the students to benefit from the summer courses because of the intellectual and cultural activities and programmes, pointing to the importance of science as a basis for the renaissance of nations and changing their reality for the better.

Amer explained the importance of supporting the efforts of the sub-committee for summer courses and joining efforts in order to make them successful and invest them in immunizing young people and arming them with the Holy Qur’an, and benefiting from religious sciences and knowledge.

Source: Yemen News Agency

Caretaker Minister of Finance Youssef Khalil affirmed on Thursday that the measures taken in cooperation with the International Monetary Fund, whether in terms of legislation or decisions, though they require further steps, form a foundation for a structural transformation that revitalizes public administration and establishes the basis for reform-oriented budgets that we began implementing in 2022. He considered that this budget opened the door to establishing a unified exchange rate for public finances and enhancing the financing capabilities of the treasury. He stated today, “We are working on completing the 2023 budget, which we strive to make reform-oriented, based on the recovery and revival plan, in order to contribute to economic recovery, promote social justice, and achieve sustainable development.” He also pointed out that raising the customs dollar to the current level has provided the treasury with significant revenues that have helped mitigate deterioration and enhance some financial and monetary stability. Khalil’s remarks came during the opening of the second meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Institute for Planning in the presence of its Director-General, Dr. Badr Malallah, and his deputy, Dr. Waleed Abdul Moula.

Source: National News Agency – Lebanon

Parliament listened to the government’s message regarding a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 17 of 2010 regarding income taxes and its amendments, approving at the end of the meeting, the government presence to discuss private funds’ performance.

In its session, chaired by Speaker Yahya Al-Ra’i, the government’s message presented by Minister of State for Parliament and Shura Council Affairs Ali Abu Huliqa included a draft law amending some provisions of Law No. 19 of 2001 regarding the general sales tax and its amendments, in addition to the government’s memorandum regarding the draft amendment to Customs Law No. 14 of 1990, where Minister Abu Huliqa demanded to complete the constitutional procedures in this regard.

The Parliament approved the presence of the competent minister to present the aforementioned draft laws in a future session.

In its session, the Parliament listened to the response of Minister of Public Works and Roads Ghaleb Mutlaq to the questions and inquiries of Member of Parliament Mohammed Basha about the rehabilitation and restoration of some streets in the districts of Hamdan and Shamlan neighborhood in Sana’a province, which witnessed the digging of a number of sewage wells.

In the context of his response to the question of a member of the Parliament about the role of the Public Works Office in Sana’a province, the minster stressed that the office and those concerned were instructed to abide by the implementation of regulations and laws to preserve the roads and perform periodic maintenance for them.

Regarding the lack of commitment of the Roads Maintenance Fund to complete work on Wadi Sardoud-al-Kadn-Bajil Bridge despite its commitment to do so more than two years ago, the Minister explained that this issue is within the competence of the Public Corporation for Roads and Bridges.

In response to a question by Council member Muhammad Bakir Salah, the Minister of Works confirmed that the maintenance and restoration work for the roads of al-Kadn, Malhan Center, Bab al-Naqat al-Malbach, Malhan, and al-Akma al-Walaja Bani Malik areas are within the jurisdiction of the Road Maintenance Fund, holding the concerned authorities responsible for holding the executive unit accountable in the capital Sana’a and the provinces regarding its performance in the repair, restoration and maintenance of roads.

Minister Mutlaq pointed out that there is an overlap in the specializations between Public Works, the Rapid Intervention Unit and the executive units in the capital Sana’a and the provinces, stressing the need to develop solutions to reduce these overlaps.

In the context of their discussions, members of the Parliament stressed the importance of monitoring and following up on those units that operate outside the scope of special laws, including the Roads Law.

The questioners commented that these responses were not convincing, and the government should clarify who is responsible for these violations, stressing the importance of adhering to the implementation of relevant laws and regulations.

The Parliament members asked about the conditions of streets that need maintenance and restoration, as they provide important and vital services to citizens.

The Parliament approved addressing the government to attend to discuss the progress of the performance of the private funds and the irregularities related to those funds, which the members of the Parliament referred to in the context of their remarks during the discussion that took place in the session.

In addition, the Parliament listened to the response of Minister of Water and Environment Abdulraqib Al-Shurmani about the legal justification for imposing fees on farmers who dig artesian wells to irrigate their lands.

The Minister clarified that the Public Authority for Water Resources performs the tasks entrusted to it in accordance with the decision to establish it and its organizational regulations and Water Law No. 33 of 2002, and its amendments by Law No. 41 of 2006 AD, and its executive regulations, which determined in Chapter Eight the fees, and I attached a table showing the amount of those fees.

Source: Yemen News Agency