Yemen thanks Saudi Arabia and UAE for helping lift Taiz siege

Yemenis hold placards bearing portraits of Saudi King Salman reading, “Thank you King Salman” during a demonstration in Taiz in support of the Arab coalition against Houthisin this file photo. (AFP)
Updated 21 November 2016
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Yemen thanks Saudi Arabia and UAE for helping lift Taiz siege

RIYADH: Yemeni Vice President Lt. Gen. Ali Mohsen Saleh Al-Ahmar has expressed appreciation to the Kingdom and the United Arab Emirates for helping lift the siege of Taiz.
 
He extended his appreciation during a call to Maj. Gen. Khaled Fadhel, commander of the alliance in the province, while meeting in the Saudi capital with Taiz Gov. Ali Maamari on Thursday.
 
The King Salman Center for Relief and Humanitarian Aid (KSRelief), under General Supervisor Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, played an important role in the efforts to help the inhabitants as it distributed food baskets through the humanitarian relief coalition in Taiz.
 
The distribution came as part of the executive programs offered by KSRelief under the directives of Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman and under the supervision of Al-Rabeeah, who is also adviser at the royal court.
 
The Yemeni vice president said that the Kingdom and the UAE provided logistical support in lifting the siege of Taiz city that ended the suffering of the inhabitants.
 
Quoted by the official Yemeni news agency, he stressed the need to continue determined efforts for unity and working to rid the province of rebels and subject them to state authorities and legitimacy.
 
The Yemeni vice president emphasized that the political leadership of the legitimate government under President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi “pays attention to liberating the province as a top priority because of its great importance to the rest of the provinces.”
 
Al-Ahmar said that the achievement of the national army and the popular resistance is a big victory against the Houthis and their cohorts.
 
“It’s also a big blow to the forces of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh in clashes during the past two days in a number of areas in the city of Taiz, the capital of the province,” he said.
 
Earlier, he also expressed appreciation to the Kingdom and the UAE for their supportive role in the Arab coalition and their great contribution militarily and logistically to recent victories in the Marib and Jawf regions.
 

Saudi Arabia celebrates Flag Day with displays, special events

Updated 54 min 26 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia celebrates Flag Day with displays, special events

  • Nation goes green in show of unity, belonging
  • Current design of the flag, which represents unity and sovereignty, was adopted in 1937

RIYADH: A new art exhibition has opened at King Abdulaziz Public Library in Riyadh, as the country celebrates Flag Day, which fell on Wednesday.

The event, titled “In Love with Green,” is being held in collaboration with the Saudi Art Association and features 20 fine art paintings inspired by the Saudi flag, as well as other cultural and contemporary images and landmarks.

The current design of the flag, which represents unity and sovereignty, was adopted in 1937. It features the Shahada and a sword symbolizing justice and safety, representing the unification of the Kingdom during the reign of King Abdulaziz Al-Saud.

The exhibition, at the library’s services branch and reading halls on Khurais Road, was opened by the library’s Director General Bandar Al-Mubarak and the association’s board chair Hanaa Al-Shibly.

Visitors can attend from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Elsewhere in the country, public spaces and buildings have become a sea of green for Flag Day.

In Al-Baha, government buildings, squares and main roads were decorated with green lighting and national flags were hoisted in public squares.

It was a similar picture in Makkah, where people celebrated the annual show of pride and belonging against a green backdrop.

In Tabuk, authorities installed more than 7,000 flags along roads, squares and bridges, while the region’s landmarks and tunnels were illuminated with green and white lights.

More than 10,000 Saudi flags were also hoisted in Jazan, where Souk Al-Awalin in Jazan City is set to host a range of events and performances to mark the special occasion.