Yemeni president sacks PM, appoints new senior team: mediaApril 4, 2016 - 11:53 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi appointed a new vice-president and prime minister on Sunday, April 3, pro-Hadi state media reported, sacking prime minister Khaled Bahah in a major shake-up ahead of peace talks later this month, Reuters said. Yemen has been in a civil war for more than a year between Hadi's supporters and the Iran-allied Houthi group that has sucked in a Saudi-led alliance and caused a major humanitarian crisis in one of the poorest countries in the Middle East. Yemen's state television reported that Hadi had appointed Ali Mohsen Al-Ahmar, a politically powerful army general who split violently with former Yemeni president Ali Abdullah Saleh in 2011, as the new vice-president. The president also appointed Ahmed Obeid bin Daghr, a former official in Saleh's General People's Congress party before joining Hadi's camp, to become new prime minister. Bahah, who held both posts before he was sacked, had been named as an advisor to Hadi. A Yemeni government official said the shake-up could undermine UN-sponsored peace talks, scheduled to start in Kuwait on April 18. "Bahah was in favor of a political settlement and the appointment of Ali Mohsen is a victory for the hardline wing," the official, who asked not to be named, told Reuters. Saudi Arabia has signaled it was in favor of a peaceful settlement in Yemen, concluding two prisoner swap deals with the Houthi group since last month. The two sides have confirmed a truce starting at midnight on April 10 ahead of the peace talks, planned to follow a week later. Top stories Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". The earthquake caused a temporary blackout, damaged many buildings and closed a number of rural roads. Partner news | The Power of One Dram to benefit Road of Life charity The companies inform that the May beneficiary of The Power of One Dram is the “Road of Life” charitable organization. Ucom General Director gives lecture at French University in Armenia The General Director of Ucom Ralph Yirikian delivered a lecture at the French University of Armenia. Kazakhstan welcomes Yerevan, Baku’s agreement to meet in Almaty Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has welcomed the agreement of Baku and Yerevan to hold negotiations in Almaty. Armenia offers to temporarily host, preserve Gaza manuscripts The Armenian Foreign Minister has said Yerevan is ready to help preserve manuscripts from the conflict zone in Gaza. |