Musk’s Starlink launches satellite internet service in Yemen

Special Musk’s Starlink launches satellite internet service in Yemen
An evening launch of a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 20 Starlink V2 Mini satellites is seen over the Pacific Ocean from Encinitas, California, US, June 23, 2024. (Reuters)
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Updated 18 September 2024
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Musk’s Starlink launches satellite internet service in Yemen

Musk’s Starlink launches satellite internet service in Yemen
  • In a post on his social media platform, Musk said on Wednesday that the Starlink internet is now accessible in Yemen
  • Government-run Public Telecommunications Corporation in the southern port city of Aden confirmed the launch of the Starlink service in a Facebook post

AL-MUKALLA: Elon Musk said that his Starlink satellite internet provider will begin offering services in Yemen, eliciting enthusiastic reactions in the war-torn country, where the internet penetration rate is very low.

In a post on his social media platform, Musk said on Wednesday that the Starlink internet is now accessible in Yemen, sharing a post from the company that depicted Yemen in blue on its availability map as the sole Middle Eastern country in which the company will provide its services.

Yemen’s internationally recognized government announced earlier this month that the Starlink satellite internet would be officially launched in the country after the government signed a deal with the company, putting an end to the Houthi militia’s longstanding monopoly on Yemen’s telecommunications sector.

The government-run Public Telecommunications Corporation in the southern port city of Aden confirmed the launch of the Starlink service in a Facebook post on Wednesday.

“The Starlink service has been officially launched in the Republic of Yemen … Get ready for an unparalleled Internet experience,” the Yemeni said.

The Houthis, who militarily took power in Yemen a decade ago, have taken control of state-run landline and mobile providers, which generate billions of Yemeni riyals in revenue each year.

Yemen’s government has been able to end the Houthis’ monopoly on the internet and mobile sectors, establishing Aden Net, an internet company that provides 4G internet services to government-controlled areas.

TeleYemen, the Houthi-controlled company, is Yemen’s sole provider of landline, mobile and satellite internet services.

According to DataReportal, an online researcher, figures from online advisory company Kepios showed that 17.7 percent of Yemen’s 34.83 million population was connected to the internet in January 2024, with the internet penetration rate increasing by 2.2 percent between January 2023 and January 2024.

“For perspective, these user figures reveal that 28.67 million people in Yemen did not use the internet at the start of 2024, suggesting that 82.3 percent of the population remained offline at the beginning of the year,” DataReportal said in a report in February.

Yemenis, who have long complained about poor internet access in the war-torn country, reacted positively to Starlink’s announcement.

Akram Saleh, a Yemeni journalist, said that Starlink’s services will reach isolated and remote areas in Yemen, forcing Yemeni internet companies to improve their services and lower their prices.

He said that high-speed internet access in Yemen would result in social and economic transformation.

“In Yemen, having access to fast internet means experiencing significant social and economic transformations. Educational and professional opportunities will increase as high-speed internet becomes more widely available,” Saleh said on Facebook.

Despite welcoming the launch of Starlink’s services in the country, other Yemenis, such as political analyst Yasser Al-Yafae, expressed concern that the cash-strapped country would be deprived of the huge revenues from the mobile and telecom sector that would go to Starlink, causing Yemeni internet companies to shut down and that Starlink’s “unmonitored” internet services would provide Yemenis with access to “indecent” online content.

“As reliance on satellite internet services such as Starlink grow, local businesses may struggle to compete, jeopardizing their market future,” Al-Yafae said on X.

At the same time, the US Embassy in Yemen congratulated Yemenis on the start of the Starlink service.

“Congratulations to #Yemen on becoming the first Middle Eastern country with full #Starlink satellite internet access! This milestone demonstrates how technology can unlock new opportunities and drive progress,” it said on X.


US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
Updated 8 min 8 sec ago
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US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting

US announces $424 mn in new aid for Sudanese at UN meeting
  • The US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher
  • “We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield

UNITED NATIONS: The United States on Wednesday announced $424 million in new aid for displaced and hungry Sudanese at a high-level meeting on the country’s brutal war at the United Nations.
The US mission to the UN said the assistance includes $175 million with which the United States will buy surplus food from its own farmers to feed people in and around Sudan, where a UN-backed assessment has warned of wide-scale famine.
Addressing the event, the US ambassador to the United Nations made a new appeal to let assistance into El-Fasher, which has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as the paramilitary force seeks a complete takeover of the western Darfur region.
“We must compel the warring parties to accept humanitarian pauses in El-Fasher, Khartoum and other highly vulnerable areas, eliminate barriers to humanitarian access along all routes, and put down their weapons and come to the negotiating table,” said Linda Thomas-Greenfield.
Sudan plunged into a devastating war last year as the army battled the RSF.
The World Health Organization said this month at least 20,000 people have been killed. But some estimates are far higher, with the US envoy on Sudan, Tom Perriello, saying that up to 150,000 people may have died.


Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources

Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources
Updated 22 min 44 sec ago
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Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources

Iraq hangs 21 mostly on ‘terror’ charges: security sources
  • They were executed in Nassiriya prison, and the bodies were handed over to forensics

BAGHDAD: Iraqi authorities have hanged at least 21 people, including a woman, most of them convicted over “terrorism” charges, three security sources told AFP on Wednesday.
“Twenty-one people were executed in terrorism cases,” an Iraqi security official told AFP, while other sources confirmed the convicts, including one woman, were executed in Nassiriya prison and the bodies were handed over to forensics.


UN Security Council falls short of meeting aspirations, says Arab League chief

UN Security Council falls short of meeting aspirations, says Arab League chief
Updated 32 min 1 sec ago
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UN Security Council falls short of meeting aspirations, says Arab League chief

UN Security Council falls short of meeting aspirations, says Arab League chief
  • Ahmed Aboul Gheit: It has become universally acknowledged that the Security Council, in its current form, no longer mirrors the realities of today’s world
  • Aboul Gheit: A glaring example of this is the months-long Israeli aggression against Gaza, marked by relentless killing, destruction, starvation and displacement

CAIRO: The current structure of the UN Security Council no longer reflects the realities of the modern world, Arab League chief Ahmed Aboul Gheit told the Summit of the Future in New York City on Tuesday.

Speaking on the second day of the event, he said the council as it stood did not effectively fulfill its mandate in addressing contemporary conflicts.

“It has become universally acknowledged that the Security Council, in its current form, no longer mirrors the realities of today’s world. It has fallen short in serving the goals of multilateralism effectively and in addressing the conflicts that ravage our planet,” said Aboul Gheit.

“A glaring example of this is the months-long Israeli aggression against Gaza, marked by relentless killing, destruction, starvation and displacement, without the Council being able to take decisive action. Even when a resolution was eventually passed, regrettably, the Council has not been able to enforce it to this day.”

He added: “The current structure and performance of the Security Council do not align with our shared aspirations. We anticipate genuine and transparent reform that will restore confidence in the institution and reflect the realities of the modern world.”

Aboul Gheit stressed the urgent need to strengthen collaboration with the UN to address the root causes of the current crises in the Arab region and beyond.

He said: “I must emphasize that any reforms to the Security Council and international financial institutions must ensure that the Arab world has a consistent and influential voice in global decision-making processes.”

He emphasized that these global issues converged at a critical juncture — the need to preserve multilateralism and strengthen collective action on the international stage.

Among the most pressing concerns he highlighted were rising temperatures and climate change, the widening gap between the developing world and wealthier nations — particularly in relation to climate finance — and the equitable sharing of the burdens of climate adaptation. 

Aboul Gheit also pointed to the persistent crises of extreme poverty and mounting debt, as well as the serious challenges posed by emerging technologies, especially artificial intelligence, according to spokesman Gamal Roshdy.


Cyprus leader says he ready to resume peace talks ‘today’

Cyprus leader says he ready to resume peace talks ‘today’
Updated 40 min 58 sec ago
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Cyprus leader says he ready to resume peace talks ‘today’

Cyprus leader says he ready to resume peace talks ‘today’
  • “We cannot change geography. It is an opportunity, not a curse. Turkiye and Cyprus will always remain neighbors,” Nikos Christodoulides told the UN General Assembly
  • “I adamantly believe we can carve a new path, one of peace, cooperation and collaboration“

NICOSIA: Cyprus’s president said on Wednesday he was ready to immediately resume reunification talks over the ethnically divided island, urging regional rival Turkiye to also engage in the effort.
“We cannot change geography. It is an opportunity, not a curse. Turkiye and Cyprus will always remain neighbors,” Nikos Christodoulides said in a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
“I adamantly believe we can carve a new path, one of peace, cooperation and collaboration,” he said.
Cyprus was split decades ago in a Turkish invasion after a brief Greek-inspired coup, and preceded by years of sporadic violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
Reunification talks collapsed in mid-2017 and have been at a stalemate since.
A Turkish Cypriot breakaway state in northern Cyprus, backed only by Turkiye, wants a two-state deal where its sovereignty is recognized. Greek Cypriots say the only framework available is that defined by UN resolutions calling for reunification under a bizonal, bicommunal federation.
“I am committed and I am ready to sit at the negotiating table today. Not tomorrow. Today,” Christodoulides said.
Perched on the edge of the Middle East, the Cyprus problem is now massively overshadowed by the explosive situation of its neighbors.
Earlier this year the island became a bridge for delivering badly-needed humanitarian aid to Israel-beseiged Gaza in an initiative backed by the United Arab Emirates, the US and Israel. It has also offered to assist in an evacuation of civilians from the region if tensions escalate further.
Yet despite the grim outlook, Christodoulides said he would never accept the linear narrative of a region in turmoil.
“I have experienced first-hand what countries in the region can achieve when they come together behind a common vision,” he said.


Lebanese health minister says 51 killed, 223 wounded in latest round of Israeli strikes

Lebanese health minister says 51 killed, 223 wounded in latest round of Israeli strikes
Updated 25 September 2024
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Lebanese health minister says 51 killed, 223 wounded in latest round of Israeli strikes

Lebanese health minister says 51 killed, 223 wounded in latest round of Israeli strikes
  • The count comes on top of 564 who were killed and more than 1,800 wounded in the previous two days

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health minister said 51 people were killed and 223 wounded Wednesday in Israeli strikes.
The count comes on top of 564 who were killed and more than 1,800 wounded in the previous two days, including around 150 women and children.
Health Minister Firas Abiad did not give a breakdown of how many women and children were wounded Wednesday.
This week has been the deadliest in Lebanon since the bruising monthlong war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.