NEW YORK CITY: The head of the Omani delegation to the UN, Mohammed Al-Hassan, told the 77th session of the UN General Assembly on Monday that the sultanate “continues to spare no effort, through constructive cooperation with all parties, to achieve peace in brotherly Yemen.”

He appealed “to all Yemeni parties to come to terms with the painful past and focus on formulating a promising and a better future for the country that would preserve their unity, security and stability.”

LONDON:  Tunisia is working on democratic reforms through parliamentary elections in the wake of months of civil unrest, the country’s foreign minister told the UN General Assembly on Monday.

Othman Jerandi said Tunisia’s development goals remain in line with UN ambitions, describing the organization’s agenda as a “ray of hope” for the international community.

A key focus for the country is to restructure debt and create projects that will generate wealth, he added.

AL-MUKALLA, Yemen: The head of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, has vowed to use force or peaceful means to relieve the Houthi siege of Taiz, make further concessions to ease the country’s humanitarian crisis, and support any rebellion against the Houthis.

BEIRUT: Lebanese army retirees scuffled with Parliament guards in Beirut during a rally on Monday amid anger over decimated monthly pay.

Hours after the protest, Parliament passed the 2022 budget, with 63 legislators voting in favor, 37 voting against and six abstaining.

The new budget will calculate customs tax revenue at 15,000 Lebanese pounds to the US dollar at a time when the black market rate is more than double that at 37,000 pounds to the dollar.

DUBAI: Protests have spread to almost all of Iran’s 31 provinces and urban cities since the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini at the hands of the morality police. On Sept. 13, Amini was arrested by a morality police (Gasht-e Ershad) patrol in a Tehran metro station, allegedly for violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.

She was hospitalized after the arrest, fell into a coma and died three days later. Iranian authorities maintain that she died of a heart attack. Her family says thart she had no pre-existing heart conditions.