Saudi to transfer $2 billion to Yemen after urgent call

Riyadh - Saudi Arabia said in a statement that the funds would be deposited in Yemen's Central Bank.

The Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz of Saudi Arabia, ordered the transfer of $2 billion to Yemen on Wednesday, a day after Yemen's Saudi-backed prime minister made an urgent appeal to the kingdom and its allies to save the local currency from "complete collapse."
Prime Minister Ahmed Obeid bin Daghir had called on the kingdom and its allies to act "now, not tomorrow", and said saving the Yemeni rial means "saving Yemenis from inevitable famine". In his letter, he said Yemen needed a bailout.
Saudi Arabia said in a statement that the funds would be deposited in Yemen's Central Bank to help address the "deteriorating economic situation faced by the Yemeni people".  Last year, the Saudi and internationally-backed Yemeni government created an alternative Central Bank from the one in the rebel-held Sanaa, moving it to the southern port city of Aden.
The kingdom accuses the Houthis of stealing government revenues meant for public services and of manipulating the exchange rate. The rial has lost half its value since the war began in March 2015. Food and fuel prices have skyrocketed and hundreds of thousands of civil servants have not been paid in more than a year, including doctors and nurses.
Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday it had intercepted a fresh missile attack by Yemeni rebels on the south of the kingdom and renewed its accusations that Iran had armed them.

• Saudi Arabia