Sana'a, Yemen_(dpa) _ Germany has granted Yemen 79 million euros (about 110 million dollars) to help the impoverished Arab country finance water and education projects, the German embassy in Sana'a said on Saturday.

The two countries signed agreements on technical and financial aid for 2009 and 2010 with the purpose of "providing direct assistance to the poor in Yemen," the embassy said in a press release.

It said the grant aims at "bringing about tangible improvements in people's living conditions."

Last week, Germany donated 1.5 million

New York_(dpa) _ UN humanitarian chief John Holmes was to arrive in Yemen on Thursday to draw international attention to the ongoing humanitarian crisis in that country, the UN said Wednesday.

Holmes will visit Yemen until Sunday as part of a programme to build support for the population affected by recent fighting, the UN said. Holmes is the UN undersecretary general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator.

"He hopes to highlight the potential impact of continued neglect by the international community to humanitarian needs in Yemen," the UN said.

Sana'a, Yemen_(dpa) _ Yemeni authorities late Friday declared a ceasefire in fighting with Shiite rebels in north-western areas in order to secure the passage of humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of people.

The truce, which begins at midnight and would last for the Eid al-Fetr holiday, was announced in response to appeals from international relief agencies, the official Saba news agency reported.

It did not give a specific time when the truce would end, but the Eid holiday ends September 28.

The Defence Ministry said in a statement

Sana'a, Yemen_(dpa) _ The Yemeni government on Tuesday dismissed a truce offer by a Shiite rebel group battling the national army in northwestern Yemen, saying the rebels should comply with its peace terms.

The rebels announced on Monday a peace plan, under which the military offensive against their strongholds in the province of Saada should stop and the army should withdraw to positions it held before the beginning of the latest military operation.

"This so-called ceasefire initiative contains nothing new," the country's Supreme Security Committee said

Sana'a, Yemen_(dpa) _ Thousands of people have fled fighting between government forces and Shiite rebels in the north-western Yemeni province of Saada, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Sunday, and called the two sides to "spare the lives of civilians."

The army last week began a massive attack on strongholds of the rebels, known as Houthis, with airstrikes and artillery bombardments on mountainous area in Saada on the borders with Saudi Arabia.

The relief agency said in a statement received by the German Press Agency dpa that it was "alarmed about

Sana'a, Yemen/Berlin_(dpa) _ Authorities made no progress in the search for a group of nine foreigners kidnapped in Yemen after three female aid workers were confirmed killed, German officials said.

"The crisis team continues to work urgently for a solution," a German Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

Two German aid nurses and one South Korean teacher were kidnapped on Friday together with five members of a German family and a 45-year-old British engineer in north-western Yemen on Friday. The three women were shot and stabbed, a provincial official in Sana'a,

Sana'a, Yemen_(dpa) _ Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh on Tuesday called on southern groups that are leading violent protests in the southern part of the Arab country to adopt dialogue and shun violence.

"Let's talk, the Yemeni people is one family from the far north to the far south and from the west to the east," Saleh said in a speech at the triennial congress of the ruling General People's party in Sana'a.

Violent anti-government protests have engulfed cities in the southern provinces of Lahj, Dalea and Hadhramout

Sana'a_(dpa) _ Armed tribesmen kidnapped three Germans in western Yemen on Monday to press for the release of relatives detained by police, senior government officials said.

Armed men from the al-Kumaim clan of the powerful Bani Dhabian tribe abducted the three in the historic city of Rada'a, some 130 kilometres south of Sana'a, an official said.

The official, who asked not to be named, told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that the hostages were a female staffer of the German Technical Cooperation GTZ and her parents who were spending a vacation with her in Yemen.

Sana'a, Yemen_(dpa) _ At least 20 people died and dozens were missing after floods from heavy rains hit two provinces in south-eastern Yemen, officials said on Friday.

The officials told Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa that 18 people were reported killed and nearly 400 homes were destroyed in the south-eastern province of Hadhramout, some 900 kilometres from the capital Sana'a.

In the neighbouring al-Mahra province, on the border with Oman, two people were killed, they said.

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh ordered the army to assist the rescue and relief operations, the official Saba