Thousands in Yemen starve as food aid looted

A Yemeni man carries his child who is suffering from malnutrition into a treatment centre at a hospital in the capital Sanaa on October 6, 2018. (File/AFP)
Updated 31 December 2018
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Thousands in Yemen starve as food aid looted

  • Documents and interviews with officials and aid workers show that thousands of families in Taiz are not getting international food aid intended for them
  • Despite the surge in help, hunger — and, in some pockets of the country, famine-level starvation — have continued to grow

TAIZ: Day after day Nabil Al-Hakimi, a humanitarian official in Taiz, one of Yemen’s largest cities, went to work feeling he had a “mountain” on his shoulders. Billions of dollars in food and other foreign aid was coming into his war-ravaged homeland, but millions of Yemenis were still living a step away from famine.
Reports of organizational disarray and out-and-out thievery streamed in to him this spring and summer from around Taiz — 5,000 sacks of rice doled out without record of where they’d gone . . . 705 food baskets looted from a welfare agency’s warehouses . . . 110 sacks of grain pillaged from trucks trying to make their way through the craggy northern highlands overlooking the city.
Food donations, it was clear, were being snatched from the starving.
Documents reviewed by The Associated Press and interviews with Al-Hakimi and other officials and aid workers show that thousands of families in Taiz are not getting international food aid intended for them — often because it has been seized by armed units loyal to the internationally recognized government.
“The army that should protect the aid is looting the aid,” Al-Hakimi told the AP.
Across Yemen, factions and militias on all sides of the conflict have blocked food aid from going to groups suspected of disloyalty, diverted it to front-line combat units or sold it for profit on the black market, according to public records and confidential documents obtained by the AP and interviews with more than 70 aid workers, government officials and average citizens from six different provinces.
The problem of lost and stolen aid is common in Taiz and other areas controlled by the government. It is even more widespread in territories controlled by the Houthi militias.
AP’s investigation found that large amounts of food are making into the country, but once there, the food often isn’t getting to people who need it most — raising questions about the ability of United Nations agencies and other big aid organizations to operate effectively in Yemen.

“This has nothing to do with nature. There is no drought here in Yemen. All of this is man-made. All of this has to do with poor political leadership which doesn’t put the people’s interest at the core of their actions”  - Geert Cappelaere, Middle East director for UNICEF

The UN’s World Food Program has 5,000 distribution sites across the country targeting 10 million people a month with food baskets but says it can monitor just 20 percent of the deliveries.
This year the UN, the United States, Saudi Arabia and others have poured more than $4 billion in food, shelter, medical and other aid into Yemen. That figure has been growing and is expected to keep climbing in 2019.
Despite the surge in help, hunger — and, in some pockets of the country, famine-level starvation — have continued to grow.
An analysis this month by a coalition of global relief groups found that even with the food aid that is coming in, more than half of the population is not getting enough to eat — 15.9 million of Yemen’s 29 million people. They include 10.8 million who are in an “emergency” phase of food insecurity, roughly 5 million who are in a deeper “crisis” phase and 63,500 who are facing “catastrophe,” a synonym for famine.
Counting the number of people who have starved to death in Yemen is difficult, because of the challenges of getting into areas shaken by violence and because starving people often officially die from diseases that prey on their weakened conditions. The nonprofit group Save the Children estimates that 85,000 children under the age of 5 have died from starvation or disease since the start of the war.

“It’s a disgrace, criminal, it’s wrong, and it needs to end” - David Beasley, executive director of the UN’s food program

In some parts of the country, fighting, roadblocks and bureaucratic obstacles have reduced the amount of aid getting in. In other areas, aid gets in but still doesn’t get to the hungriest families.
In the northern province of Saada, a Houthi stronghold, international aid groups estimate that 445,000 people need food assistance. Some months the UN has sent enough food to feed twice that many people. Yet the latest figures from the UN and other relief organizations show that 65 percent of residents are facing severe food shortages, including at least 7,000 people who are in pockets of outright famine.
Three officials with the government told the AP that they would provide replies to questions about the theft of food aid, but then didn’t provide answers.
Officials at the agency that oversees aid work in Houthi territory — the National Authority for the Management and Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — did not return repeated phone calls from the AP.
UN officials have generally been cautious in public statements about the Houthis, based in part on worries that the militia might respond by blocking UN agencies from access to starving people. But in interviews with the AP, two top UN relief officials used strong language in reference to both the Houthis and their battlefield adversaries.
“This has nothing to do with nature. There is no drought here in Yemen. All of this is man-made. All of this has to do with poor political leadership which doesn’t put the people’s interest at the core of their actions,” Geert Cappelaere, Middle East director for UNICEF, the UN’s emergency fund for children, said.
David Beasley, executive director of the UN’s food program, said “certain elements of the Houthis” are denying the agency access to some parts of Houthi territory — and appear to be diverting food aid.
“It’s a disgrace, criminal, it’s wrong, and it needs to end,” Beasley said in an interview Sunday with the AP. “Innocent people are suffering.”
The Houthis and the coalition forces have begun peace talks in recent weeks, a process that has led to a reduction in fighting and eased the challenges of getting food aid into and out of Hodeida, the port city that is a gateway to the Houthi-controlled north. But even if donors are able to get more food in, the problem of what happens to food aid once it makes landfall remains.


Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

Updated 15 min 56 sec ago
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Mexican citizen dies in US immigration detention center

  • The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia
  • US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death

MEXICO CITY: A Mexican citizen died in a US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center from undetermined circumstances, Mexico’s foreign ministry has said.

The death comes amid ongoing demonstrations in several US states, most prominently in California, against immigration enforcement raids launched by US President Donald Trump’s administration.

The man died on June 7 at an ICE facility in the southern state of Georgia, where he was being held after he was transferred from a state prison, the foreign ministry said in a statement Thursday.

US authorities notified the Mexican consulate in Georgia’s capital Atlanta of the death.

“Consular staff has established communication with local and ICE authorities, as well as with the individual’s family members, to clarify the facts, confirm the official cause of death, and provide legal advice and support to the family,” the ministry said.

Mexico’s foreign ministry said consular staff had not been notified to interview the detainee while he was in custody, despite regular visits to the facility to assist Mexican nationals.

“The consulate has requested an explanation from the (detention) center’s authorities,” the ministry said.

It also said it was examining legal options and maintaining communication with the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, the state’s independent investigative body.


Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran

Updated 42 min 19 sec ago
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Japan ‘strongly condemns’ Israel’s attack on Iran

TOKYO: Japan has joined in the condemnation of Israel’s attack on Iran with Foreign Minister Takeshi Iwaya saying the attack “escalates the situation” in the Middle East, Japan’s Foreign Ministry reported.

“We deeply regret that military force was used despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, including talks between the US and Iran, to achieve a peaceful resolution to the Iranian nuclear issue,” Iwaya said. “Our country strongly condemns this action, which escalates the situation.”

Iwaya emphasized that peace and stability in the Middle East are “extremely important” to Japan and urged all parties involved to exercise maximum restraint.

He called for de-escalation of the situation, adding that the Japanese government will spare no effort to protect Japanese nationals residing in the region.

“We will continue to take all necessary measures to prevent further deterioration of the situation,” he said.

• This article also appears on Arab News Japan


Trump says had advance notice of Israeli strikes on Iran: Fox News

Updated 46 min 9 sec ago
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Trump says had advance notice of Israeli strikes on Iran: Fox News

  • Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Thursday that the United States was “not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region”

Washington: US President Donald Trump told Fox News he was aware Israel was going to conduct strikes on Iran before it happened, and stressed that Tehran “cannot have a nuclear bomb,” according to the US broadcaster.

His comments to Fox came after Israel pounded Iran in a series of air raids on Friday, striking 100 targets including nuclear and military sites.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation took aim at the atomic facility in Natanz, while Iranian media said the country’s Revolutionary Guards leader Hossein Salami and armed forces Chief of Staff Mohammad Bagheri were killed.

Trump told Fox News that he was made aware of Israel’s operation before it happened.

“Iran cannot have a nuclear bomb and we are hoping to get back to the negotiating table. We will see,” Trump said, according to Fox News.

Fox News also reported that “Trump noted the US is ready to defend itself and Israel if Iran retaliates.”

It added that Trump’s administration reached out to at least one key Middle Eastern ally to acknowledge that the strike was going to happen, but reiterated that the US was not involved.

Secretary of State Marco Rubio said earlier Thursday that the United States was “not involved in strikes against Iran and our top priority is protecting American forces in the region.”

“Let me be clear: Iran should not target US interests or personnel.”

Trump will be attending a National Security Council meeting Friday morning.


‘Ocean’ — bleak indictment of mankind offers a glimmer of hope

Updated 58 min 8 sec ago
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‘Ocean’ — bleak indictment of mankind offers a glimmer of hope

  • David Attenborough’s latest documentary is a vital, compelling call to action

JEDDAH: “Ocean with David Attenborough” was released regionally on Disney+ on June 8 — World Ocean Day. It hit cinemas in May, on the 99th birthday of its venerable and venerated presenter, the famed biologist and broadcaster.

Like all Attenborough-fronted nature docs, “Ocean” is gorgeously shot and an immersive viewing experience. But while the vast majority of his output leaves you speechless at the on-screen beauty, “Ocean” also strikes you dumb at the horrifying devastation wrought on the open seas by the 40,000+ super-sized fishing trawlers operating around our planet constantly.

Sweeping the seabed with their giant nets, these ships commit slaughter on an unimaginable scale, leaving little alive in their rapacious search for a few specific species that humans actually eat. In their wake they leave something akin to the dystopian portrayals of a nuclear winter in post-apocalyptic dramas. These grim, heart-breaking shots are interspersed with glorious, vibrant scenes of what a healthy seabed should look like — towering forests of kelp, sea meadows, abundant diverse communities of extraordinary marine life… A reminder of what we are destroying every minute of every day.

Attenborough lays out for us with all of his trademark passion and authority just what is at risk here. The seas, he stresses, are vital for the survival of humankind. And humankind is putting the seas in terrible jeopardy. Marine ecosystems are delicately balanced and linked in complex, subtle ways that we are only now beginning to understand. And industrial fishing is far from subtle. As Attenborough notes, if rainforests were being razed at this rate, the protests would be global and furious. But because this destruction takes place miles below the surface of the water, it goes mainly unnoticed. Incredibly, this mindless, untargeted carnage is not illegal; it is positively encouraged — and heavily subsidized — by many governments. 

Thankfully, there is hope. Attenborough reveals that scientists have discovered that — if left alone through the imposition of “no-take zones” — the oceans can recover at an incredible rate, and the most barren of sea floors can once again flourish in just a few years. There is now an international pact to turn one-third of Earth’s seas into no-take zones by 2030. And if this does happen — note the if — then there’s a good chance that man-made damage can be reversed not just in the water, but on land, as sea life is, it turns out, extremely adept at reducing carbon. The sea could save the world.

As nature documentaries go, it’s hard to imagine “Ocean” being bettered (except perhaps for the distracting clichéd mishmash that serves as its soundtrack, which deserves to be classified as a man-made disaster itself). This is a compelling, vital and urgent narrative delivered by an expert scientist and broadcaster accompanied by awe-inspiring, mind-boggling cinematography showing us wonders that most of us will never come close to seeing first-hand. And it lays out a path for survival. Whether we actually take that path...


Oil Updates — prices soar more than 9% after Israel strikes Iran, rattling investors 

Updated 59 min 30 sec ago
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Oil Updates — prices soar more than 9% after Israel strikes Iran, rattling investors 

SINGAPORE: Oil prices surged more than 9 percent on Friday, hitting their highest in almost five months after Israel struck Iran, dramatically escalating tensions in the Middle East and raising worries about disrupted oil supplies. 

Brent crude futures jumped $6.29, or 9.07 percent, to $75.65 a barrel by 06:15 a.m. Saudi time after hitting an intraday high of $78.50, the highest since Jan. 27. US West Texas Intermediate crude was up $6.43, or 9.45 percent, at $74.47 a barrel after hitting a high of $77.62, the loftiest since Jan. 21. 

Friday’s gains were the largest intraday moves for both contracts since 2022 after Russia invaded Ukraine, causing energy prices to spike. 

Israel said it targeted Iran’s nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders on Friday at the start of what it warned would be a prolonged operation to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. 

“This has elevated geopolitical uncertainty significantly and requires the oil market to price in a larger risk premium for any potential supply disruptions,” ING analysts led by Warren Patterson said in a note. 

Several oil traders in Singapore said it was still too early to say if the strike will affect Middle East oil shipments as it will depend on how Iran retaliates and if the US will intervene. 

“It’s too early to tell but I think the market is worried about shutting off of the Strait of Hormuz,” one of the traders said. 

MST Marquee senior energy analyst Saul Kavonic said the conflict would need to escalate to the point of Iranian retaliation on oil infrastructure in the region before oil supply is materially impacted. 

He added that Iran could hinder up to 20 million barrels per day of oil supply via attacks on infrastructure or limiting passage through the Strait of Hormuz, in an extreme scenario. 

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Israel will receive “harsh punishment” following Friday’s attack that he said killed several military commanders. 

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday called Israel’s strikes against Iran a “unilateral action” and said Washington was not involved while also urging Tehran not to target US interests or personnel in the region. 

“Iran has announced an emergency and is preparing to retaliate, which raises the risk of not just disruptions but of contagion in other neighbouring oil producing nations too,” said Priyanka Sachdeva, senior market analyst at Phillip Nova. 

“Although Trump has shown reluctance to participate, US involvement could further raise concerns.” 

In other markets, stocks dived in early Asian trade, led by a selloff in US futures, while investors scurried to safe havens such as gold and the Swiss franc.