Yemen’s qat markets flourish despite virus threat

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A Yemeni vendor displays bag of qat, the ubiquitous mild narcotic, at a market in the capital Sanaa on May 1, 2020. (AFP / Mohammed Huwais)
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A Yemeni vendor carries a bundle of qat, the ubiquitous mild narcotic, at a market in the capital Sanaa on May 1, 2020. (AFP / Mohammed Huwais)
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A Yemeni vendor carries a bundle of qat, the ubiquitous mild narcotic, at a market in the capital Sanaa on May 1, 2020. (AFP / Mohammed Huwais)
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A Yemeni vendor sorts through leaves of qat, the ubiquitous mild narcotic, at a market in the capital Sanaa on May 1, 2020. (AFP / Mohammed Huwais)
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Updated 02 May 2020
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Yemen’s qat markets flourish despite virus threat

  • The narcotic plant has been part of Yemen’s social fabric for thousands of years
  • Policemen can be seen on the streets chewing the green plant

SANAA: While many of the world’s markets have closed to curb the spread of coronavirus, in Yemen’s capital Sanaa, downtown districts selling qat — the ubiquitous mild narcotic — still bustle with people.
Flouting social distancing rules, Yemenis jostle to select bunches of the chewable leaf from vendors packed into the narrow lanes crowded with stalls.
“If the qat markets were closed, believe me when I say that 98 percent of Yemeni people would object,” Sanaa resident and avid consumer Ali Al-Zubeiry told AFP.
“We appeal to the authorities not to close the qat markets because Yemenis live off it,” he said — while adding it would probably be a good idea to move them to a more open space.
Yemen, mired in civil war since 2014 and long the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest nation, is a major producer and consumer of qat, which is banned in some countries but has been part of Yemen’s social fabric for thousands of years.
The country was once best known for its coffee industry, but the easy profits from qat meant it eclipsed that trade and spread into other agricultural lands — around the Red Sea and in African countries such as Ethiopia and Somalia where it also flourishes.




A Yemeni vendor carries a bundle of qat, the ubiquitous mild narcotic, at a market in the capital Sanaa on May 1, 2020. (AFP / Mohammed Huwais)

A wad of the leaves is packed into the cheek and slowly chewed. The World Health Organization estimates that 90 percent of adult males in Yemen partake for several hours a day, with some women and children also adopting the habit.
Policemen can be seen on the streets chewing the green plant, stashed in plastic bags next to them while they carry out their duties.
“The chewing of qat leaves releases chemicals structurally related to amphetamines, which give the chewer a mild high that some say is comparable to drinking strong coffee,” according to the WHO.
Qat sellers in Sanaa, the northern capital that is controlled by the Iran-backed Houthi rebels, continue to display bags of their product to customers in the markets, transacting without precautionary measures like masks or gloves.
Yemen has been largely spared the effects of the coronavirus pandemic, with a total of six cases recorded so far, but the country announced its first two deaths from the respiratory disease on Wednesday.
The United Nations has warned that six years of war — pitting the Houthis against the government and their allies led by Saudi Arabia — has left the health system in tatters, and a major outbreak would lead to a humanitarian catastrophe.
The insurgents, who control much of the north including Sanaa, have suspended schools and flights to ward off the pandemic but so far have been unable to shut down the qat markets.




A Yemeni vendor carries a bundle of qat, the ubiquitous mild narcotic, at a market in the capital Sanaa on May 1, 2020. (AFP / Mohammed Huwais)

Many Yemenis resorted to selling qat after the war broke out and their salaries dried up.
Ahmed Saleh, a public school teacher who has not been paid in four years, said that selling qat is his “main source of income.”
“Closing the markets because of the coronavirus will lead to starvation,” he told AFP. “Many people depend on the buying and selling of qat.”
Muthir Al-Marouni, director general of the insurgent-run health department in Sanaa, said he expects the markets will close soon because they “could become a major source for the spread of the virus.”
“People’s lives are more important than the markets,” he told AFP.
However, he admitted that such a decision would be hard to enforce considering how many people depend on the trade.
“The decision must be carefully studied and a solution found... to ensure people can continue to live,” Marouni said.
While many people continue to shop at crowded qat markets, others in Sanaa have opted for home delivery to fuel hours-long sessions with family and friends.
“After the spread of the coronavirus, many are scared to go to the market and have asked that their qat be delivered to their homes,” seller Ghaleb Al-Huseimy told AFP.
“They have one condition — that I be the only one that touches the product.”
Omar Al-Abi is one customer who has opted for the delivery service because of fears of catching the virus.
“Qat could become a primary reason for the fast spread of the virus because the markets are extremely crowded,” he told AFP. “More than 50 people could have touched one bag.”
Committed users like Walid Al-Dhahawi say it will take more than a pandemic to stop Yemenis from chewing qat — a cultural tradition passed from generation to generation.
“There is no event without qat,” he said during a long session with friends.
“It is the glue in society... during times of happiness and mourning.”


Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israel’s attorney general tells Netanyahu to reexamine extremist security minister’s role

  • National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir criticized for interfering in police matters

JERUSALEM, Nov 14 : Israel’s Attorney General told Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reevaluate the tenure of his far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, citing his apparent interference in police matters, Israel’s Channel 12 reported on Thursday.
The news channel published a copy of a letter written by Attorney General Gali Baharav-Miara in which she described instances of “illegitimate interventions” in which Ben-Gvir, who is tasked with setting general policy, gave operational instructions that threaten the police’s apolitical status.
“The concern is that the government’s silence will be interpreted as support for the minister’s behavior,” the letter said.
Officials at the Justice Ministry could not be reached for comment and there was no immediate comment from Netanyahu’s office.
Ben-Gvir, who heads a small ultra-nationalist party in Netanyahu’s coalition, wrote on social media after the letter was published: “The attempted coup by (the Attorney General) has begun. The only dismissal that needs to happen is that of the Attorney General.”


Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

Updated 15 November 2024
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Israeli forces demolish Palestinian Al-Bustan community center in Jerusalem

  • Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities

LONDON: Israeli forces demolished the office of the Palestinian Al-Bustan Association in occupied East Jerusalem’s neighborhood of Silwan, whose residents are under threat of Israeli eviction orders. 

The Palestinian Authority’s Ministry of Culture condemned on Thursday the demolition of Al-Bustan by Israeli bulldozers and a military police force. 

The ministry said that “(Israeli) occupation’s arrogant practices against cultural and community institutions in Palestine, and specifically in Jerusalem, are targeting the Palestinian identity, in an attempt to obliterate it.” 

Founded in 2004, the Al-Bustan Association functioned as a primary community center in which Silwan’s youth and families ran cultural and social activities alongside hosting meetings for diplomatic delegations and Western journalists who came to learn about controversial Israeli policies in the area. 

Al-Bustan said in a statement that it served 1,500 people in Silwan, most of them children, who enrolled in educational, cultural and artistic workshops. In addition to the Al-Bustan office, Israeli forces also demolished a home in the neighborhood belonging to the Al-Qadi family. 

Located less than a mile from Al-Aqsa Mosque and Jerusalem’s southern ancient wall, Silwan has a population of 65,000 Palestinians, some of them under threat of Israeli eviction orders.  

In past years, Israeli authorities have been carrying out archaeological digging under Palestinian homes in Silwan, resulting in damage to these buildings, in search of the three-millennial “City of David.” 


Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

Updated 14 November 2024
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Israeli strike kills 12 after hitting civil defense center in Lebanon’s Baalbek, governor tells Reuters

  • Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack

CAIRO: An Israeli strike killed 12 people after it hit a civil defense center in Lebanon’s city of Baalbek on Thursday, the regional governor told Reuters adding that rescue operations were ongoing.
Eight others, including five women, were also killed and 27 wounded in another Israeli attack on the Lebanese city, health ministry reported on Thursday.
Meanwhile, Lebanese civil defense official Samir Chakia said: “The Civil Defense Center in Baalbek has been targeted, five Civil Defense rescuers were killed.”
Bachir Khodr the regional governor said more than 20 rescuers had been at the facility at the time of the strike.


‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

Updated 14 November 2024
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‘A symbol of resilience’ — workers in Iraq complete reconstruction of famous Mosul minaret

  • Workers complete reconstruction of 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque
  • Tower and mosque were blown by Daesh extremists in 2017

High above the narrow streets and low-rise buildings of Mosul’s old city, beaming workers hoist an Iraqi flag into the sky atop one of the nation’s most famous symbols of resilience.

Perched precariously on scaffolding in high-vis jackets and hard hats, the workers celebrate a milestone in Iraq’s recovery from the traumatic destruction and bloodshed that once engulfed the city.

On Wednesday, the workers placed the last brick that marked the completed reconstruction of the 12th-century minaret of Al-Nuri Mosque. The landmark was destroyed by Daesh in June 2017 shortly before Iraqi forces drove the extremist group from the city.

Known as Al-Hadba, or “the hunchback,” the 45-meter-tall minaret, which famously leant to one side, dominated the Mosul skyline for centuries. The tower has been painstakingly rebuilt as part of a UNESCO project, matching the traditional stone and brick masonry and incorporating the famous lean.

“Today UNESCO celebrates a landmark achievement,” the UN cultural agency’s Iraq office said. “The completion of the shaft of the Al-Hadba Minaret marks a new milestone in the revival of the city, with and for the people of Mosul. 

“UNESCO is grateful for the incredible teamwork that made this vision a reality. Together, we’ve created a powerful symbol of resilience, a true testament to international cooperation. Thank you to everyone involved in this journey.”

The restoration of the mosque is part of UNESCO’s Revive the Spirit of Mosul project, which includes the rebuilding of two churches and other historic sites. The UAE donated $50 million to the project and UNESCO said that the overall Al-Nuri Mosque complex restoration will be finished by the end of the year.

UNESCO Director-General Audrey Azoulay celebrated the completion of the minaret by posting “We did it!” on social media site X.

She thanked donors, national and local authorities in Iraq and the experts and professionals, “many of whom are Moslawis,” who worked to rebuild the minaret.

“Can’t wait to return to Mosul to celebrate the full completion of our work,” she said.

The Al-Nuri mosque was built in the second half of the 12th century by the Seljuk ruler Nur Al-Din. 

After Daesh seized control of large parts of Iraq in 2014, the group’s leader, Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi, declared the establishment of its so-called caliphate from inside the mosque.

Three years later, the extremists detonated explosives to destroy the mosque and minaret as Iraqi forces battled to expel them from the city. Thousands of civilians were killed in the fighting and much of Mosul was left in ruins.


US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

Updated 14 November 2024
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US hands Lebanon draft truce proposal -two political sources

  • The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Hezbollah

BEIRUT: The US ambassador to Lebanon submitted a draft truce proposal to Lebanon’s speaker of parliament Nabih Berri on Thursday to halt fighting between armed group Hezbollah and Israel, two political sources told Reuters, without revealing details.
The US has sought to broker a ceasefire that would end hostilities between its ally Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah, but efforts have yet to yield a result. Israel launched a stepped-up air and ground campaign in late September after cross-border clashes in parallel with the Gaza war.