Yemeni health minister calls for COVID-19 vaccines as third wave hits

Medical staff attend to a coronavirus patient at a quarantine centre run by Médecins Sans Frontières in Aden, Yemen. (Reuters)
Short Url
Updated 17 August 2021
Follow

Yemeni health minister calls for COVID-19 vaccines as third wave hits

  • Health Minister Dr. Qasem Buhaibeh: We have seen an increase in the cases throughout the past week and some quarantines are overwhelmed with cases. We think we entered the third wave
  • Since the beginning of the pandemic in Yemen, the Iran-backed militia has applied a secretive policy about death tolls and cases in heavily populated areas under their control

ALEXANDRIA: Yemen reported 39 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday, the highest single-day number of confirmed cases recorded in months, as the health minister announced that the country had entered the third wave.

The Aden-based National Coronavirus Committee also reported two deaths from 4,016 tested samples. 

The total number of confirmed cases is 7,347. There have been 1,407 deaths and 4,543 recoveries.

On Monday, there were 15 new cases, two deaths and 27 recoveries reported. On Sunday there were 20 new cases, 15 recoveries and two deaths.

“We have seen an increase in the cases throughout the past week and some quarantines are overwhelmed with cases. We think we entered the third wave,” Health Minister Dr. Qasem Buhaibeh told state TV, adding that healthcare facilities had been put on high alert to handle the rising number of patients.

He said that, due to poor testing and surveillance, the number of confirmed cases constituted roughly 10 percent of the actual transmitted cases.

He urged people to adhere to health guidelines concerning the virus and to take vaccines when they were available.

“Unlike many countries that have extensive testing, we do not record all cases of coronavirus. We only discover severe cases with severe symptoms or those cases that go to isolation centers or laboratories.”

Local health workers in provinces not under Houthi control said they were not ready to handle the sudden influx of new cases and that some quarantine centers had reached their maximum capacity amid a shortage of medical supplies.

In Aden, the 30 beds at the only functioning quarantine center at Al-Sadaqa hospital were occupied and people were being redirected.

“The center is full of patients. We referred four patients to Lahj province,” a local health official told Arab News. He added that two other quarantine centers in Aden had been closed due to a funding shortage.

Yemen officially announced the first case of COVID-19 on April 10 last year and cases increased rapidly in the following two months.

The second wave peaked in February and March of this year, with health facilities reporting dozens of deaths and new cases.

Since the beginning of the pandemic in Yemen, the Iran-backed militia has applied a secretive policy about death tolls and cases in heavily populated areas under their control.

It has banned health facilities from reporting cases and denying healthcare workers vaccines.

Buhaibeh said the Houthi clampdown on information had undermined the country’s health strategies to confront the spread of the virus.

“The Houthis adopt a policy dating back to ancient times. They refuse to disclose the actual number of cases or to vaccinate people. This (policy) undermined the health system.”

He urged the global COVAX initiative and international donors to swiftly supply the country with new vaccine shipments as thousands of Yemeni travelers were stuck at home due to the shortage of shots.

“We are in need of the vaccines more than many other countries as we cannot impose health guidelines.”


UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

Updated 4 sec ago
Follow

UAE foreign minister holds phone call with his new German counterpart

  • Ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors

LONDON: UAE Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan congratulated Johann Wadephul on his appointment as Germany’s minister of foreign affairs.

The two ministers discussed strengthening the UAE-Germany strategic partnership and enhancing cooperation in key sectors during a phone call on Tuesday, the Emirates News Agency reported.

Sheikh Abdullah hoped to achieve mutual prosperity between Germany and the UAE, whose diplomatic ties were established in 1972.

In 2023, the UAE became one of Germany’s most important business partners in the Middle East, with a bilateral trade volume exceeding €14 billion ($15.768 billion). According to Germany’s Federal Foreign Office report, German imports from the UAE experienced a 150 percent increase in the same year.

Wadephul, a veteran conservative and defense policy expert, assumed the foreign minister’s office on May 7 in Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government.


Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

Updated 26 min 40 sec ago
Follow

Jordan and Syria agree on roadmap to cooperate in energy, transport

  • Ayman Safadi says Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf, while Syria acts as Jordan’s gateway to Europe
  • Asaad Al-Shaibani: Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability

LONDON: Ayman Safadi, Jordan’s minister of foreign affairs, on Tuesday discussed strengthening cooperation during a meeting in Damascus with his Syrian counterpart, Asaad Al-Shaibani.

The Jordanian delegation included the ministers of water, industry, trade, energy, and transport, who discussed coordination with their Syrian counterparts and signed an agreement to establish a coordination council between the two countries.

Al-Shaibani said that diplomatic efforts resulted in the lifting of European sanctions shortly after the US announced it would lift sanctions on the country. He added that lifting sanctions on Syria would enhance cooperation with Jordan in transport and energy, positively affecting the region.

The minister said Syria shares borders with Turkey, Lebanon and Jordan, and aims to maintain its security while addressing threats, as its security would affect neighboring countries.

Al-Shaibani and Safadi opposed the Israeli intervention in Syria after the change of rule in Damascus in December 2024, the SANA agency reported.

Al-Shaibani said Syrians are tired after 14 years of war, and the country wants to focus on maintaining security and stability while finding solutions for vital issues such as energy and electricity.

Safadi and Al-Shaibani have agreed to establish a roadmap to enhance cooperation in energy, transport, water, and health, SANA added.

Safadi said that Jordan is Syria’s gateway to the Arabian Gulf and the Arab world, while Syria is Jordan’s gateway to Europe, and affirmed Amman’s support for Syria.


Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

Updated 20 May 2025
Follow

Lebanon has ‘more’ to do on Hezbollah disarming: US deputy envoy

  • Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said
  • “However, there’s a lot more to go“

DOHA: Lebanon still has “more” to do in disarming Hezbollah following the war between the Iran-backed group and Israel, Deputy US Envoy for the Middle East Morgan Ortagus said Tuesday.

As part of a deal agreed to end 14 months of fighting last November, Hezbollah was to withdraw its fighters north of Lebanon’s Litani River, while Israel was to pull all its forces from south Lebanon.

The Lebanese army has been deploying in the area as Israeli forces have withdrawn and has been dismantling Hezbollah infrastructure there.

UN peacekeepers are also present in the area and play a role in supervising the ceasefire.

Lebanese authorities “have done more in the last six months than they probably have in the last 15 years,” Ortagus said at the Qatar Economic Forum referring to efforts to disarm Hezbollah.

“However, there’s a lot more to go,” she added.

“We in the United States have called for the full disarmament of Hezbollah. And so that doesn’t mean just south of the Litani. That means in the whole country,” Ortagus said at the Qatar conference calling on Lebanese politicians “to make a decision.”

It has also continued to launch raids on its neighbor despite the ceasefire.

Last month, President Joseph Aoun said the army was deployed in more than 85 percent of Lebanon’s south, and that the sole obstacle to full control across the frontier area was “Israel’s occupation of five border positions.”

In defiance of the ceasefire agreement, the Israeli military continues to occupy five positions close to the border that it has declared to be strategic.


Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

Updated 20 May 2025
Follow

Drought-hit Syrian farmers hope sanctions reprieve will restore agriculture

ALEPPO: Severe drought in Syria this year could lead to the failure of an estimated 75 percent of local wheat crops, according to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, threatening the food security of millions of people.
Toni Ettel, the FAO’s representative in Syria, told Reuters the agency anticipated a “food shortage of 2.7 million tons of wheat for this year, which is sufficient to feed 16.3 million people over one year.”
Under former President Bashar Assad, Damascus depended on wheat imports from Russia to support a bread subsidy program during past droughts.
Wheat farmers like Asaad Ezzeldin, 45, have seen their crops fail due to the drought. It has further strained Syria’s beleaguered agricultural sector that suffered from fighting and heavy bombardment during 13 years of civil war.
“Agriculture in Aleppo’s northern countryside has been hit because of the lack of irrigation. There is no rainfall,” he said.
Moscow, a staunch ally of Assad, suspended wheat supplies to Syria soon after Islamist rebels toppled him, citing uncertainties about the country’s new authorities.
In a surprise announcement last week, US President Donald Trump said he would order the lifting of all sanctions on Syria. Washington is likely to begin providing some sanctions relief in the coming weeks.
The flow of funds could revive the agriculture sector, providing much-needed technologies for irrigation and infrastructure renewal, Ettel said.
Unable to buy wheat and fuel, Syria’s new government had lobbied for a lifting of the sanctions that for years isolated the Syrian economy and made it dependent on Russia and Iran.
Syria’s agriculture ministry did not reply to a request for comment.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Tuesday she hoped ministers would reach an agreement on lifting EU economic sanctions on Syria. The EU has already eased sanctions related to energy, transport and reconstruction, and associated financial transactions, but some argued this was not enough to support its political transition and economic recovery.


UK sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank

Updated 20 May 2025
Follow

UK sanctions Israeli settlers in West Bank

Britain said on Tuesday it had sanctioned a number of individuals and groups in the West Bank who it said had been linked with acts of violence against Palestinians.

Sanctions were placed on Neria’s Farm outpost, as well as individuals residing in the outpost. Sanctions were also imposed on Nachala, Libi Construction and Infrastructure Ltd, Harel Libi, Daniella Weiss, and Coco’s Farm outpost.

The UK sanctioned Zohar Sabah for “involvement in threatening, perpetrating, permitting and supporting acts of aggression and violence against Palestinian individuals.”