LONDON: The UN special envoy for Yemen Hans Grundberg echoed the Secretary-General’s condemnation of recent Houthi attacks on the UAE on Tuesday.

Speaking at a Security Council meeting, Grundberg said that following Houthi attacks on the UAE last month, including a drone attack in Abu Dhabi that killed three people, “it should be obvious to everyone just how high the stakes have become.”

He continued: “The Secretary-General has condemned these attacks and I echo that condemnation.”

He added that Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and the UAE “indicate how this conflict risks spiralling out of control unless serious efforts are urgently made by the Yemeni parties, the region, and the international community to end this conflict.”

The Yemen envoy added that ending the war in Yemen is a choice and is possible despite the challenges.

“There is a way out of this war, allowing the war to continue is a choice, and so is ending it,” he told the council.

“We all know that ending it will not be easy, but I firmly believe that it is possible,” he added.

He said that dialogue and compromise are required if Yemenis are not to be left suffering until parties to the war are tired of fighting.

“A political process under UN auspices is our best way forward,” he said.

Grundberg said that he is developing a framework that will set out his plan to move towards an inclusive political settlement, including the establishment of a multi-track process.

“Through this process, the warring sides’ interests can be addressed within the context of a broader Yemeni agenda along the three tracks of political, security, and economic matters,” he explained.

CAIRO: Sudan’s military authorities have arrested a former senior government official a second time, his party said, and at least two demonstrators were killed as thousands once again took to the streets around the country Monday to protest an October military coup.
The Unionist Alliance party said Mohammed Al-Faki Suliman, a former member of the ruling Sovereign Council, was detained Sunday in the capital of Khartoum. It said security forces stopped his vehicle as he was heading from his home to the party’s headquarters.
Suliman was also deputy head of a government-run agency tasked with dismantling the legacy of former autocratic President Omar Al-Bashir’s regime.
Also on Sunday, security forces arrested two former members of the agency, according to a security official who spoke on condition of anonymity. The agency is known as The Committee to Dismantle the Regime of June 30, 1989, in reference the Islamist-backed military coup that brought Al-Bashir to power.
The official said the three were taken to the Souba prison in Khartoum. He said they were facing charges related to the work of the agency, which the military disbanded following the Oct. 25 takeover.
Suliman had been detained in the coup and was released a month later as part of a deal between the military and then-Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok.
He was the latest of a series of former government officials and activists to be detained in recent weeks as military rulers stepped up crackdown on anti-coup groups.
Last week, authorities also rearrested Khalid Omar, a minister in the ousted transitional government. Also arrested was Wagdi Saleh, another committee member. Omar is a leader with the opposition Sudanese Congress Party. The party said prosecutors ordered Omar and Saleh to remain in custody for 15 more days. It did not provide further details.
The detentions have intensified in recent weeks as Sudan plunged into further turmoil with near-daily street protests since the coup.
The takeover upended Sudan’s transition to democratic rule that began after three decades of international isolation under Al-Bashir, who was removed from power in 2019 after a popular uprising.
Protesters once again marched in Khartoum and its twin city of Omdurman on Monday, demanding the establishment of a fully civilian government to lead the transition, according to the pro-democracy movement. There were protests in other cities, too, including Port Sudan and Wad Madani, it said.
The movement shared footage online that showed protesters in Khartoum beating drums and holding the Sudanese flag while marching in the streets of Khartoum. Others held posters with images of arrested activists and former officials, with a slogan reading: “Freedom for the detained.”
Security forces violently broke up protests in multiple places in Khartoum and Omdurman, using live ammunition and tear gas, activist Nazim Sirag said. At least two men were shot dead, he said. The Sudanese Doctors Committee said the first was shot in his neck and chest in Khartoum, and the second on his shoulder in Omdurman.
Many others were wounded, including with gun shots during the heavy crackdown on protesters, especially at the Sharwani bus station located south of the Presidential Palace in Khartoum, Sirag added.
Security authorities in the capital had called on protesters to assemble in public squares to avoid more clashes with forces. A deadly crackdown on protesters has killed at least 81 people and wounded 2,200 others since the coup, according to the medical group.
Sudan has been politically paralyzed since the coup. The turmoil has worsened since the resignation last month of Hamdok, who complained of failure to reach a compromise between the generals and the pro-democracy movement.
African Union Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat, meanwhile, met Sunday with Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the Sovereign Council, in Khartoum as part of international efforts to find a way out of the crisis, the council said.
Mahamat also met with the Sudanese Professionals Association, which reiterated its demand of the removal of military from power, the association said.
The generals, however, said they will hand over power only to an elected administration. They say elections will take place in July 2023, as planned in a constitutional document governing the transitional period.

LONDON: Kuwait’s cabinet scrapped the PCR test requirement for travelers and unvaccinated students attending schools and universities, Kuwait News Agency reported on Monday.

Social distancing in mosques was also abolished and unvaccinated people will now be able to enter shopping centers.

People are still required to wear face masks in public and the new rules will come into effect on Sunday Feb. 20, KUNA reported.

BEIRUT: The situation in Lebanon is deteriorating, said former Prime Minister Saad Hariri during a meeting with his parliamentary bloc on Sunday.

Hariri met his supporters after he had paid his respects at the grave of his father, Rafik Hariri, on the 17th anniversary of his assassination in Beirut.

Prime Minister Najib Mikati and former premier Fouad Siniora also prayed at the grave.

Hariri said that his home in Beirut will remain open, and the Future Movement will continue to work with the people and provide services and assistance to them, and it will never abandon its people.

The anniversary is  a few weeks after Hariri announced he was leaving politics for now and would not run in upcoming parliamentary elections.

Thousands gathered in front of Hariri’s tomb in Beirut for a moment of silence at 12:55 p.m., to commemorate the murder.

The supporters raised blue Future Movement banners and pictures of Saad Hariri, cheering and waving as he walked past them.

One supporter said: “How will become of life in Lebanon? The day of the assassination was a dark one, and it has gotten darker with Hariri’s withdrawal from political life.”

A woman from Tariq Al-Jadida said: “They killed the father and betrayed the son, so we became orphans, but we will never hand over our fate to them.”

The size of the crowd at Martyrs’ Square in downtown Beirut surprised event organizers.

People climbed the stairs of the Al-Amin Mosque next to the tomb and filled the parallel road.

The Future Movement did not invite its supporters to participate but supporters rallied for the commemoration on social media.

The annual gathering was different this year, as Hariri did not give his usual speech.

He simply recited Al-Fatihah in front of his father’s tomb, along with his aunt, MP Bahia Hariri, her husband and some family members.

He seemed very moved as he waved to the people who waited for him to greet them.

“The scene at the tomb says it all,” Hariri told the media.

Political, religious, diplomatic, social and economic figures visited Rafik Hariri’s tomb to mark the occasion. They included a Russian delegation, headed by Minister Plenipotentiary at the Russian Embassy in Lebanon Ivan Medvedsky.

Japanese Ambassador to Lebanon Takeshi Okubo tweeted on Monday, “We commemorate PM Rafik Hariri’s efforts with many countries, including Japan, for the reconstruction of Lebanon.”

Walid Jumblatt, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, said after visiting the tomb: “It was written for us to recite Al-Fatihah in Moukhtara, and in Beirut in Martyrs’ Square every year. It was written for us to persevere and we will.”

Former Future Movement MP Mustafa Alloush said: “We are seeing the results of the project that began with Rafik Hariri’s assassination, which is the invasion of the entire region that led to the destruction of Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.”

MP Mohammed Al-Hajjar noted: “Seventeen years have passed, and we are witnessing a state of denial and rejection of all calls for reform and commitment to Lebanon’s interests.

“Some still insist on dragging Lebanon away from our Arabism and true belonging. President Michel Aoun said we were going to Hell and Rafik Hariri’s assassination was certainly the gateway.”

Addressing his bloc MPs on Sunday, Hariri reaffirmed his withdrawal from political life, which he announced on Jan. 24.

He called on the Future Movement to take the same step and not to run for parliamentary elections or submit any nominations in the movement’s name.

He reportedly said: “Regardless of my political position and my decision, but my personal reading of the situation is that it will get worse, and my advice to you as a brother and not as a leader, is not to run for elections, because nothing portends positivity; spare yourselves the insults.”

Hariri had expressed his conviction that this step was correct because “there is no room for any positive opportunity for Lebanon, in light of Iranian influence, international confusion, national division, the rise of sectarian tensions and the deterioration of the state.”

When the MPs asked what they should do in the next stage in parliament, Hariri said: “Everyone must abide by their legislative duty, not boycott parliament. Participate in sessions and discuss the draft budget.

“Should there be a decision to extend the parliament mandate, then the bloc must boycott the session. The option to resign from parliament entirely would then be discussed.”

Hariri reportedly told MPs who wish to run for elections: “Every person who wants to run, believes they can win and has the financial, political and popular requirements to fight the electoral battle, can do whatever they want, but without using the name of Saad Hariri or the Future Movement.”

He added: “I will not provide cover for anyone and I do not want to be on anyone’s side.

“Make the alliances you believe serve you best, but you know who I do not want you to ally with.”

The bombing on Feb. 14, 2005, killed Rafik Hariri and Minister Bassem Fleihan and dozens of people who were in the Ain Al-Mraiseh area at the time.

NEW YORK CITY: Food security in the Near East and North Africa could be strengthened immeasurably if regional nations weaned themselves off their heavy reliance on foreign imports, Abdulhakim Elwaer, assistant director-general and regional representative for the Near East and North Africa at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, told Arab News.

Countries in the NENA region rely extensively on imported food items to feed their domestic populations. In fact, FAO predicts that the region will meet 63 percent of its caloric demand through imports by 2030, leaving it even more exposed to supply-chain disruptions and price fluctuations.

“This situation renders the region vulnerable to supply-side shocks caused by economic or natural factors, such as COVID-19 and inherent regional and country-level stressors such as protracted conflicts, political instability and climate change,” said Elwaer, speaking ahead of the 36th session of FAO’s Regional Conference for the Near East, NERC 36, which was held in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on Feb. 7-8.

“The region is particularly weak when it comes to intra-regional trade. For example in 2019, only 15.4 percent of the Arab region’s food imports were from within the region,” said Elwaer, attributing this to “the lack of harmonization of regulatory systems, weak logistics infrastructure and trade facilitation mechanisms.”

“It is therefore imperative to recognize, internalize in national policies, and optimize the role of trade in food security in the NENA region. By bridging demand and supply, trade could play an important role in climate change adaptation and mitigating external shocks.”

The region’s excessive reliance on food imports has become entrenched through decades of crisis, instability and neglect of agriculture.

For example, Iraq imports almost 50 percent of its food needs. In the event of global food supply chain shocks or the collapse of the state budget owing to war or a drop in oil prices, the food system becomes vulnerable.

The imbalance is even more pronounced in the UAE, whose exposure to global food price fluctuations is borne out by the quantity of imported food as a percentage of the overall mix in 2019: 80-90.

From conflict and socio-economic upheaval to environmental degradation, the list of challenges facing food-producing communities throughout the NENA region seems to grow with every passing year.

With just 5 percent of the region’s land deemed arable, and freshwater supplies depleting rapidly, the result has been a steady flow of internal migration from the villages to the cities, further undermining domestic food production in favor of imports.

One knock-on effect has been a deteriorating standard of nutrition, with cheap, high-energy carbohydrates taking the place of more costly fresh fruits and vegetables on the dinner tables of deprived households, creating health problems associated with vitamin deficiencies.

Matters have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has upset supply chains and destroyed livelihoods, raising the number of undernourished people in the region by a further 15 percent to 69 million in 2020.

“The recent trends in hunger and food insecurity suggest that it will be enormously difficult for the region to achieve, by 2030, UN Sustainable Development Goal number two: Zero hunger,” Elwaer said.

Indeed, the region was well behind on matters of food security long before the pandemic struck.

“The region had already been off-track in eliminating hunger and food insecurity because of pre-existing vulnerabilities and exposure to multiple shocks and stresses, such as climate change, water scarcity, conflicts and protracted crises, agriculture productivity and yield challenges, social inequalities and poverty, and, at present, rising food price,” Elwaer said.

NERC 36, held in a hybrid format under the theme “Recover and Restart: Innovations for better, greener and more resilient agri-food systems to achieve the sustainable development goals,” examined how the region might transform its agri-food systems to guarantee the public’s access to an affordable and nutritious diet.

Elwaer said this could be achieved through FAO’s Strategic Framework, the so-called Four Betters: “Better production, better nutrition, better environment and better life, leaving no one behind.”

The framework was endorsed by the region’s agricultural ministers at the conclusion of NERC 36, along with FAO’s priorities for the region, which focus on “generating employment opportunities for rural youth, promoting food security and healthy diets for all through trade, food safety, doing more to reduce food loss and waste, greening agricultural practices to ensure environmental sustainability.”

Regardless of what policies governments enact, however, Elwaer said that climate change remains the single greatest threat to regional agriculture and food systems — particularly as it exacerbates existing water shortages.

“Already having the lowest per-capita freshwater availability, global warming and desertification of arable lands are only going to exacerbate this threat,” he said.

“Increasing population and food demands, both the quantity and quality, coupled with rapid urbanization in our region, is yet another threat to our agri-food systems, as we may not be able to meet such demands from existing resources.”

Climate change has contributed to soil degradation by changing weather patterns, negatively impacting crop cycles, reducing yields and productivity.

“Climate change threatens our ability to ensure regional food security, eradicate poverty and achieve sustainable development,” Elwaer said.

Various initiatives have been advanced by FAO on climate change mitigation and adaptation, while the agency’s regional network of trade experts has worked with governments to help shock-proof their supply chains.

“This, however, needs to be complemented by development-related efforts at all levels,” Elwaer said.

FAO officials believe inclusivity is the first pillar of any agri-food system transformation, particularly the empowerment of women. “Women are at the core of everything we advocate and work for,” Elwaer said.

“At FAO, we have a specific gender empowerment track that runs across all of the programs and projects. We have inbuilt gender markers to ensure that our interventions are supporting gender inclusion.

“In our region, we need to enhance the role of women in agri-food systems not only from a production perspective but also from a nutrition angle. In order to ensure healthy diets for all, we feel that a woman as head of the household is the most important stakeholder to ensure that the family opts toward healthy diets.”

Elwaer said that regional governments have been receptive to FAO’s recommendations, which could go some way toward fostering more regional trade, shock-proofing supply chains and reducing malnutrition.

“I believe that there is a genuine interest and focus by the governments in our region. We have seen that the governments have shown keen interest in ensuring food supplies and have been subsidizing the food sector heavily, though the merit of such subsidies is a different subject,” Elwaer said.

“For sure, the respective government knows best what it should do. I am here to support them in their goals and aspirations and provide technical assistance when and where needed.

“What we have been advocating, including through this regional conference, is to adopt the agri-food systems approach so that we cover all aspects with defined and agreed goals and targets.

“The holistic approach for agri-food systems risk management means adopting policies and pathways which map the risks and externalities facing the agri-food systems, particularly the inclusiveness, efficiency, resilience and sustainability of these systems, and then outline the mitigation and adaptation mechanisms in order to keep the transformation of agri-food systems on track and ensure continuity thereafter.”

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Twitter: @EphremKossaify