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Crammed under a tattered tent on rough wooden benches, Yemeni children are learning Arabic grammar — lucky to receive an education at all in a country hammered by years of war.The children, some without shoes or textbooks, were born into a divided state where fighting has destroyed nearly 3,000 schools. Those that remain are plagued by power cuts and a lack of running water.Al-Ribat al-Gharbi school near Aden, in Yemen’s government-controlled south, is a typical case, with lengthy power outages, no water supplies and a lack of trained teachers.Next to the crowded tent, teacher Suad Saleh is doing her best with another large group of kids in a cheap temporary building.”Each class has more than 105 or 110 students,” she said, wearing the black niqab, or face-covering, that is customary for Yemeni women.”With this overcrowding, most of them can neither read nor write,” she told AFP. Her rudimentary classroom is so packed that many children are sitting on the tiled floor, exercise books on their laps.”It takes me 10 minutes just to quiet them down,” she said.- Meagre wage -The plight of Yemen’s schools, as well as reflecting the country’s humanitarian crisis, also signals difficulties for future development, hampered by an uneducated population.More than 4.5 million children in the country of 40 million have been denied schooling, according to UNICEF.Yemen was the Arabian Peninsula’s poorest country even before Huthi rebels, capitalising on mass anti-government protests, seized the capital Sanaa and large parts of the country in 2014.Fearful of the Tehran-backed militia on its border, Saudi Arabia gathered an anti-Huthi military coalition, launching thousands of air strikes from early 2015.The conflict, although largely halted since 2022, has left hundreds of thousands of dead and two-thirds of Yemenis dependent on aid.Each morning at Al-Ribat al-Gharbi, students grab packets of UN-provided fortified biscuits to stave off hunger.”The main problems are the absence of suitable classrooms, almost no electricity, and no running water,” along with a lack of trained teachers, said deputy principal Mohammed al-Mardahi.Many professional teachers have quit, despairing at the low pay. Yemen has witnessed months-long strikes by teachers.”We work for a very small salary — 50,000 Yemeni rials ($31) — what can that do for us in these circumstances?” said Saleh. Schools in Huthi areas face similar issues, with teachers frequently unpaid and many facilities lacking basic resources.Yemen’s plethora of armed groups and military forces have “destroyed and damaged thousands of schools through air strikes and ground fighting… and even utilised others as recruiting grounds for children”, the Sanaa Center for Strategic Studies said in a report published in February. – ‘Terrible impact’ -Saudi Arabia, seeking regional calm as it pursues economic reforms at home, has poured hundreds of millions of dollars into development programmes in government-controlled areas of Yemen, with education one area of focus.Saudi money has paid to train more than 150 female teachers and rebuilt 30-plus schools, including Aden’s Al-Haram al-Jami’i, according to Saudi aid officials.There, the classrooms offer a stark contrast to the dilapidated government schools, with painted walls, new desks, whiteboards and fans, and students in smart uniforms.”Students from this area used to travel far to reach schools, which caused hardship for both them and their parents,” said principal Fathiya al-Afifi.The focus on development shows a shift in Riyadh’s approach to aid, said analyst Omar Karim, a Saudi policy expert at the University of Birmingham.”Aid used to go mainly to tribal leaders to gain political influence, or to government officials for similar reasons — or even to buy weapons,” he told AFP. But even with the injection of aid, war still hangs heavy over everyday life. For Afifi, the school principal, the destruction of Yemen’s education system has been nothing short of “catastrophic”.”Stopping education has had a terrible impact… An entire generation can neither read nor write,” she said.”This is a disaster.”

Incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani claimed victory for his coalition on Wednesday in Iraq’s general election after preliminary results showed it had secured a decisive lead.Supporters of Sudani, who is vying for a second term, flocked late in the evening to Tahrir Square in Baghdad to celebrate with fireworks and music, according to AFP correspondents.Casting the victory as one for all Iraqis in a televised speech, Sudani congratulated the country “on your coalition winning first place in the parliamentary elections”.”Our coalition, ‘Reconstruction and Development’, is first,” Sudani said separately on X, expressing “deep gratitude to the Iraqi people for their support”.Iraqis went to the polls on Tuesday for a general election that came as the country experienced a rare moment of calm in a region roiled by recent conflicts.The next premier must answer to Iraqis seeking jobs, better infrastructure, and improved education and health systems in a country plagued by corruption and mismanagement.But he also faces the unenviable task of maintaining the delicate balance between Iraq’s allies — arch foes Iran and the United States — made all the more delicate by recent seismic changes in the Middle East.Iraq’s electoral commission announced preliminary results on Wednesday evening showing Sudani’s candidate list in the lead with more than 1.3 million votes — about 217,500 more than the next closest list.The commission said Tuesday that more than 12 million people took part out of 21 million eligible voters, despite influential Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr calling on his supporters to boycott the poll.While vote counts for each list by province were released, seat allocations in parliament will not be announced until later.- Difficult task -An official close to Sudani had told AFP before the count was announced that his list was sailing to “a major victory”.Another two sources estimated Sudani’s alliance had won the largest bloc, estimating it would take approximately 50 seats out of a total of 329.Once final results are confirmed, lawmakers are set to begin negotiations to nominate the prime minister — an often painstaking task that has at times taken months.With an outright majority almost impossible to achieve by any single list, who gets the role is determined by whatever coalition can secure enough post-election partnerships to form the largest alliance.In Iraq, the prime ministership goes to the Shiite majority, the speaker of parliament to a Sunni Muslim, and the largely ceremonial presidency goes to a Kurd. In previous parliaments, Shiite-majority parties have struck compromise deals to work together and form a government.Sudani emerged as a major force in Iraqi politics after he was brought to power three years ago by the Coordination Framework, an alliance of powerful pro-Iran Shiite parties who formed the largest parliamentary bloc.A senior Iraqi politician told AFP last month that the Coordination Framework was divided over supporting Sudani, with former prime minister Nuri al-Maliki reportedly likely to oppose a second term for the incumbent.- Negotiations to come -Even as Iraq tries to move past two decades of war since a US-led invasion toppled Saddam Hussein, the country of 46 million suffers from poor infrastructure and public services, mismanagement and corruption.Many Iraqis who boycotted the elections told AFP the vote wouldn’t bring meaningful change to their daily lives and said that it was a sham that only benefits political elites and regional powers.Sudani has nonetheless vowed to continue on the path of “reconstruction and development”.During his three-year tenure, Baghdad has been transformed into a bustling construction hub, with new tunnels and bridges springing up across the city.He also maintains that his government helped shield Iraq from regional turmoil over the past two years.Since the US-led invasion, Iran has held sway in Iraqi politics, not only backing influential politicians but also supporting armed groups there.The past two years have seen Israel inflict heavy losses on Tehran-backed groups in the region, and Iran itself was on the receiving end of an unprecedented Israeli bombing campaign during a 12-day war in June.In addition to maintaining its foothold through the groups it backs, Tehran is also seeking to keep the Iraqi market open to products from its crippled economy.Washington meanwhile hopes to cripple Tehran’s influence, and has long pressured Baghdad to disarm Iran-backed groups.

Jailed French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal arrived in Germany for medical treatment on Wednesday after Algiers agreed to a German request that he be pardoned.A spokeswoman for German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who on Monday had urged Algeria to free the 81-year-old given his “fragile health condition”, confirmed to AFP that Sansal had landed in Germany and was being taken straight to hospital.Earlier Steinmeier had thanked Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for the “humanitarian gesture”. According to his family Sansal has prostate cancer.Sansal was given a five-year jail term in March, accused of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity after he told a far-right French outlet last year that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830 to 1962 colonial period.Algeria views those ideas — which align with longstanding Moroccan territorial claims — as a challenge to its sovereignty.He was arrested in November 2024 at Algiers airport. Because he did not appeal March’s ruling, he was eligible for a presidential pardon.- ‘Mercy and humanity’ -French President Emmanuel Macron had also urged Algeria’s Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” by releasing the author. On Wednesday, Macron thanked his counterparts in both Algiers and Berlin for their roles in Sansal’s release, saying it was “the result of France’s constant efforts and a method based on respect, calm and rigor”.Sansal’s daughter Sabeha Sansal, 51, told AFP of her relief by telephone from her home in the Czech Republic.”I was a little pessimistic because he is sick, he is old, and he could have died there,” she said. “I hope we will see each other soon.”A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.He acquired French nationality in 2024.Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal had said the case against him “makes no sense” as “the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience”.When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: “Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?”His case has become a cause celebre in France, but his past support for Israel and his 2014 visit there have made him largely unpopular in Algeria.The case has also become entangled in the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers, which has led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.Another point of contention was the sentencing to seven years in prison of French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes in Algiers on accusations of attempting to interview a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated a terrorist organisation by Algeria in 2021.Both Sansal and Gleizes’s prosecution came amid the latest rise in tensions between Paris and Algiers, triggered in July 2024 when Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front. Macron said Wednesday he was “available to discuss with (Tebboune) all matters of interest to our two countries”.- Civil servant turned novelist -An economist by training, Sansal worked as a senior civil servant in his native Algeria, with his first novel appearing in 1999.”The Barbarians’ Oath” dealt with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Algeria and was published in the midst of the country’s civil war, which left some 200,000 people dead, according to official figures.He was fired from his post in the industry ministry in 2003 for his opposition to the government but continued publishing.His 2008 work “The German Mujahid” was censored in Algeria for drawing parallels between Islamism and Nazism.He has received several international prizes for his work, including in France and Germany.In recent years Germany has offered refuge to several high-profile prisoners from other countries.The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated at Berlin’s Charite hospital after being poisoned in August 2020.Last year Germany welcomed several other high-profile Russian dissidents as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.ad-bou-fka-jsk/yad

Jailed French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal was on his way to Germany for medical treatment on Wednesday after Algiers agreed to a German request that he be pardoned.German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, who on Monday had urged Algeria to free the 81-year-old, confirmed he was en route and thanked Algeria’s President Abdelmadjid Tebboune for the “humanitarian gesture”. Germany has taken charge of the transfer and treatment of Sansal, who has prostate cancer, according to his family.Sansal was given a five-year jail term in March, accused of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity after he told a far-right French outlet last year that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830 to 1962 colonial period.Algeria views those ideas — which align with longstanding Moroccan territorial claims — as a challenge to its sovereignty.He was arrested in November 2024 at Algiers airport. Because he did not appeal March’s ruling, he was eligible for a presidential pardon.Steinmeier urged Algeria to make a humanitarian concession “given Sansal’s advanced age and fragile health condition”, and said Germany would take charge of his “relocation to Germany and subsequent medical care”.- ‘Mercy and humanity’ -French President Emmanuel Macron had also urged Algeria’s Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” by releasing the author. On Wednesday, Macron thanked his counterparts in both Algiers and Berlin for their roles in Sansal’s release, saying it was “the result of France’s constant efforts and a method based on respect, calm and rigor”.Sansal’s daughter Sabeha Sansal, 51, told AFP of her relief by telephone from her home in the Czech Republic.”I was a little pessimistic because he is sick, he is old, and he could have died there,” she said. “I hope we will see each other soon.”A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.He acquired French nationality in 2024.Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal had said the case against him “makes no sense” as “the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience”.When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: “Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?”His case has become a cause celebre in France, but his past support for Israel and his 2014 visit there have made him largely unpopular in Algeria.The case has also become entangled in the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers, which has led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.Another point of contention was the sentencing to seven years in prison of French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes in Algiers on accusations of attempting to interview a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated a terrorist organisation by Algeria in 2021.Both Sansal and Gleizes’s prosecution came amid the latest rise in tensions between Paris and Algiers, triggered in July 2024 when Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front. Macron said Wednesday he was “available to discuss with (Tebboune) all matters of interest to our two countries”.- Civil servant turned novelist -An economist by training, Sansal worked as a senior civil servant in his native Algeria, with his first novel appearing in 1999.”The Barbarians’ Oath” dealt with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Algeria and was published in the midst of the country’s civil war, which left some 200,000 people dead, according to official figures.He was fired from his post in the industry ministry in 2003 for his opposition to the government but continued publishing.His 2008 work “The German Mujahid” was censored in Algeria for drawing parallels between Islamism and Nazism.He has received several international prizes for his work, including in France and Germany.In recent years Germany has offered refuge to several high-profile prisoners from other countries.The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated at Berlin’s Charite hospital after being poisoned in August 2020.Last year Germany welcomed several other high-profile Russian dissidents as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.

Algeria has pardoned French-Algerian writer Boualem Sansal after a request from Germany, to where he will be transferred for medical treatment after a year in detention, it was announced Wednesday.After German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier on Monday urged Algeria to free the 81-year-old, “the president of the republic decided to respond positively”, the Algerian presidency said.The statement said Germany would take charge of the transfer and treatment of Sansal, who has prostate cancer, according to his family.Sansal was given a five-year jail term in March, accused of undermining Algeria’s territorial integrity after he told a far-right French outlet last year that France had unjustly transferred Moroccan territory to Algeria during the 1830 to 1962 colonial period.Algeria views those ideas — which align with longstanding Moroccan territorial claims — as a challenge to its sovereignty.He was arrested in November 2014 at Algiers airport. Because he did not appeal March’s ruling, he was eligible for a presidential pardon.Steinmeier urged Algeria to make a humanitarian gesture “given Sansal’s advanced age and fragile health condition” and said Germany would take charge of his “relocation to Germany and subsequent medical care”.- ‘Mercy and humanity’ -French President Emmanuel Macron had also urged Tebboune to show “mercy and humanity” by releasing the author.Sansal’s daughter Sabeha Sansal, 51, told AFP by telephone from her home in the Czech Republic of her relief.”I was a little pessimistic because he is sick, he is old, and he could have died there,” she said. “I hope we will see each other soon.”A prize-winning figure in North African modern francophone literature, Sansal is known for his criticism of Algerian authorities as well as of Islamists.He acquired French nationality in 2024.Appearing in court without legal counsel on June 24, Sansal had said the case against him “makes no sense” as “the Algerian constitution guarantees freedom of expression and conscience”.When questioned about his writings, Sansal asked: “Are we holding a trial over literature? Where are we headed?”His case has become a cause celebre in France, but his past support for Israel and his 2014 visit there have made him largely unpopular in Algeria.The case has also become entangled in the diplomatic crisis between Paris and Algiers, which has led to the expulsion of officials on both sides, the recall of ambassadors and restrictions on holders of diplomatic visas.Another point of contention was the sentencing to seven years in prison of French sportswriter Christophe Gleizes in Algiers on accusations of attempting to interview a member of the Movement for the Self-Determination of Kabylie (MAK), designated a terrorist organisation by Algeria in 2021.Both Sansal and Gleizes’s prosecution came amid the latest rise in tensions between Paris and Algiers, triggered in July 2024 when Macron backed Moroccan sovereignty over the disputed Western Sahara, where Algeria backs the pro-independence Polisario Front.- Civil servant turned novelist -An economist by training, Sansal worked as a senior civil servant in his native Algeria, with his first novel appearing in 1999.”The Barbarians’ Oath” dealt with the rise of fundamentalist Islam in Algeria and was published in the midst of the country’s civil war which left some 200,000 people dead according to official figures.He was fired from his post in the industry ministry in 2003 for his opposition to the government but continued publishing.His 2008 work “The German Mujahid” was censored in Algeria for drawing parallels between Islamism and Nazism.He has received several international prizes for his work, including in France and Germany.In recent years Germany has offered refuge to several high-profile prisoners from other countries.The late Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was treated at Berlin’s Charite hospital after being poisoned in August 2020.Last year Germany welcomed several other high-profile Russian dissidents as part of a historic prisoner swap with Moscow.

Syrian authorities have temporarily closed the national museum in Damascus and launched an investigation after thieves made off with several pieces, an official told AFP on Wednesday.The robbery took place overnight Sunday to Monday in the so-called classical wing of the facility, which was spared during Syria’s civil war between 2011 and late last year and which houses priceless artefacts dating back to antiquity.”Official investigations have begun and the museum will remain closed temporarily until the collection of evidence has finished,” the official said, requesting anonymity.”An inventory of all the archaeological items is currently underway to ensure no other pieces are missing,” they added.An official from the department overseeing museums, also requesting anonymity, told AFP that “six small Roman-era statues of the goddess Venus” were taken.An official had previously told AFP that gold ingots were stolen.Syria’s antiquities and museums department said in a statement Tuesday that an official investigation had been opened in coordination with security authorities, without specifying which items were stolen.It said it had taken “immediate measures to ensure the safety of the collections and support the protection and monitoring system inside the museum”.The classical wing is one of the museum’s most important sections, home to artefacts from the Hellenistic, Roman and Byzantine eras.The museum was closed on Wednesday and a security guard told AFP that “there are no tourist visits until next week”.The national museum had shut its doors due to fears of looting shortly before longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad was deposed last December by an Islamist coalition. It reopened in January.The collections include tens of thousands of items from Syria’s long history, ranging from prehistoric tools to Greco-Roman sculptures to pieces of Islamic art.During the civil war, many pieces stored elsewhere in the country were brought to the facility for safekeeping.The war saw archaeological sites bombed, museums looted and many artefacts stolen, generating millions of dollars for traffickers.