Yemen’s Ancient Honey Production a Victim of War, Climate Change

Experts consider Yemeni honey one of the best in the world but "enormous losses" have been inflicted on production since war broke out in 2014, the International Committee of the Red Cross says AHMAD AL-BASHA AFP
Experts consider Yemeni honey one of the best in the world but "enormous losses" have been inflicted on production since war broke out in 2014, the International Committee of the Red Cross says AHMAD AL-BASHA AFP
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Yemen’s Ancient Honey Production a Victim of War, Climate Change

Experts consider Yemeni honey one of the best in the world but "enormous losses" have been inflicted on production since war broke out in 2014, the International Committee of the Red Cross says AHMAD AL-BASHA AFP
Experts consider Yemeni honey one of the best in the world but "enormous losses" have been inflicted on production since war broke out in 2014, the International Committee of the Red Cross says AHMAD AL-BASHA AFP

For Yemeni beekeeper Mohammed Saif, honey production used to be a lucrative business but years of war and climate change have taken the buzz out of the family hives.

The business, handed down from father to son, "is slowly disappearing", Saif told AFP. "The bees are being hit by strange phenomenons. Is it due to climate change or the effects of war? We really don't know."

Yemen, one of the world's most impoverished countries, has been gripped by a deadly conflict since 2014.

In the southwestern region of Taiz, Saif recently took stock of his hives in a rugged valley surrounded by mountains.

Before the war, Saif said, the family managed 300 hives, now only 80 are left.

Experts consider Yemeni honey some of the best in the world, including the prized Royal Sidr known for its therapeutic properties.

The United Nations says honey plays a "vital role" in Yemen's economy, with 100,000 households dependent on it for their livelihoods.

- Bee ecosystems battered -

But "enormous losses have been inflicted on the industry since the outbreak of the conflict", the International Committee of the Red Cross said in a report in June.

"Armed conflict and climate change are threatening the continuity of a 3,000-year-old practice," the ICRC said.

"Successive waves of displacement to flee violence, the impact of weapon contamination on production areas, and the growing impact of climate change are pushing thousands of beekeepers into precarity, significantly reducing production."

Saif knows it all too well.

"Last year in our village a missile struck a beekeeper's hives. He lost everything," he said.

"The war has had a very bad impact on us. The fighters have targeted many zones where bees are found," he added.

The ICRC's Bashir Omar said the conflict had limited the ability of beekeepers to freely roam the land whenever flowers were in bloom to collect the honey.

Landmines and active front lines are among the challenges they face.

"To make matters worse, Yemen, like many conflict-affected countries, is disproportionately affected by climate change," the ICRC report noted.

"Temperature rises in recent years, combined with severe alterations caused to the environment, are disturbing the bees' ecosystem which is impacting the pollination process," it said.

"With water tables falling and increased desertification, areas previously engaged in agricultural activities and beekeeping no longer sustain these livelihoods."

The ICRC is providing financial support and training this year to beekeepers, after a similar initiative in 2021 that helped nearly 4,000 of them.

Nabil al-Hakim, who sells Yemen's celebrated yellow nectar in Taiz shops, also recalled the golden days before the conflict ravaged his country.

"Before the war we could make a good living by selling honey... but honey has become rare and customers can no longer afford it," he said.

"Before, I used to sell up to 25 five-liter jars a month. Now I can't even sell one."



SpaceX Starship Explodes During Routine Test

Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS
Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS
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SpaceX Starship Explodes During Routine Test

Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS
Flames rise as a SpaceX rocket explodes in Brownsville, Texas, US, June 18, 2025, in this screengrab obtained from a social media video. TheRocketFuture via X/via REUTERS

One of Elon Musk's SpaceX Starships exploded during a routine test late Wednesday in Texas, law enforcement said, in the latest setback to the billionaire's dream of turning humanity into an interplanetary species.

The Starship 36 suffered "catastrophic failure and exploded" at the Starbase launch facility shortly after 11:00 pm (0400 GMT Thursday), a Facebook post by the Cameron County authorities said, according to AFP.

A video shared with the post showed the megarocket attached to the launch arm, and then a flash and a towering, fiery explosion.

Musk's Space X said the rocket was preparing for the tenth flight test when it "experienced a major anomaly while on a test stand at Starbase," without elaborating on the nature of the complication.

"A safety clear area around the site was maintained throughout the operation and all personnel are safe and accounted for," Space X added on social media.

"There are no hazards to residents in surrounding communities, and we ask that individuals do not attempt to approach the area while safing operations continue."

The Starship was not scheduled for launch on Wednesday evening when the explosion occurred during a "routine static fire test," according to the Cameron County authorities.

During a static fire, part of the procedures preceding a launch, the Starship's Super Heavy booster would be anchored to the ground to prevent it from lifting off during the test-firing.

Starbase on the south Texas coast, near the border with Mexico, is the headquarters for Musk's space project.

Standing 403 feet (123 meters) tall, Starship is the world's largest and most powerful rocket and central to Musk's long-term vision of colonizing Mars.

The Starship is billed as a fully reusable rocket with a payload capacity of up to 150 metric tons.

The latest setback follows an explosion of a prototype Starship over the Indian Ocean in late May.

The biggest and most powerful launch vehicle ever built had lifted off on May 27 from the Starbase facility, but the first-stage Super Heavy booster blew up instead of executing its planned splashdown in the Gulf of Mexico.

The previous two outings also ended poorly, with the upper stage disintegrating over the Caribbean.

But the failures will likely do little to dent Musk's spacefaring ambitions.

SpaceX has been betting that its "fail fast, learn fast" ethos, which has helped it dominate commercial spaceflight, will eventually pay off.

The company has caught the Super Heavy booster in the launch tower's giant robotic arms three times -- a daring engineering feat it sees as key to rapid reusability and slashing costs.

NASA is also increasingly reliant on SpaceX, whose Dragon spacecraft is vital for ferrying astronauts to and from the International Space Station.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in early May approved an increase in annual Starship rocket launches from five to 25, stating that the increased frequency would not adversely impact the environment.

The decision overruled objections from conservation groups who had warned the expansion could endanger sea turtles and shorebirds.