Latest news with #Sanaa
Straits Times
2 days ago
- Health
- Straits Times
WHO and NTU to create lab-based safety tests to replace animal testing for novel foods
WHO and NTU to create lab-based safety tests to replace animal testing for novel foods SINGAPORE – The World Health Organisation (WHO) has teamed up with Nanyang Technological University (NTU) to find new, faster ways to test for the safety of novel foods and reduce the use of animal testing. This includes placing human liver and intestinal tissues on a device to recreate how key organs will respond to newly developed foods like cell-based meats and microbe s . Once NTU has optimised the food safety methods, it will work with WHO to standardise these methods globally and help it establish a regulatory framework for future foods. Animals, such as mice, must be exposed to the food being tested over prolonged periods, and so they may need to be kept for one to two years, explained Dr Moez Sanaa, unit head of the Standards and Scientific Advice on Food and Nutrition at WHO. In addition to ethical concerns, animal testing is also costly and involves a long process which prolongs the food's approval, he added. Some experiment results may also be unreliable because animals are biologically different from humans. Dr Sanaa was speaking to the media on June 18 after WHO signed the three-year partnership with NTU's Future Ready Food Safety Hub – an alliance by the university, A*Star and the Singapore Food Agency (SFA). The signing took place at a workshop focused on the safety of future foods, held at Royal Plaza on Scotts. Without involving animals, the time taken to clear a food safety test can shrink to four months, down from three years, said NTU's Professor William Chen, director of the Future Ready Food Safety Hub. 'In contrast to the usual costs which can reach several million for animal assessments and tests, our system is expected to cost less than 10 per cent of that,' said Prof Chen. Singapore was the first country to approve the sale of cell-cultured chicken in 2020, under Californian firm Eat Just. Most novel foods such as cell-based chicken and fungi protein multiply in bioreactors – which are large vats in a lab. Although this way of producing food appears clean and shielded from disease and pollutants, this does not mean the final products are completely safe, he cautioned. For example, traces of toxic compounds could appear during the fermentation of mushrooms. The food safety process that both WHO and NTU want to optimise involve three steps, and they will be conducted at the hub's lab on campus. First, computer modelling and AI will be used to predict the safety of a food item or ingredient. Second, the food items will be run through a lab-based 'digestion system' that mimics the conditions of the mouth, stomach and small intestine, to find out how the food is broken down and digested. NTU's Future Ready Food Safety Hub growing mycelium in a bioreactor. PHOTO: NTU Thirdly, the digested components are run through a device containing intestinal and liver tissues, to mimic how the body processes food and detect potential adverse effects caused by an ingredient. The liver cells are important because the liver is the body's 'detoxification centre', filtering out toxins from the blood and processing nutrients. This third step is still in the works, said Prof Chen. If there is a need to do animal testing to validate the food safety, this can be done as the last step. Over the three years, NTU could also be appointed as a WHO collaborating centre on food safety and nutrition – which will further cement this partnership and the university's expertise in this field. A digestion system in NTU's Future Ready Food Safety Hub which mimics the conditions of the mouth, stomach and small intestine. PHOTO: NTU Singapore has more than 10 WHO collaborating centres in other domains, including health promotion and disease prevention, bioethics, digital health and health education. Speaking at the workshop on June 18, SFA chairman Lim Chuan Poh said: 'While conventional testing methods remain reliable, they are time-consuming and resource-intensive. We need new approaches that can keep pace with rapid innovation while maintaining rigorous safety standards.' Improving food safety methods can help to fix the regulatory bottleneck that is limiting the growth of the novel food industry globally, said Professor Hanry Yu from the NUS Mechanobiology Institute. Commenting on the new partnership, he said: 'If we have better gatekeepers, then we can have more confidence to let more safe and novel food enter the market.' Join ST's WhatsApp Channel and get the latest news and must-reads.
The National
3 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Houthis consider resuming strikes on US targets to back Iran
Yemen's Houthi rebels are considering resuming strikes on US targets in the Middle East and intensifying attacks on Israel in support of Iran, Yemeni security sources said on Sunday. The sources, based in Sanaa and Beirut, told The National that the group's leadership is considering the escalation in response to the US's apparent military support for Israel. "The Yemeni [Houthi] leadership may resort to escalating its confrontation against aggression in the region," said one of the sources. "There is information that Israeli aircraft are using US carriers in the northern Red Sea to launch attacks on Iran, and that refuelling is being conducted in the skies over northern Syria and northern Iraq." Another source said: "The Houthis are seeing the US again as a legitimate target now." Last month, US President Donald Trump said the Iran-backed Houthis 'capitulated' and that America would stop striking the rebels after they agreed to cease attacking ships in the Red Sea. Badr Al Busaidi, Oman's Foreign Minister, confirmed later that efforts to de-escalate the situation caused by the Hamas-led attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, had resulted in a ceasefire between the two sides. However, the recent Israeli offensive against Iran could prompt the rebels to resume attacks on US forces in solidarity with Tehran, which has come under Israeli fire since Friday and responded with missile strikes on Israel. Taking advantage On Sunday, the Yemeni rebels claimed to have launched missiles at Israel in co-ordination with Iran, in the first acknowledged military action in support of Tehran by one of its regional proxies since the start of Israeli attacks. The Houthis launched ballistic missiles at Tel Aviv in the previous 24 hours, the group's spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree said in an announcement reported by the rebel-aligned Saba news agency. The region is braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites killed several senior generals and nuclear scientists. Iran responded by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles at Iran, and neither side has shown any sign of backing down. The Houthis, along with Hezbollah in Lebanon, began launching drone and missile attacks on Israel after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Hezbollah was once considered Iran's first line of defence against Israeli attacks, but Israel's retaliatory strikes against the group last year killed its political and military leaders and largely destroyed its arsenal. Lebanese officials have urged Hezbollah not to respond to the Israeli attacks on Iran and the group has assured them it would not, security sources told The National on Saturday. Iran-backed groups in Iraq, who also launched attacks on Israel over the war in Gaza, have responded to the attacks on Iran by calling for the accelerated departure of US troops from the country, with the powerful Kataib Hezbollah warning of 'additional wars in the region'. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen in recent months. "It is not unlikely that Yemen's attacks will expand if Israel's escalating crimes against our people – including against Iran – are not stopped. Israel brings ruin to the entire region, without exception. Isn't it likely that Israel will target Iraq next?," said one of the sources close to thinking of the Houthi rebels. "It is only natural that the Yemenis take advantage of Israel being preoccupied with facing waves of Iranian strikes," added the source. "Applying pressure on the Israeli entity from multiple directions, fronts, and avenues, militarily, politically, and economically, helps deter the Israeli government and its crimes across the region."
Arab News
4 days ago
- General
- Arab News
Saudi project clears 1,317 mines in Yemen
RIYADH: Members of Saudi Arabia's Project Masam removed 1,317 explosive devices from various regions of Yemen last week. The total included 1,276 unexploded ordnances, 38 anti-tank mines and three improvised explosive devices, according to a recent report. Ousama Al-Gosaibi, the initiative's managing director, said that 500,000 mines have been cleared since the project began in 2018. The explosives were planted indiscriminately and posed a threat to civilians, including children, women and the elderly. The demining operations took place in Marib, Aden, Jouf, Shabwa, Taiz, Hodeidah, Lahij, Sanaa, Al-Bayda, Al-Dhale and Saada. The project trains local demining engineers and provides them with modern equipment. It also offers support to Yemenis injured by the devices. Teams are tasked with clearing villages, roads and schools to facilitate the safe movement of civilians and delivery of humanitarian aid.
The National
5 days ago
- Politics
- The National
Houthis weigh resuming strikes on US targets to back Iran
Yemen's Houthi rebels are considering resuming strikes on US targets in the Middle East and intensifying attacks on Israel in support of Iran, Yemeni security sources said on Sunday. The sources who are based in Sanaa and Beirut and familiar with Houthi plans, told The National that the group's leadership is weighing the escalation in response to the US's apparent military support for Israel. "The Yemeni [Houthi] leadership may resort to escalating its confrontation against aggression in the region," said one of the sources who spoke on condition of anonymity. "There is information that Israeli aircraft are using US carriers in the northern Red Sea to launch attacks on Iran, and that refuelling is being conducted in the skies over northern Syria and northern Iraq," added the source. "The Houthis are seeing the US again as a legitimate target now," explained another source. Last month, US President Donald Trump said Iran-backed Yemen's Houthis had 'capitulated' and that the US would stop attacking the Iran-backed rebels after they agreed to cease attacking ships in the Red Sea. Sayyid Badr Al Busaidi, the Omani Foreign Minister, confirmed later that efforts to de-escalate the situation caused by the Hamas October 7 attacks in 2023 against Israel, had resulted in a ceasefire between the two sides. However, the recent Israeli offensive against Iran could prompt the rebels to resume attacks on US forces in solidarity with Tehran, which has come under Israeli fire since Friday and responded with missile strikes on Israel. Taking advantage On Sunday, the Yemeni rebels claimed to have launched missiles at Israel in co-ordination with Iran, in the first acknowledged military action in support of Tehran by one of its regional proxies since the start of Israeli attacks. Houthi troops targeted Tel Aviv with several ballistic missiles in the previous 24 hours, the militia's military spokesman Brig Gen Yahya Saree said in an announcement reported by the rebel-aligned Saba news agency. The region is braced for a protracted conflict after Israel's surprise bombardment of Iran's nuclear and military sites killed several top generals and nuclear scientists. Iran responded by launching hundreds of ballistic missiles at Iran, and neither side has shown any sign of backing down. The Houthis, along with the Iran-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon, began launching drone and missile attacks on Israel after the start of the Gaza war in October 2023. Hezbollah was once considered Iran's first line of defence against Israeli attacks, but Israel's retaliatory strikes against the group last year killed its political and military leaders and largely destroyed its arsenal. Lebanese officials have urged Hezbollah not to respond to the Israeli attacks on Iran and the group has assured them it would not, security sources told The National on Saturday. Iran-backed groups in Iraq, who also launched attacks on Israel over the war in Gaza, have responded to the attacks on Iran by calling for the accelerated departure of US troops from the country, with the powerful Kataeb Hezbollah warning of 'additional wars in the region'. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes on Houthi-held areas in Yemen in recent months. "It is not unlikely that Yemen's attacks will expand if Israel's escalating crimes against our people – including against Iran – are not stopped. Israel brings ruin to the entire region, without exception. Isn't it likely that Israel will target Iraq next?," said one of the sources close to thinking of the Houthi rebels. "It is only natural that the Yemenis take advantage of Israel being preoccupied with facing waves of Iranian strikes," added the source. "Applying pressure on the Israeli entity from multiple directions, fronts, and avenues, militarily, politically, and economically, helps deter the Israeli government and its crimes across the region.
Al Bawaba
5 days ago
- Politics
- Al Bawaba
Israeli source: Houthi military leader was injured, fate is unknown yet
ALBAWABA - The Israeli army announced targeting a key ranking Houthi leader in an airstrike in Yemen on Saturday evening. Also Read Was Houthi leader Abdul-Malik al-Houthi killed in Israeli attack? On Sunday, an Israeli political source revealed that the Houthi chief of staff was injured in the assassination attempt, which was carried out on June 14, 2025, but his fate is unknown. Israel announced on Saturday that it had carried out a military operation targeting the Houthi Chief of Staff, Mohammed Abdul Karim al-Ghamari, in the capital, Sanaa. مصدر سياسي إسرائيلي: رئيس هيئة الأركان في جماعة الحوثي أصيب بمحاولة اغتياله لكن مصيره مجهول — سكاي نيوز عربية-عاجل (@SkyNewsArabia_B) June 15, 2025 Exclusive sources told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that an explosion rocked the Hadda area, south of Sanaa, targeting a number of military leaders of the Ansar Allah group. The sources said that the explosion occurred during a secret meeting of prominent military leaders, headed by al-Ghamari, noting that the Houthi group quickly imposed a tight security cordon around the explosion site, while keeping the details secret. It is worth noting that Al-Ghamari is the second most important figure in the Houthi group and one of its most prominent military leaders, having served as Chief of Staff since December 2016. Yesterday, Houthis also carried out airstrikes along with Iran against Israel.
