Residents of Yemen's southern city of Aden are complaining of frequent internet outages at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has forced a shift to online work.
The city regularly experiences disruptions in internet access, which has been used as bargaining chip between the internationally recognised government that controls southern Yemen and the Houthi rebels who hold much of the north. The problem of outages and slow speeds is compounded by frequent electricity cuts after clashes for control of the city in 2015 affected power services.
Internet users experienced outages again on Friday and Saturday from both the city's providers, Aden Net and Yemen Net.
“I was really frustrated, I kept going from one room in the house to another trying to find a connection because I didn’t realise that the network was cut off all over Aden," said Fatima Mohammed, 24, a journalist at a news website in Aden.
She sent an SMS asking a colleague to cover her shift, but they were facing the same problem.
“As news editor the internet is a backbone for me. In my case, no internet means no work, no work means no salary. How are we going to work if such troubles continue at time the whole world works online as the Covid-19 threat continues?” she said.
A representative of Aden Net attributed the weekend outages to repairs on the company's transmission towers. However, a telecoms engineer, speaking on condition of anonymity, told The National that the company had not yet set up enough towers to handle the rapid growth in subscribers since its launch, causing the network to become overloaded.
Officials at Yemen Net, a division the country's main telecoms provider TeleYemen, declined to comment when The National visited their office on Sunday.
Omar Sheikh, 33, an executive at an advertising, marketing and film production company, said the outage completely disrupted business.
“In the last couple of days we weren’t able to open our office for our clients because we weren’t able to meet their requests without the internet," he said.
"Producing any film for any advertisement requires a network with high speed, so our ordeal begins when the internet slows down and gets worse when the internet cuts off."
Basam Al Qadhi, chairman of the Humanitarian Journalism Foundation, a nonprofit that provides free training workshops for Yemeni journalists, said he knew well how costly outages could be.
“I missed many opportunities because of the internet," he said, including participation in an international event some months ago.
"I couldn’t send some attachments required for registration because the internet was very terrible due to cable outages that time," he recalled.
“The spread of the pandemic has worsened the situation for us because we were forced to shift most of the trainings we provide to online sessions.”
According to a 2019 report by Keep It On, an organisation fighting internet shutdowns worldwide, Yemen accounted for the majority of internet shutdowns in the Middle East region.
The country was almost completely cut off from the worldwide web for weeks after a vessel accidentally severed two undersea telecoms cables in the Red Sea in January. TeleYemen said in mid February that 70 per cent of the internet connection has been restored after initial repairs.
FIXTURES
Monday, January 28
Iran v Japan, Hazza bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Tuesday, January 29
UAEv Qatar, Mohamed Bin Zayed Stadium (6pm)
Friday, February 1
Final, Zayed Sports City Stadium (6pm)
A lesson in simple, seasonal eating. Wedges of tomato, chunks of cucumber, thinly sliced red onion, coriander or parsley leaves, and perhaps some fresh dill are drizzled with a crushed walnut and garlic dressing. Do consider yourself warned: if you eat this salad in Georgia during the summer months, the tomatoes will be so ripe and flavourful that every tomato you eat from that day forth will taste lacklustre in comparison.
Badrijani nigvzit
A delicious vegetarian snack or starter. It consists of thinly sliced, fried then cooled aubergine smothered with a thick and creamy walnut sauce and folded or rolled. Take note, even though it seems like you should be able to pick these morsels up with your hands, they’re not as durable as they look. A knife and fork is the way to go.
Pkhali
This healthy little dish (a nice antidote to the khachapuri) is usually made with steamed then chopped cabbage, spinach, beetroot or green beans, combined with walnuts, garlic and herbs to make a vegetable pâté or paste. The mix is then often formed into rounds, chilled in the fridge and topped with pomegranate seeds before being served.
Fraudsters send an unsolicited email that appears to be from a financial institution or online retailer. The hoax email requests that you provide sensitive information, often by clicking on to a link leading to a fake website.
2) Smishing
The SMS equivalent of phishing. Fraudsters falsify the telephone number through “text spoofing,” so that it appears to be a genuine text from the bank.
3) Vishing
The telephone equivalent of phishing and smishing. Fraudsters may pose as bank staff, police or government officials. They may persuade the consumer to transfer money or divulge personal information.
4) SIM swap
Fraudsters duplicate the SIM of your mobile number without your knowledge or authorisation, allowing them to conduct financial transactions with your bank.
5) Identity theft
Someone illegally obtains your confidential information, through various ways, such as theft of your wallet, bank and utility bill statements, computer intrusion and social networks.
6) Prize scams
Fraudsters claiming to be authorised representatives from well-known organisations (such as Etisalat, du, Dubai Shopping Festival, Expo2020, Lulu Hypermarket etc) contact victims to tell them they have won a cash prize and request them to share confidential banking details to transfer the prize money.
Second Test: July 14-18, Trent Bridge, Nottingham, 2pm
Third Test: The Oval, London, July 27-31, 2pm
Fourth Test: Old Trafford, Manchester, August 4-8
The bio
Favourite book: Peter Rabbit. I used to read it to my three children and still read it myself. If I am feeling down it brings back good memories.
Best thing about your job: Getting to help people. My mum always told me never to pass up an opportunity to do a good deed.
Best part of life in the UAE: The weather. The constant sunshine is amazing and there is always something to do, you have so many options when it comes to how to spend your day.
Favourite holiday destination: Malaysia. I went there for my honeymoon and ended up volunteering to teach local children for a few hours each day. It is such a special place and I plan to retire there one day.
Brief scores:
Scotland 371-5, 50 overs (C MacLeod 140 no, K Coetzer 58, G Munsey 55)
England 365 all out, 48.5 overs (J Bairstow 105, A Hales 52; M Watt 3-55)
Result: Scotland won by six runs
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
UK Innovator Founder Visa is aimed at those who can demonstrate relevant experience in business and sufficient investment funds to set up and scale up a new business in the UK. It offers permanent residence after three years.
Germany Investing or establishing a business in Germany offers you a residence permit, which eventually leads to citizenship. The investment must meet an economic need and you have to have lived in Germany for five years to become a citizen.
Italy The scheme is designed for foreign investors committed to making a significant contribution to the economy. Requires a minimum investment of €250,000 which can rise to €2 million.
Switzerland Residence Programme offers residence to applicants and their families through economic contributions. The applicant must agree to pay an annual lump sum in tax.
Canada Start-Up Visa Programme allows foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to create a business in Canada and apply for permanent residence.
