LONDON: Britain became the latest nation to formally outlaw the herbal stimulant khat, the bushy leaf chewed by many Somalis, Yemenis, Kenyans and Ethiopians. Under a new law that came into effect yesterday, khat is now a “class C drug”, making possession punishable by up to two years in jail and supply and production punishable by up to 14 years. Khat is the leaves and shoots of the shrub Catha edulis, which are chewed to obtain a mild stimulant effect. British Prime Minister David Cameron said in an article for the Somali website Hiraan Online that the move would protect “vulnerable members of society.” “What is most concerning is khat’s social impact,” he wrote, adding that it had been blamed for “family breakdown, unemployment, debt and crime links to the global illicit drugs trade”. Britain was also becoming the “khat smuggling capital of Europe”, after most of the continent plus the US and Canada banned the drug, said Cameron. Around 2,560 tonnes of khat worth £13.8m ($23.4m) was imported to the United Kingdom in 2011-12, bringing in £2.8m of tax revenues. Khat, also called miraa, has been chewed for centuries in the Horn of Africa. Its psychoactive ingredients — cathinone and cathine — are similar to amphetamines but weaker, and can help chewers stay awake and talkative.
Chikungunya virus spreads to Peru
LIMA: Peru yesterday reported its first cases of the chikungunya virus, in two people who recently travelled to the Dominican Republic. Health ministry director Henry Rebaza said the man and woman who were diagnosed in Lima had recently traveled to the Dominican Republic, a popular Caribbean vacation spot where the virus has been detected. Rebaza said the couple have been isolated and so far are the only ones known to have been infected, and then diagnosed in Peru. The virus — rarely fatal, but nevertheless serious — sparks high fevers and severe joint aches, as well as headaches, nausea and extreme fatigue. It has spread across the Caribbean, to Central America and now South America. In the Caribbean, 16 countries have seen cases since the beginning of June, according to Cuba’s state-run newspaper Granma, and the World Health Organisation counts 4,500 confirmed cases since the virus first appeared in December 2013. The chikungunya virus is carried by mosquitoes — most commonly the Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus, which are also responsible for dengue fever. There is no vaccine or treatment for chikungunya, which has infected millions of people in Africa and Asia since the disease was first recorded in 1952. Agencies
