There was a boost for the region’s museum culture from an unusual source, with the competion of building work as an important initial step taken to reopen the National Museum in Taiz. A museum since 1967 – and previously the residence of Imam Ahmed Hamid Al-Din – the historic building was shelled by Houthi rebels in 2016. Finance has been secured for the restoration work from the British Council’s Culural Protection Fund (£100,00 – $131,040), the World Monument Fund (WMF) and an unidentified private donor.