DUBAI: Yemen’s government called on European countries to ban auctions involved in the selling of Yemeni antiquities in several European cities. Commercial agencies in Europe have been selling Yemeni artifacts via different channels, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement published by the Yemeni News Agency (Saba) on Thursday. The ministry urged European countries to prevent such activities from happening and return the pieces to the Yemeni authorities. The Yemeni government, the statement said, is against the selling of antiquities as it is an integral part of Yemen’s “ancient civilization and glorious history.”