Archive: yemen

28th April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Heron bin Salem, a 22-year-old member of Yemen's tiny Jewish community, was approached by a police officer and four "security members" in Sana'a on Sunday.  According to the Yemen Observer, the officer informed him: "I do not like your look", referring to the ringlets worn by Yemeni Jews, and then… Read more
27th April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Yesterday's explosion in Yemen, which resulted in a British mannot being injured, is the subject of at least 124 news reportstoday. Yes, I know the man in question was an ambassador and his attacker probably from al-Qaeda, but the scale of the coverage reminds me of that famous (and possibly… Read more
23rd April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Twenty-four people from a single family died yesterday when a pick-up truck overturned in Marib province, Yemen. Traffic accidents in Yemen (population 23m+) cost around 3,000 lives a year, according to official figures. This is probably not far off the death rate in the recent Houthi war – the… Read more
22nd April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
In Yemen, President Salih has ordered the release of three journalists from Aden's oldest newspaper, al-Ayyam.  Al-Ayyam was one of six papers banned last May, allegedly for supporting "separatism" in the south of Yemen. The three journalists – Hani Hisham Bashraheel, Mohammed Hisham Bashraheel and… Read more
16th April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Demonstrators took to the streets of numerous cities throughout Yemen yesterday in what appears to have been the biggest nationwide protest for some years. Organised by the Joint Meeting Parties (the main opposition grouping), the demonstrations highlighted a host of grievances, including poverty,… Read more
15th April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Yemen's leading arms dealer, Fares Mana'a, has had his assets frozen by the UN Security Council and the US Treasury. Mana'a served for some time as head of the committee mediating between the Yemeni government and the Houthi rebels, while allegedly simultaneously supplying the rebels with weapons.… Read more
8th April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
A 12-year-old girl bled to death in Yemen as a result of sexual intercourse, three days after her wedding to a man in his twenties, Gulf News reports. Elham Mahdi Shuee died at the hospital in Hajja. The Sisters Forum for Human Rights, an organisation which campaigns against child marriage, said… Read more
6th April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
According to reports circulating yesterday the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have "temporarily" decamped from Yemen and re-established their military base across the sea in Somalia. If true, this is a major development. The Yemen Post, Sahwa.net, the Saudi Gazette and UPI give… Read more
2nd April 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
There was a good deal of excitement in Yemen yesterday when a grenade went off at a police station in the southern city of Dali (Dhale'a) and – depending on whose accounts you choose to believe – up to 40 recently-arrested separatists did or didn'tescape. Gregory Johnsen, writing for the Waq al-Waq… Read more
28th March 2010
By: Brian Whitaker
Twelve-year-old Sally al-Sahabi was granted a divorce from her 26-year-old husband by a Yemeni court yesterday. The decision is seen as a boost for campaigners against child marriage – an issue on which the Yemeni parliament is expected to vote shortly. There is currently no law in Yemen protecting… Read more