You will be pleased to hear that even if Yemen is on the brink of 
turning into a failed state, its banking sector is in fine fettle and unaffected by the global financial crisis.

The central bank’s governor, Ahmad al-Samawi, delivered the good news on Saturday and also “reviewed developments witnessed by the Yemeni banking sector which reflect vitality of the Yemeni economy”. At least, that’s what Saba, the official government news agency says.

Other developments in Yemen:

• The first case in Yemen’s new court specially set up to try journalists has resulted in a victory for al-Nida newspaper which had been accused of defaming the Ministry of Endowments in a report about corruption.

• The row about the French-led investigaton into the Yemenia Airbus crash (here ) seems to be calming down. To allay suspicions, the two black boxes from the aircraft will be picked up by a Cypriot ship and examined in France with Yemenis and Comorians in attendance.

Posted by Brian Whitaker, 3 August 2009