SANAA, 30 Jul -- Director of the state official Saba news agency Naser Taha Mustaffa said in an interview with the Egyptian October newspaper published on Friday the picture of what is happening in Yemen as depicted in the foreign press is murky and blamed “meager capabilities and lack of expertise,” for the failure of the official press to clarify the picture.  He described press freedom in Yemen as fairly free and on the government closure of opposition newspapers and websites, he said “this is normal and happens based on judicial orders,” and lamented the status of Arab media saying “we need more freedom in general and to be bolder and we as members of the official press ought to criticize government policies that hurt the man in the street,” and lambasted al-Jazeera TV “for criticizing the Yemeni government while keeping quiet about other Arab countries where press freedom is non-existent.”

SANAA, 13 Jul -- The government is planning to increase the price of gasoline by 30 percent and diesel fuel by 25 percent, Marib Press news website said.  Economists have urged the government not to cave in to international pressures to cut fuel subsidies saying the Yemeni economy “is suffering from structural flaws seen in the 14.2 percent decline of investment spending compared with general spending,” adding “Yemen’s ability to absorb donations, aid and foreign loans is weak amid an employment rate of 35.9 percent in urban areas and 40.0 percent in rural areas.”  Local economists say “non-oil sectors grew by only 1.39 percent as GDP growth dropped by 2.93 percent in 2007,” and emphasized the importance of non-oil sector growth, adding “tax revenues on commodities and services dropped by 2.7 percent because the sales tax law was not fully enforced.”

SADAA, 09 Jul -- A statement posted by the Shiite rebels on their website Friday accused the government of gearing up for war saying “the new military buildup in Sadaa clearly reflects the aggressive intents of the regime and the arrival of military backup is a message of aggression not peace.”  Tanks, armored vehicles and hundreds of soldiers from battalion-25 have arrived in Sadaa coming from Sanaa and the statement said “we want peace but this military mobilization compels everyone to think about the future and the likelihood of a new round of war,” adding “the regime cannot obtain any results from the use of force ... we need to create an atmosphere of trust between us and the regime needs to demonstrate its desire for peace.  Sadaa is in dire and urgent need for reconstruction, food, medicine, supplies, health care, education and development.  Sadaa has just recently came out of six crushing rounds of wars and need to be allowed to breath and for the implications of war to be resolved.”

ABYAN, 03 July -- Gunmen in a motorcycle Thursday shot dead intelligence officer Col. Saleh Amtheeb in the southern city of Zinjubar, al-Masder Online said.  The official is reported to have worked on al-Qaeda and secessionist issues and a security source in the area said “the operation carries the hallmark of al-Qaeda and it is similar to the assassination of intelligence officer, Jalal al-Othmani early June,” adding “the gunmen approached Amtheeb while he was chewing Qat outside the post office in the city and fired three bullets killing him on the spot.”

SANAA, 01 June -- Al-Qaeda in Yemen has launched a worldwide appeal for cash to finance training camps and high tech strikes “deep inside enemy territory.”  Leaders of al-Qaeda wing known as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) have posted messages on Jihadist websites urging Muslims to make contributions and disguise donations as charity gifts.  They vowed to strike American and British forces but focused on British companies in the Middle East as “priority targets for suicide and other types of attacks.”  They said “much work is waiting to be done on many fronts before being able to carry out high-tech strikes.”  Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abu-Baker al-Qirbi Monday said Yemen may review its methods used in fighting terror militants after an airstrike directed at al-Qaeda operatives in Marib missed its mark and killed the chief mediator, Jaber al-Shabwani.  His death promoted clashes between his kinsmen and government forces and al-Qirbi said “if a plane was behind the strike, then we need to find out whether it was used by the Yemeni security forces or by others,” adding “we don’t know how the incident happened and we have to wait for the results of the inquiry.”  Asked about what action would the government take in response to the findings of the ongoing investigation, he said “there can be prosecutions or decisions made by the political security.”

ANAA, 11 May -- In a statement posted on its media center, the ministry of interior Tuesday accused the Shiite rebels in north Yemen of abducting four soldiers.  “The Houthi rebels abducted four soldiers on Monday as they were travelling in their vehicle along the main road in Zahar area in al-Jawf,” the ministry’s statement said, adding “the rebels forced the car to stop at gunpoint and abducted the soldiers who were in their way to Sadaa province to rejoin their brigade.”  The statement demanded the immediate release of the hostages adding “this abduction comes in the context of an escalation by the elements of rebellion in al-Jawf in their attempt to hinder efforts to implement the truce.”  In other news, the rebels continued on Tuesday occupying schools and preventing teachers from entering and intensified their efforts to recruit school-age boys to fight for their cause.  Meanwhile, in a statement posted on their website on Tuesday, the Shiite rebels in north Yemen condemned what they said “the assault of Prime Minister Ali Mohammed Mojour on their group and on the opposition alliance, the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP),” adding “such assault is inappropriate,” and declared their “full support of the JMP.”  “The government’s resentment of the agreement we signed with the JMP shows its insincerity when it invited us to join the political process,” said the statement, adding “we reserve the absolute right to enter into any political alliances with any party,” and “the government considered the agreement as illegal and unconstitutional and this exposes its rashness in spreading false accusations that fueled six crushing wars over the past six years.”  The statement urged the government to “act responsibly because the country’s security and economic situation can longer bear more adventures that produce internal wars especially that a large portion of the population is suffering poverty, famine and unemployment.”  In other news, the fighting between the rebels and pro-government tribesmen in Majez in Dahian region stopped on Tuesday after mediators secured a settlement.

SANAA, 04 May -- Grand Sheik of al-Awalik tribes in Yemen, Farid Abu-Baker al-Awlaki Tuesday told the Saudi-owned Akhad newspaper that the leaders of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) in Yemen “exit in the part located between al-Dafina, Lawder and al-Beida,” adding “they are lurking in remote hideouts.”  He described US-Yemeni cleric Anwar al-Awalki as a “mercenary and an agent for suspicious entities and intelligence agencies that want no good for the stability or the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,” adding “they won’t be able to affect the leading and effective role of the Kingdom for God is guarding it.”  He said Anwar al-Awalki “has had ties to al-Qaeda for years and enjoys regional ties that fund his activities in the region,” and called on the government of Yemen to “root out this group of terrorists, and preserve the country.”  The total number of al-Awalik tribesmen is estimated at more than 400 thousand and he said “his tribes have condemned the behavior of Anwar and his link to al-Qaeda,” adding “AQAP and the rebels are one and the same and both seek to smash the nation’s unity.”

SANAA, 11 March -- Former secretary general of the cabinet and economist, Dr. Muhammad al-Sabri Thursday told the Saudi Aylaf website that “Yemen is turning around itself and as much as we advance, we go backward,” adding “while there is political and social progress, there are wars that destroy everything and there is a movement in the south that instigate chaos and security problems and there is also political intrigue between the opposition and the ruling party.”

Jeffrey Feltman SANAA, 02 March -- President Ali Abdullah Saleh Tuesday met with the US Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman who conveyed a letter from President Obama, the state official Saba news agency reported.  In the letter, Obama expressed his administration’s keenness to raise aid to boost Yemen’s anti-terrorism capability and renewed the US strong support of Yemen’s unity as a key factor for a successful Yemen and the security and stability in the region, the agency said, adding Feltman hailed Yemen’s efforts in combating terrorism and praised President Saleh’s decision to stop military operations in Sadaa.  President Saleh discussed with Feltman aspects of bilateral cooperations and praised the development in relations with the United States.  The meeting was attended by Saleh’s senior political advisor, Abdul-Karim al-Iryani, Yemen’s ambassador in Washington, Abdul-Wahab al-Hajeri and US ambassador in Yemen, Steven Seche.

Boys scavenging garabage in Hodeida CAIRO, 21 Dec -- A report published by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Monday said 140 million Arabs live below the poverty line, adding “there has been no decrease in the rates of poverty in the Arab region over the past 20 years.”  The report titled “Development Challenges for the Arab Region: A Human Development Approach” said youth unemployment was the highest in the world in Arab countries, urging oil-rich Arab states to allocate more money for creating jobs and boosting food security among other poorer Arab neighbors, adding “though rich in labour and fertile land, much of the Arab world is plagued by malnutrition, joblessness and a big gap between rich and poor.”

SADAA, 15 Dec -- In a statement posted on the rebels website, rebel group field commander, Abdul-Malik al-Houthi Tuesday said 120 captives were killed and 44 others wounded when an American aircraft bombed a centre where the captives were being held.

Saudi soldiers SADAA, 04 Dec -- Saudi border security Thursday arrested two Somali nationals and found in their possession “a Kalashinkov, 700 bullets and a wireless communication device,” the Riyadh-based al-Watan daily said, adding “investigations verified the two Somali men had earlier joined the infiltrators and tried to carry out some sabotage operations along the border.”  Meanwhile, the rebels said in a statement on their website they destroyed “three Saudi tanks during clashes on Thursday,” adding “Saudi air bombardment has waned down which is a preclude for a Saudi ground offensive against the Yemeni region of al-Malahid.”  Last week the Houthi rebels claimed they had stopped a three-pronged Saudi incursion into Yemen, destroying Saudi aircraft and tanks and claimed they repelled a Saudi ground invasion last Tuesday.  They also repeated their claims they seized large cache of Saudi firearms and ammunition and that Saudi jets dropped banned phosphorus bombs on their villages.

YSP chief, Dr. Yassin Noman speaking during a seminar SANAA, 24 Oct -- Secretary General of Yemen’s Socialist Party (YSP), Dr. Yassin Saed Noman Saturday accused the regime of plans to marginalize his party in south Yemen.