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Posted on Fri, Aug. 12, 2005
FIFA suspends Yemen soccer association

Associated Press

ZURICH, Switzerland - FIFA on Friday suspended Yemen's soccer association because of interference by the country's political authorities.

The suspension takes effect immediately and includes all matches involving Yemen's national and club sides playing abroad, as well as matches involving foreign teams played in the country.

"On several occasions both FIFA and the Asian Football Confederation had warned the Yemeni Ministry of Youth and Sport that it needed to respect FIFA's principles of independence, democracy and due process for its member associations," FIFA said in a statement.

But "the government chose a path of persistent disrespect of these principles," world soccer's governing body added. "Blatant governmental interference in local football affairs in contravention of FIFA principles cannot be accepted."

FIFA has also suspended financial assistance and the Yemeni association will be unable to vote at international soccer meetings.

Iraqi Cabinet Rejects Move to End Subsidies Yemen's Fatal Riots Invoked in Decision

A proposal by the Iraqi finance minister to reduce the enormous fuel and food subsidies that consume roughly a third of the government's budget and largely crush economic growth has been rejected by the cabinet after a recent similar move in Yemen set off fatal riots there.

The subsidies, which artificially produce some of the lowest gasoline and heating fuel prices in the world and finance free basic foodstuffs, have been singled out by financial institutions inside and outside Iraq as a crippling burden when the country is trying to create a free-market economy as it grapples with insurgent violence and sabotage of its oil and electricity infrastructure.

"They've reached the point where they've become insane," the finance minister, Ali Abdulameer Allawi, said of the subsidies just before he presented the plan to the cabinet in late July. "They distort the economy in a grotesque way and create the worst incentives you can think of."

Without sufficient investment Yemeni coffee was unable to compete with the prices set by large international companies. Farmers began to abandon coffee as a crop, turning to qat and fruit production.

A further factor in the demise of Yemeni coffee production was the crippling taxes levied by the Imamate that could reach a tenth of the harvest. Invasions and conflict between the Imam and tribal leaders led the Imam to send his army to coffee producing regions where they uprooted the trees.

A decrease in rainfall and water shortages further damaged the coffee plantations, as have pests and plant diseases. Qat production has now increased to cover 70% of the land on which coffee was once cultivated.

`There were no casualties. The cause of the explosion is being investigated,` the official told Reuters.
Reuters illustrative photo An apparent mortar attack smashed windows at a complex housing Americans and other Westerners in the Yemeni capital Sanaa on Sunday, but there were no casualties, a Yemeni security official said.
"There were three blasts believed to have been caused by mortar shells. There is broken glass, but no casualties," the official told Reuters, adding that the unknown attackers escaped.
Residents said earlier they saw police arriving outside the high-security area in the southwest of the capital of the poor Arab state, which has been the scene of frequent attacks by Islamic militants, disgruntled tribesmen and Shi'ite rebels.
An al Qaeda-linked group claimed responsibility for a failed mortar attack on the U.S. embassy in Yemen last month that wounded girls at a nearby school and a group of soldiers.
The U.S. State Department offered free flights out of Yemen to non-essential diplomats and family members after the attack.
The group had earlier claimed responsibility for deadly attacks on Spanish and Belgian tourists in the Arabian Peninsula country.
Yemen, the ancestral home of al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, is viewed in the West as a haven for Islamic militants, dozens of whom are jailed for involvement in bombings of Western targets and clashes with authorities.
The oil-producing country joined U.S.-led efforts to fight terrorism after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on U.S. cities and has itself witnessed a number of attacks targeting foreign tourists, oil installations, and U.S. and French ships.
Yemen is one of the world's poorest outside Africa, and a 2007 World Bank report noted domestic production of crude oil had declined steadily since 2001. Poverty and unemployment are fuelling discontent in parts of the country.

Rockets Fired At Foreigners' Complex In Yemen - AFP
DOW JONES NEWSWIRES April 6, 2008 3:03 p.m.
(Updates with new information about attack, other details)
SAN'A, Yemen (AFP)--Three rockets were fired late Sunday at villas in Yemen's capital that house U.S. oil experts, next to a residential complex where other Westerners live, residents said.
A security source confirmed the incident but gave few details.
Residents told AFP that the rockets landed near the villas where American oil experts from the former Hunt Oil firm, now called Safer and owned by Yemen, live.
It wasn't immediately known if there were any casualties.
The villas are behind a residential compound in the Al-Hadda neighborhood of southwestern San'a. Foreigners, including Westerners and Arabs, live in the compound, which also houses the offices of Safer oil company.
Police cordoned off the area, residents said. They also closed off roads leading to the U.S. embassy in the northwestern sector of San'a.
A security source told the September 26 weekly mouthpiece of the defense ministry that three rockets had been fired at a building housing Yemenis and foreigners, shattering glass.
He didn't give further details.
Suspected al-Qaida militants have carried out several attacks in Yemen in recent years.

U.S. Embassy in Yemen urges caution after rocket attack

SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- The U.S. Embassy in Yemen is urging Americans to exercise caution after an attack on a housing complex for foreigners in the capital.

An embassy statement says "three explosive rounds" hit the Haddah compound around 8 p.m. Sunday. There were no reports of injuries, it said.

Yemeni security officials say the complex was used by foreign companies in Sanaa. It's in an upscale neighborhood that houses Western diplomats, including Americans, they said.

The U.S. Embassy says it's advising "all U.S. citizens to exercise caution in this area of city."

DantesPeak wrote:Yemen is one of the world's poorest outside Africa, and a 2007 World Bank report noted domestic production of crude oil had declined steadily since 2001. Poverty and unemployment are fuelling discontent in parts of the country.