On February 16, Yemen Post will launch two of its many upcoming surprises to the Yemeni Media.The first, will be its top of the art new design for the Yemen Post Newspaper. The new design will not only compete with local newspapers, but with the top international newspapers in content, structure, and design as well.

 

Even though 2009 is only one month old, this year already seems to show that Al-Qaeda will have a strong presence in the country, especially after the new alliance with Al-Qaeda members in Saudi Arabia.

 

Over the last six months opposition parties represented in the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) have been as fierce as ever against the ruling party, after many years of fake opposition.

 

President Saleh made history this week by not attending the Arab Summit after being the first Arab leader to call for it. The way he made history is because no Arab leader has ever declined to attend a summit after openly calling for one.

 

This week Israel claimed that Yemen was sending Chinese weapons to Palestine to help Palestinians fight the Israelis

 

President Saleh announced earlier this week that each Jewish family living in Amran governorate will be moved to Sana’a at the expense of the government. That’s not all, each family will also be given property and a house under their names.

 

What the world is watching today, and has been watching since Saturday is a live example of a country killing hundreds for the sake of killing.

 

The last two weeks saw a big turnaround in my personal tourism experience. Two weeks ago we were experiencing the beautiful tourism festivities held in Izmir, Turkey, which were organized here in Yemen by Universal.

 

As Muslims were celebrating the Eid Al-Adha holiday last weekend, Jewish minorities in Yemen were mourning a dead son, when Moshe bin Ya’aish was brutally killed in his hometown of Raydah.

 

What we saw this week in the opposition protests was the beginning or what political observers feel will be the beginning of the new Yemen.

 

A recent study on the war effect on Sa'ada children revealed that the majority of children still suffer from the effects of war, even though it ended three months ago. One would ask why children suffer now while peace is in their region.

 

Over the years, numerous rumors from inside the ruling party came out to the open that strong differences exist between high ranking members of the ruling party.

 

With the parliamentary elections less than six month away, and both sides, (ruling party and opposition), still as far apart as anyone could imagine, Shiekh Hamid Al-Ahmar decided to add more pain to the already existent wound between both sides.

 

Last year on November 3rd, the Yemen Post published its first issue, bringing a new face to the Yemeni press. Throughout the ups and downs during the year, nothing other than marvelous could be said to what the Post accomplished.

 

Yemen witnessed this week the strongest rainstorms in more than a decade. No one expected it to be so big and widespread, as rain fell on nearly 70 percent of the country.

 

This week I attended a conference in Washington DC, and what I saw made me really understand how far back Yemen is, and how long it would take the country to reach a small percentage of what other countries have already reached.

 

The last three weeks have by far seen the most tragic deaths for Somali refugees coming to Yemen.  Dying in different ways, it was most shocking for me to hear that 52 Somalis, who were trying to come to Yemen, were all found dead on the boat that was taking them.

 

Last month in my editorial, I stressed that President Saleh was desperately trying to end all his problems with the different sides. He started with the Sa’ada peace treaty, which everyone believes the country lost a lot in the negotiations.

 

For most of us who live in Yemen, you would know that one of the quietist time of the day is when people break their fast as streets become empty and silence covers the country for at least 30 minutes.

 

During this blessed month of Ramadhan, we as Muslims strive to get closer to god and repent from previous sins, as we see this month as the month of forgiveness and mercy. Ramadhan is also known as the month helping, sacrificing, worship, and last but not least the month of giving.

 

As all of us might already know, Ramadhan is a time were people tend to follow a quiet way of life, whether in their professional, business, or even personal lives. This could be considered by many as a positive aspect, whereas in reality it is negative in many different ways.

 

For those who have been following the ongoing negotiations between the ruling party and the opposition Joint Meeting Parties (JMP), you'll understand that the opposition was only threatening to boycott the next parliamentary elections, which are due to be held early next year.

 

Attack after attack, by Al-Qaeda over the last five months, has given President Saleh a new issue to worry about, especially after he thought that making peace with Houthi loyalists would make his life easier.

 

This week, I visited a number of countries including Azerbaijan. Over the past five years, I have believed that Yemen is one the most corrupt countries in the world and international studies prove that case.

 

Friday morning a strong car bomb exploded in front of a governmental security complex killing and injured nearly 20 citizens, among them six women.

 

A couple of days ago, President Saleh announced the unexpected. He announced the end of the Sa’ada civil war. Politicians, intellectuals, and locals were all surprised to hear the news and most Yemeni citizens felt relieved.

 

I met earlier this week with the lawyer of over a dozen Yemenis detained in Guantanamo and was sad to hear from him that after long discussions with Yemeni officials, Yemen still refuses to accept the detainees that are being held in Guantanamo on the excuse that the conditions set by the U.S. government are not realistic.

 

According to government sources, a Houthi suicide bomber exploded himself inside a governmental compound last Saturday killing four innocent citizens.

 

Since last month, over 500 soldiers have been surrounded in Marran Mountains, Sa'ada by Houthi loyalists. The soldiers surrounded,  completed most of its food and water this week and face dying from hunger, while the government finally announced that it will send help with new leadership to break the siege and rescue its forces before they die.

 

n my opinion, this week will be remembered for a long time for one reason. The Minister of Interior, Mutahar Rashad Al-Masri started a nationwide campaign to close down all weapon shops throughout the country.

 

Where in the world can nearly twenty people be killed or injured in only two hours without a civil war, mafia related, terrorist attack, or a drug related crimes.

 

After a long stay in Turkey this week, and seeing the changes that a liberal government can do to a country, I asked myself one thing, can a complete liberal system work in a country like Yemen?

 

This week Yemen is celebrating its 18th anniversary for the unification of the North and South, even though problems and calls to damage the unity is in the air.

 

Just weeks after the country was shocked to hear about Nujood, the 8-year-old bride, who demanded the court to divorce her from her husband, today comes a much shameful case, as Arwa, a 7-year-old girl got married to a 35-year-old man in Ibb governorate.

 

The world witnessed a 40 percent decrease in the price of wheat, as poor people around the globe got some breathing room, and a chance to improve their living standard.

 

Throughout this week, huge and long lines of citizens waiting in front of gas stations hoping to fill up their vehicle quickly were seen, as the country faces one of its strongest diesel droughts in years.

 

For many reasons ranging from weak security in its waters to its geographical position, Yemen has turned into a hub for drugs coming from southeast Asia on its way to enter other Arab countries in the region, and even to Europe and Africa.

 

Charity organizations claiming to work for the benefit of the poor have also witnessed holes in their  work, making us believe that corruption could also be witnessed in such fields.

 

Not new to the Arab world, this year’s Arab Summit did not come out with anything new. For most observers who watched the summit, it was a complete shame on behalf of all Arab leaders.

 

This week has by far seen the most attacks and oppression against journalism, as media rights have seen strong setbacks so far in 2008.

 

A couple of days ago, journalists were asked to attend a protest. I accompanied them and went early, as I witnessed something that was a shame to our country, which calls its self free and democratic.

 

President Saleh finally spoke out. He indirectly threatened South movements who are asking for the two state solutions. Soon after he finished, he then started his attack on the opposition calling them not qualified as they might lead Yemen to be the next Somalia or Iraq.

 

Sadly, hundreds of innocent citizens have died or have been injured in Gaza over the last week. I will not talk about who is right and who is wrong, but what I want to focus on is the reason for the attack on Gaza.

 

During the previous presidential elections, President Saleh promised people that prices will not increase, and will improve the country's financial situation. He promised that Yemen will be free from poverty in 2008. However, since then prices of basic foods and necessities have increased at a rate between 50 to 350 percent.

 

Once again Denmark takes international criticism for reprinting the cartoons that picture Prophet Mohammed (Peace be upon him) as a terrorist and with inhumane characters. It's sad to see that people still try to hurt others by publishing such pictures.

 

Earlier this week, I met with a governmental official who was not happy with the way citizens in Yemen complain about the sudden price hikes and those who claim that life style in Yemen is very expensive. He started attacking citizens who went to the street and demanding change, as he called them, “People who have too much free time”.

 

The grenade attack that killed and injured nearly thirty near Sana'a University this week  is a strong reason why the government should play a bigger role in banning weapons in major cities. Students were just passing by not knowing what was ahead of them, when suddenly the explosion caused fear for students who were even walking a mile away.

 

Throughout most major cities in Yemen, gas stations have stopped selling diesel to customers, hoping to sell it for more in a week span when prices rise 50 percent. Even in the capital Sana'a, only one gas station sold diesel while others stopped. Al-Tawfik gas station saw lines of over 100 cars waiting to fill up their vehicle.

 

Over the last three months, strong tension has been witnessed when the Ruling Party and the Joint Meeting Parties (JMP) express their opinions of one another. Each side tries to reveal the bad of the other, while forgetting the main goal, which is to serve to the best interest of Yemen.

 

For over three years, the Yemeni government has been very careful in avoiding any hand contact with protesters and demonstrators. This was seen as a human rights success and a matter in which all Yemeni's were proud of.