16 year old Hosea Walker was said to have been killed on the 8th of this month in a tragic accident. One of his friends, pulled the trigger of the gun which he was cleaning, causing the death of Hosea. Although all reports so far confirm this, Brits in the UK are still suspicious about the incident. "We do not believe it was an accident. Even if it were, why would guns be available any way?" a British reader said.
The tragic accident, which happened in one of the institutions of Sheikh Moqbil Al-Wadii's religious group in Sa'da (200 km north of Sanaa), raised a lot of questions and doubts about the this group.
In an attempt to reveal the secrets of this mysterious death, Yemen Times contacted the British Embassy, international organizations dealing with Wadi'i, and even tribesmen in close contact with the group and revealed shocking information. "I believe there are around 30 Brits studying at the Wadi'i institution said UK's Ambassador, H.E. Victor Henderson.
The news about the tens of Brits studying Islam in Wadii's institutions was yet another interesting item for the British Press.
"One wonders why we haven't heard about these UK nationals!" asked Brian Whitaker of the London-based Guardian.
More about Al-Wadi'i On Law & Diplomacy Page
Excerpts from the Interview on Interviews Page

Security forces in Taiz governorate have been able to arrest lawyer Abdullah Al-Jabir following a several-day armed confrontation between military troops and residents of Al-Misrakh area, 40 kms south of Taiz City.
The confrontation has resulted in killing or wounding of a number of villagers in addition to demolishing houses by heavy artillery shelling, rendering many families homeless.
Public opinion has been outraged by the developments in the area, especially as innocent people were killed or wounded.
Full report on Reports Page

In its "The Progress of Nations 2000" report, UNICEF revealed a scary fact in relation to Yemen: We have a population of more than 55% children below 18 years old, which is the highest ever percentage of children on the globe! This means that unless serious steps are taken, the population growth is simply putting Yemen on the road of total disaster.
It seems that Yemen has been capable of achieving several records in the region, lowest per capita GNP rate, highest population growth rate, highest illiteracy rate, and highest overall poverty level, and now, highest young children's percentage.
Let alone having the largest percentage of children, unfortunately, according to the report Yemen holds the first place in even the number of stunted children in the Middle East (52%) followed by Sudan (33%). The statistics regarding infant and pregnancy health care show that Yemen is among the countries with the weakest of such services. Overall, Yemen was ranked among many African countries in the bottom of the list of progressing countries and not even compared to other Arab states.
"We seek to put an end to these intolerable inequalities by exposing them to the conscience of the world community." is what the UNICEF said about the report. In similar terms, we as Yemen Times seek to get the attention of the authorities to these scary numbers of course by exposing them in a similar fashion to the local community and to donor countries interested in helping Yemen get out of its current crises.

The minister of Information, Mr. Abdulrahman Al-Akwa' deserved the appreciation and respect of all journalists for his courageous stand by the oppressed Thaqafiah Editor, Sameer Al-Yusufi who has been put in prison for republishing an old novel written by Mohamed Abdulwali more than 25 years ago. This action of Mr. Akwa reminded us of how a responsible government representative could act confidently and promptly to what he feels is wrong. We as Yemen Times, appreciate his stand, and urge him not to lose hope when battling evil powers trying to shatter the image of Yemen, or bring it back to the backward ages. We are on the path of democracy, and we should stay on this path.
Despite the minister's great action however, Al-Yusufi is still under the threat of being prosecuted and put in prison again. Mr. Al-Akwa has once said he was willing to sacrifice his post by resigning if justice was not achieved in Al-Yusufi's case.
More on Pages Interview and Law & Diplomacy Pages

Due to the extremely high demand in the market for the services offered by Yemen Times classified section, the number of pages dedicated to the classified section increased to four complete pages.
The sales of Yemen Times boomed in the last couple of months to its highest level ever.
Today, Yemen Times enjoys its rank as the first most widely read English newspaper in Yemen. It has been ranked by international organizations dealing with the press as the most professional newspaper in Yemen. Recently, it added to its award the links2go award as the first Yemeni newspaper's site on the Internet, and the second overall in the Yemen category. Previously, YT has already been awarded two awards by prominent organizations as well.
The most significant accomplishment of the newspaper will come about in a few weeks when Yemen Times will further enhance its layout and provide more news with more in-depth coverage, and more "unbiased" and independent reporting. We are today proud to have gained the trust of the public, and still have more ambitions to meet.
We thank our readers for their trust and continuous support for a newspaper that concentrates on bringing the truth as it is and in an independent courageous manner.