The new government of Abdulqader Ba-Jamal was sworn in Saturday before President Ali Abdullah Saleh. The president chaired the first meeting of the new government. He addressed the meeting, pointing out the responsibilities to be undertaken and target to be achieved by each and every minister. He focused on their duties to enact the law, curb corruption and fulfill the peoples' aspirations in education, development, industry, as well as improve services and living conditions for the nation as a whole.
He told the new ministers "you have to have new approaches and be serious in your work while showing no leniency". He said the new government should continue implementing the economic, administrative, security and judicial reforms , adding " our new battle is development for which we should exert all efforts."
He further told the ministers that the coming two years, their term in office, are an acid test for those who will work hard to prove their credibility. He highlighted the role of the ministry of finance in identifying efficient people through its continuous evaluation of their work.
The President said that the new government now prioritizes technical education and vocational training as the backbone of development and a means to minimize the unemployment rate among young people. For galvanizing industry, he stressed the importance of strategic industries, building industrial complexes areas and moving away all industrial establishments outside of cities. Pointing out the necessity of observing quality standardization and specification so as to protect the consumer. He asked the minister of education to integrate the educational system in Yemen, hinting at the scholastic institutes being sponsored and influenced by the Islah Party. He also talked about the necessity of taking care of the cultural heritage of Yemen and paying more attention to tourism as a main resource of development.
The president said the ministry of legal affairs should reconsider the bye-law of political parties." The past experience showed how necessary it is for the Supreme Election Committee to be independent, neutral, and non-partisan," the president said. He added that SEC should be non-partisan, pointing out that it should be run by independent people. He said the cabinet should give the local councils a chance to work and carry out decentralization and that the ministry of local administration should divide Yemen into 301 districts to meet the number of election constituencies.
With regard to security, the President pointed out that the ministries of Interior and Justice should cooperate and work together to maintain security and fight crime. He asked the minister of Interior to abolish and withdraw all licenses concerning the carrying of weapons.
Concerning human rights, the President said that the choice of Dr. Wahibah Far'e as a minister of human rights spells out the significant role of women in society and how important the human rights issue is in Yemen. He said Mrs. Far'e would receive full support from him and the PM.
On his part, PM Ba-Jamal said his government will enhance security and stability, and follow up the implementation of comprehensive reforms, mainly judicial, making Yemen an investment attraction. He also promised to work to improve the living conditions of the people, provide more job opportunities, enhance democracy and decentralization. He would also work to make Yemen join regional and international alliances.
The question is: Will he be able to translate his program into practice?
President Ali Abdulla Saleh on Saturday appointed former prime minister Abdulkarim Al-Eryani as his political advisor.
List and CVs of new Ministers

Yemen and Saudi Arabia last week signed a contract with the German-based Hansa Luftbild Company to demarcate their borders as agreed on in June 2000. Former Minster of Interior, Hussein Mohammed Arab told a press conference following his meetings with his Saudi counterpart, Prince Nayef, that fruitful results were achieved during the previous meetings within a remarkable time. According to Prince Nayef, the contract amounted to US$ 986 million.
Following the accord, the two countries have recently witnessed remarkable developments in many fields.
The recent visit of Mr. Fuad B. Abdulsalam Al-Farisi, Saudi Minister of Information to Yemen, marked a continuation of bilateral cooperation, especially in the field of media. The visit came as a part of the exchange of official visits between the two countries, the last of which was the high ranking Saudi delegation of 80 businessmen to Yemen last month. "The Yemeni-Saudi relations are in a steady development towards a comprehensive partnership which may include the establishment of joint oil projects," said President Saleh upon signing the Jeddah Treaty.
Upon arrival at the Sana'a International Airport on April 3 2001, the Saudi Minister stated to the Yemeni and Saudi media that he was visiting Yemen at the invitation by Mr. Abdul Rahman Al-Akwaa, former Minister of Information. He added that the existing Saudi-Yemeni relations were unique and were steadily progressing as a result of the initiative of the leaderships of the two countries.
During his stay in Yemen, the Saudi Minister toured the Old City of Sana'a and was briefed on the historic places and the handicrafts available there. He also visited the headquarters of the Yemen Satellite TV Station and Althawrah Newspaper Complex.
The Saudi delegation was seen off at the airport by Mr Hussein Al-Awadhi, the newly appointed Minister of Information.

The Aden's Sira court opened Saturday the trial of five persons suspected of carrying out the bombings that targeted a church, a hotel and the office of the Saba news agency, court sources said. The five suspects are members of the Aden-Abyan Islamic Army. The five; Nasser Ali al-Sheib, Ana Mohammed Abdu, Fares al-Issai, Saleh Hassan al-Dasm appeared before court. The fifth accused, Ali Saeed Gayoul, still at large, is being tried in absentia. Gayoul is also said to be involved in the October 13 bombing of the British Embassy in Sana'a, one day after the suicide bombing of the American USS Cole in Aden harbor that killed 17 US sailors and wounded 39 others. During the session, Judge Mohammed Al-Junaid read out the charges that included illegal possession of bombs, carrying out bombing attack, disrupting public security and sabotage. If convicted, they could get up to 15 years imprisonment. During the hearing, the chief prosecutor demanded the death sentence against the five accused.
Meanwhile, police in Aden arrested seven more suspects in connection with the suicide attack on the USS Cole Destroyer. The police are still tracking down another suspect named Maamun. Yemen Times learned from reliable sources that the recent arrests came after receiving information from the investigation teams that visited several countries for the purpose of collecting information about the suspects who are still at large. The sources added that security procedures have been tightened in Aden and that the arrest campaign has targeted Islamic militants from some Arab countries.

Naseem Hamed shocked all his fans everywhere in the world, including Yemen, with an upsetting loss to the Mexican fighter Marco Barrera in the fight last Saturday night in Las Vegas, USA. The unanimous 12-round decision taken by the referees resulted in the unprecedented defeat of the boxing champion. "I was never hurt. He didn't hit as hard as people have said," Barrera said after the long match.
Even though there were no knockdowns in the non-title bout, Barrera seemed to dominate most of the match. According to the AP reporter, Barrera "rocked the previously unbeaten Hamed twice in the first round, buckled his knees in the fourth, then had him wobbly at the finish."The result caused total disappointment, shock, and disbelief among the Yemeni people. But who still were proud of the achievements so far, and are anxiously waiting a rematch for Naseem to prove that he is still the stronger.

Major technology exhibition of the year, JITCOM 2001 was inaugurated yesterday, Sunday April 8 at the Apollo Exhibition Center in Sanaa by the Minister of Communications, Mr. Abdulmalik Al-Ma'lami and Minister of Higher Education, Dr. Yahya Al-Shuaibi. The inauguration was attended by Parliament Member Sheikh Hamid Al-Ahmar along with Mr. Tawfiq Al-Nahmi, the General Manager of the Apollo, the company organizing the exhibition. An impressive number of prestigious companies dealing with the latest communication network, computer, and information technologies are participating in the exhibition, which will be open until 13th of the month. The exhibition, organized every year by Apollo, has a special significance this year due to the participation of the GSM companies in Yemen, including Sabafon and Spacetel.

Major Companies participating in the exhibition:
- NOKIA
- ALCATEL
- PANASONIC
- SANYO
- CANON
- SABAFON & its agents
- SPACETEL & its agents
- MITSUBISHI ELECTRONICS
- NET Technology
- APTECH
- ERICSSON
- ACER
- ORACLE
- HP
- SMARTECH
- SAM Electronics
- Other companies & trade centers