Political experts have recently revealed that there are potential shortcomings in the recently completed maritime line between Eritrea and Yemen, which in turn could result in severe fishing problems. According to the experts, the dispute between Eritrea and Yemen started initially when Eritrea claimed sovereignty over all the islands situated between Yemen and Eritrea. The International Law implying this act was illegal.

The Arbitration Tribunal settled this dispute by confirming that both the Yemeni and the Eritrean side have the right to practice Traditional Fishing in the region, as well as to seek shelter in the islands in cases of turbulences in the red sea.
Map 3. Illustrates the maritime between Yemen and Eritrea. However, as noticed, the line drawn was not completed further the north due to the interference of Saudi Arabia, which claimed that the North of Jabal Al Tai'r is Saudi territory, in a letter to the Tribunal. However, by that time the dispute between Eritrean and Yemen was sorted because the Tribunal already decided the International Maritime Boundary Line. And because the borders between Yemen and Saudi are already decided, so that leave no matter of dispute anyhow.
Eventually in December 1999, it was agreed to complete drawing the line North of jabal Al Tair and further, which is actually the median line because the region is wide and there are no disputed islands in the region.
Nevertheless, the question whether or not Eritrea will submit to the Tribunal award is still posing, especially that Eritrea is well aware that Yemen is more advantaged due to the percentage of Yemeni Fishermen to Eritrean and that Fishery is much richer in the Eritrean side.

Yemen official sources said that the Yemeni government proposed the extradite of the 5 British prisoners convicted of terrorism in Aden in exchange of fundamentalist Islamic leader Abu Hamza Al-Masri.
The sources added that President Ali Abdullah Saleh sent a letter to the British government indicating Yemen's willingness to hand over the British prisoners to serve their sentences in the UK provided that London hands Abu Al-Hamza Al-Masri over to the Yemeni government, which accuses him of supporting terrorist groups operating in Yemen.
According to the sources, the Yemeni government said that it will guarantee a fair and just trial for Abu Al-Hamza. And that he can have Yemeni or British lawyers for his defense.
The Yemeni government had requested the British government to hand Abu Hamza to Yemen to be triad according to Yemeni law, but the request was rejected.
On the other hand, the UK had requested Yemen to pass an amnesty communiqué and send the 5 prisoners back home. The former British ambassador to Yemen, Mr. Vic Henderson confirmed to the Yemen Times last in an interview last January that an appeal letter from the prisoners' families was submitted through diplomatic channels to the Yemeni government and that they hoped president Saleh would consider it sympathetically.
The British prisoners were arrested along with others on December 23, 1998 for having formed an armed gang and carrying out terrorist acts. They were tried and given imprisonment sentences ranging from three to seven years. Some of the arrested suspects had completed their terms and went back home. Among the remaining prisoners are two sons of Abu Al-Hamza who is wanted by the Yemeni government for being behind many terrorist explosions.
British officials reportedly said that they cannot arrest him without any legal warrant according to the British law, and hence it is also expected that this latest proposal of the Yemen government would be rejected.

On Saturday Prime Minister Abdulqader Bajamal presented his government's agenda of action to the Parliament for discussion and approval.
The agenda highlights the intention of the government to carry out reforms in different departments of the government. The focus is on the civil service, financial and monetary reforms, enhancing democracy and civil society while combating corruption. It is also serious about modernization of the educational system which has aroused resentment of the Islah party that sponsors the scholastic institutes. This may create a battle between Islah and GPC.
After listening to the agenda of the government, some committees were formed in parliament to review the details of the agenda. Within a few days they will report to parliament for approval, based on which a vote of confidence motion will be debated. However, the GPC has high hopes that the agenda will be passed as they have a majority of seats.
More about the agenda on Diplomcy Page.

President Ali Abdullah Saleh passed a presidential decree on Saturday, appointing 111 persons to the Shura Council (SC), established in accordance with the constitutional amendments put to public referendum last February. The SC, which has replaced the Consultative Council (CC), includes 11 ministers from the government of Dr. Abdulkareem Al-Iryani. These ministers are: Ismael al-Wazer, Ali Hameed Sharaf, Dr. Abdullah Abdulwali Nasher, Mohammed al-Tayyib, Mohammed Ahmad al-Junaid, Hussein Mohammed Arab, Ahmad Musaed Hussein, Abdulmalek al-Sayani, Dr. Abdulmaliek Mansur, Mohammed Dhaif Allah, and Naser Al-Shaibani. It also includes three of Yemen's ambassadors from abroad. They are Dr. Ahmad Al-Kabab, Hussein Ahmad Al-Lawzi, Mohammed Al-Iryani, and Dr. Hussein Al-Amri.
The opposition party leaders who got their share in the new institution as Abdulmalik al-Mikhalfi of the Unionist Nasserite Party , Dr. Qasem Sallam of the Baath party are on the list, in addition to Judge Ahmad Al-Shami. There are also some members from the Socialist Party.
For the first time three women have been given representation in the SC. They are: Muna Bashraheel, a former MP, and Fatimah Mohammed bin Mohammed, a writer, and Tawakkul Salim Yassin.
The SC has representation from other social, tribal and business communities, some of whom were members of the former CC.
It is expected that the SC will hold its first meeting on Wednesday in which they will elect Mr. Abdulaziz Abdulghani chairman. They will also take a constitutional oath of office before the president next Saturday.
Political observers think that the change in the leadership this time is not as radical as the formation of the SC rehabilitates the careers of many former ministers, ambassadors or governors. The SC will play an instrumental role in the life of society as it has been bestowed with a lot of decision-making powers that were earlier restricted to the Parliament only. This was ruthlessly criticized before carrying out the referendum on the constitutional amendments. The criticism was on the grounds that the SC has many privileges which only the parliament has as an elected body.

1-Abdulaziz Abdulghani - Chairman (Former Consultative Council Chairman)

Members:
2-Abdullah Saleh A-Bar
3-Muhsin Al-Ulufi
4-Ismail Ahmed Al-Wazir - Former Justice Minister
5-Abdulwahhab al-Anisi
6-Yahya Mohamed Al-Mutawakkil
7-Abdullateef Dhaifallah
8-Ali Lutf Al-Thawr
9-Hussein Mohamed Al-Maswari - Former Capital Secretary
10-Dr. Hussein Abdullah Al-Amri
11-Hussan Ahmed Al-lawzi
12-Saleh Ali Al-Ashwal
13-Ahmed Ali Al-Muhanni
14-Ali Hamid Sharaf - Former Minister of Electricity and Water
15-Dr. Abdullah Abdulwali Nasher - Former Minister of Health
16-Mohamed Mohamed Al-Tayyib - Former Minister of Labor & Vocational Training
17-Mohamed Ahmed Al-Junaid - Former Minister of Civil Service
18-Mohamed Hassan Dammaj
19-Mohamed Ahmed Al-Kabab
20-Fadhl Muhsin Abdullah
21-Ali Ahmed Nasser Al-Salami
22-Mohamed Hussein Al-Aidarous
23-Dr. Hussein Mohamed Arab - Former Minister of Interior
24-Ahmed Musa'id Hussein - Former Minister of Fisheries
25-Abdullah Saleh Sab'a
26-Abdulmalik Al-Sayyani - Former Minister of Transportation
27-Abdulmalik Mansour - Former Minister of Culture & Tourism
28-Mohamed Dhaifallah Mohamed - Former Minister of Defense
29-Haidar Saleh Al-Habili
30-Ali Abdullah Al-Sallal
31-Abdulhamid Al-Haddi
32-Dr. Abdullah Hussein Barakat
33-Mohamed Hatem Al-Khawi
34-Abdulhamid Noman Rajeh
35-Abdulsalam haled Karman
36-Nasser Shaibani - Minister of Endowments and Guidance
37-Ali Mohamed Saeed
38-Fadhl Mohamed Aidaroos Al-Afifi
39-Dr. Ghalib Abdulkafi Al-Qirshi
40-Ahmed Yahya Al-Imad
41-Ahmed Mohamed Al-Shami
42-Mohamed Abdullah Al-Iryani
43-Abdulmalik Ismail
44-Ibrahim Abdullah Al-Sa'eedi
45-Mohamed Ahmed Mansour
46-Ali Ahmed Nasser Al-Dhahab
47-Ahmed Ali Al-Salami
48-Mohamed Salim Akoush
49-Hussein Ahmed Al-Salami
50-Mohamed Ahmed Ajlan
51-Muhsin Ali Yasser
52-Tariq Nasser Al-Fadhli
53-Muhsin bin Ma'ili
54-Saeed Al-Ukburi
55-Mohamed Saleh Qar'a
56-Mohamed Hadi Awadh
57-Dr. Qassim Sallam
58-Qaid Shuat
59-Awadh Abdullah Mashbah
60-Adil Hassan Al-Saqqaf
61-Al-Haithami Ash-shal
62-Abdullah Majid'e
63-Ali Al-Qabli Nimran
64-Mohamed Abu Bakr Al-Amoudi
65-Ali Ahmed Al-Wahidi
66-Awadh Al-Rabizi
67-Dr. Hussein Ali Hassan
68-Mohamed Naji Al-Ghadir
69-Mohamed Abdullah Abu Luhum
70-Abdulmalik Al-Mikhlafi
71-Abdo Othman Mohamed
72-Mohamed Ali Mar'i
73-Sadiq Ali Muhsin Basha
74-Abbas Al-Nahari
75-Mahmoud Abdullah Arasi
76-Yahya Mohamed Al-Kuhlani
77-Ali Hamid Julaidan
78-Ali Mohamed Al-Suraimi
79-Dr. Ahmed Mohamed Makki
80-Yahya Abdullah Qahtan
81-Salah Al-Ajam
82-Saeed Ja'bool
83-Muna Basharaheel
84-Mohamed Ismaeel All-Dhali'i
85-Abdullah Hamis Al-Awjari
86-Ali Al-Khader Al-Saeed
87-Ahmed Ali bin Jalal
88-Ali Salim Bukair
89-Hamoud Al-Shaif
90-Fatima Mohamed bin Mohamed
91-Yahya Ali Al-Habbari
92-Abdullah Abdulsalam Sabra
93-Mohamed Shaif Jarallah
94-Hamoud Atif
95-Abdulwali Ahmed Saif Al-Sharjabi
96-Shaif Makharish
97-Dirhim Abu Luhum
98-Mohamed Afandi
99-Abdulrahman Hameed
100-Hameed Hanash
101-Abdo Hamoud Rajeh
102-Man'i Al-Saih
103-Dr. Mohamed Yahya Al-Adhi
104-Abdullah Ahmed Al-Sanabani
105-Mohamed Ali Abdullah Al-Bukhaiti
106-Hamoud Qutaina
107-Hassan Abdulrazzaq
108-Mohamed Abdullah Al-Jaifi
109-Balleil bin Rajeh Labuza
110-Yahya Al-Ukaimi
111-Tawakkal Salem Yassin Al-Mahri

A statement by the Dahm Al-Hamraa tribe affirmed that the tribe would not allow any demarcation company to work on its land according to the Jeddah border treaty signed between Yemen and Saudi Arabia in 2000. Below is a summary of the statement:
"We are awaiting a just solution to the issue of our land and tribal borders as illustrated by the documents beforehand, a copy of which has been handed to the President, which includes:
verdicts by the Sheriff of Nijran In 1027 and 1130 Hijirah, a verdict by the Sheriff of Mecca Abdulqader bin Abdulhameed in 1182, etc. and other documents; After we have notified the leadership of Saudi Arabia about our legal and ancestral right to our land that we inherited from our grandfathers 400 years ago, we were totally surprised to hear about the company assigned to demarcate the borders. Despite our appeal to the leadership of the two countries to seriously consider our problem we have been ignored and neglected. Therefore, we find ourselves forced to forbid any company from working on our land. At the same time we trust that still there are opportunities for who are determined to solve the problem before the aforementioned company starts its activities.

For and on behalf of Sheikhs and tribesmen of Daham Al-Hamraa Tribe
Yahia b. Abdullah Al-Shayef"

The Security Office in Sana'a banned circulation of the Al-Osbu newspaper last Thursday for 8 hours under the pretext of publishing a news item about the government agenda two days before it was presented to the parliament. "I don't think this was the only reason for blocking distribution of the newspaper," said Hassan Al-Odeini Editor-in-Chief of Al-Osbu; He said that the paper has for the last several weeks been under pressure against publishing news that the security office considered contrary to the interests of the new government.
The newspaper, as well as its distributor Talal Al-Alimi and its representative Wadhah Al-Madhaji were released following a phone call between Mr. Mahboub Ali, Chairman of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate (YJS) and Prime Minster, Mr. Bajammal.
On the other hand, the Ministry of Information seized the Human Rights Newspaper last week which is published by Nushataa Human Rights NGO under the pretext that the Ministry had not been notified before. The Nushattaa Organization condemned the event and described it as a violation of the Law of Journalism which gives every licensed party or organization the right to issue a newspaper.