On Sunday evening, January 10th, persons representing Dahm tribe in Marib, who are holding a British hostage, told mediators that they want the authorities to release one of their own in exchange for the British hostage. Their man is convicted of murder, according to sources.
The Dahm tribesman have snatched Mr. John Brooke who works for Haliburton.

 

A conference for Yemeni immigrants will be held during May 1999. About 200 Yemeni immigrants in addition to businessmen and intellectuals will participated in the conference.
The conference will discuss the conditions of Yemenis abroad and the ways to solve the difficulties they face there, and what the Yemeni government can do.

 

The Opposition Parties Coordination Supreme Council held a meeting on January 4 to form the 1999 program of the council. The program mainly concentrate upon the council's attitude towards national reconciliation and political and judicial reforms, especially election system law and local government law.

 

Organized by the Renal Disease Charitable Society and National Kidney Foundation, the First Yemeni Nephrology Meeting will be held from February 16 to 18, 1999 at the Police Officers Club, Sanaa. The meeting will be supported by the Ministry of Health, the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Al-Thawra General Hospital. Medical equipment and pharmaceutical exhibition will be held in barrel with the meeting.

 

Invited by Al-Ahram Egyptian Agency, a delegation from Sanaa University will participate in the Cairo International Exhibition. The exhibition will be held from January 28 to February 13. The delegation will participate in some cultural seminars after attending the exhibition.

 

The Popular Charitable Society has organized several projects during Ramadhan. The marketing exhibitions in which Ramadhan and Eid needs are sold with suitable prices will continue until Ramadhan 27 (January 14). The Society has been offering Iftar meals for poor people in some governorates right from the beginning of Ramadhan. Moreover, they distribute foods (flour, vegetable oils, and sugar) free to some poor people in all governorates.
Before Ramadhan ends, the society is planning to distribute Eid clothing to poor children.
Now, the society is looking for support to organize training programs for poor people to help them earn their own living by themselves.

 

An exhibition for Egyptian Productive Families is being held from January 9 to 15. The opening event was attended by the Minister of Pensions and Social Affairs, the Egyptian ambassador to Yemen and a group of officials and expatriates. The exhibition includes hand made carpets, wooden and copper products, furniture, and ready made clothes.

 

A 3-person congressional staffers from the US Republican Party are in town. The group headed by Deborah Bodlander of the Middle East Committee will hold many meetings with Government officials, politicians, journalists and other opinion makers.

 

Directed by the President Ali Abdullah Saleh, 625 prisoners from various governorate of the country who spent 3 fourth of their punishment in prisons were released during the Holy Month of Ramadhan. Another 119 persons who were imprisoned because of debts and terminated their punishments are expected to be released during the few coming days.

 

Eng. Iqbal Ba-Haroon, Director-General of the General Investment Authority, Aden Branch, stated that 63 new investment projects were licensed during 1998. He added that the total capital of the projects is YR 1.4 billion, and that the projects will employ 2,202 persons.
Many projects licensed in Yemen are never implemented because of complications and difficulties.

 

A ship containing food supply from the Republic of France to Yemen arrived Hodeida seaport on January 7, 1999.
Since 1996, France supplied Yemen with 5840 tons of flour. About 500 tons of this amount are expected to be transported on a French ship from Djibouti to the Socotra island in the near future. The rest 5340 tons will be sold. The revues will be invested by the Ministry of Planning and Development and the French Embassy to improve food production in Yemen.

 

Concluding its session on January 6, the Central Council of the Yemeni Journalists Syndicate decided to make the Syndicate's Second Conference on February 21, 1999. The council have appointed committees to prepare for the conference.