Yemen
Sustained attacks by Al Qaeda and mass demonstrations in the south put further pressure on the Yemeni regime....
The eruption of clashes between alleged Al Qaeda and southern separatists on one side against the government make south Yemen an Al Qaeda-sympathetic state....
The situation in south Yemen has deteriorated rapidly as armed clashes are reported between separatists and government forces....
Naval exercises by Iran in the Straits of Hormuz have prompted GCC leaders to strengthen their joint defenses and call for a united effort against Iran....
The assassination attempt against Yemen’s deputy prime-minister underpins the size of the challenge the Yemeni government faces as it combats widespread support for Al Qaeda....
The assassination attempt against the UK ambassador in Yemen indicates that Al Qaeda are capable of striking in the Capital, Sana’a....
The US announcement that it will target a US-Yemeni Al Qaeda leader in Yemen and the subsequent announcement by his Yemeni tribe puts the Yemeni government in a very difficult position....
The highly politicized Yemeni judiciary has sentenced two prominent southern leaders to prison, amid increasing resentment from southern MP’s, seen as closest to the Yemeni regime....
The Yemeni government has shut down the offices of major Arab broadcasters Al Jazeera and Al Arabiya, who provide the main source of news to the Yemenis....
The Yemeni government has declared a state of emergency in the south after policemen were killed. This was followed by widespread riots across the south....
Russian Gazprom has indicated it might be interested in oil exploration in Yemen. With Yemen’s economy heavily reliant on oil revenues, which is rapidly dwindling, new finds are vital....
The ceasefire between the Houthi rebels and the government seems to be holding. This could mark the end of the Sixth Saada War, allowing the government to concentrate on the Southern separatists....
Increasing tensions between the West and Iran increases the risk of Iranian attacks against Western interests in the GCC....
A leading Kuwaiti daily reported government sources as saying that there is an increased Al Qaeda threat in the Gulf, in view of the ongoing Yemen war....
Leading Islamic clerics in Yemen have called for a Jihad against foreign intervention in the country. This call will make it more difficult for the government to fight Al Qaeda....
Yemen’s economy is heading towards very difficult times as the 2010 draft budget is approved....
Al Qaeda in Yemen is succeeding in rallying the local population around it as an army strike kills women and children....
The threat of the secession of the former South Yemen has increased as reports come in of increasing anarchy as central government police forces are unable to stop killings and kidnappings....
The Saudi involvement in the Sa’ada war along the Yemeni-Saudi border is turning the conflict into a regional one, with implications for Shiite-Sunni relations in other GCC states, such as Bahrain....
Yemen is trying to improve conditions for foreign investors to address its rapidly deteriorating economy. For any legislative reforms to be effective, they need to be accompanied by political reforms....
