South Yemen call for independence

[☭proletarian☭]

Thousands have rallied across southern Yemen after an appeal from the last president of the independent south to re-establish the state that ceased to exist twenty years ago.
Ali Salem al-Baid, who led the south to unity with the north in 1990, called for a second day of "southern anger" on Saturday, to coincide with a meeting of international donors to Yemen in neighbouring Saudi Arabia.
"I call on you ... to send a message to our Arab brothers and to the representatives of the international community gathered in Riyadh underlining your rejection of the occupation and your commitment to self-determination," Baid said.

Al Jazeera English - Middle East - South Yemen call for independence

 

[waltky]

Democracy bustin' out all over...

Egypt echoes across region: Iran, Bahrain, Yemen
Feb 14,`11 -- The possible heirs of Egypt's uprising took to the streets Monday in different corners of the Middle East: Iran's beleaguered opposition stormed back to central Tehran and came under a tear gas attack by police. Demonstrators faced rubber bullets and birdshot to demand more freedoms in the relative wealth of Bahrain. And protesters pressed for the ouster of the ruler in poverty-drained Yemen.

The protests - all with critical interests for Washington - offer an important lesson about how groups across Middle East are absorbing the message from Cairo and tailoring it to their own aspirations. The heady themes of democracy, justice and empowerment remain intact as the protest wave works it way through the Arab world and beyond. What changes, however, are the objectives. The Egypt effect, it seems, is elastic.

"This isn't a one-size-fits-all thing," said Mustafa Alani, a regional analyst at the Gulf Research Center in Dubai. "Each place will interpret the fallout from Egypt in their own way and in their own context." For the Iranian opposition - not seen on the streets in more than a year - it's become a moment to reassert its presence after facing relentless pressures.

Tens of thousands of protesters clashed with security forces along some of Tehran's main boulevards, which were shrouded in clouds of tear gas in scenes that recalled the chaos after the disputed re-election of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in June 2009. A pro-government news agency reported one bystander killed by gunfire.

"Death to the dictator," many yelled in reference to Ahmadinejad. Others took aim Iran's all-powerful Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei with chants linking him with toppled rulers Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Tunisia's Zine Al Abidine Ben Ali. "Bin Ali, Mubarak, it's Seyed Ali's turn," protesters cried.

MORE

 

[waltky]

Marshall Plan needed for Yemen...

$2 billion in aid sought for hardest-hit in Yemen civil war
Jan 17,`17 -- About $2 billion in urgent aid is needed this year to alleviate the suffering of the most vulnerable victims of Yemen's civil war, or about 10 million of the country's 27 million people, the resident U.N. humanitarian chief said Tuesday.

The Arab world's poorest country has been in the grip of a civil war since 2014, when Shiite Houthi rebels and allied forces swept down from the north and captured the capital, Sanaa. A Saudi-led coalition has been helping government forces battle the rebels for nearly two years. "Yemen faces a dramatically bad future" without the needed aid, Jamie McGoldrick, head of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Yemen, told The Associated Press. Last year's appeal for $1.8 billion in aid for Yemen's most vulnerable, then about 8.6 million people, was only 60 percent funded, he said. "I don't think this is enough, given that Yemen is a very critical emergency on the global stage," he said in an interview in Jordan. "I don't think it has gotten the (appropriate) attention. It has almost been a secret, a hidden emergency, and I think that is unfortunate, it's unfair."

McGoldrick said the Yemen aid appeal for 2017 will be launched early next month in Geneva. Meanwhile, his agency is trying to get a better estimate of how many have died as a result of the conflict, both directly and indirectly, he said. On Monday, McGoldrick told a news conference in Yemen that the civilian death toll of the war has reached 10,000. He said Tuesday that he believes even this estimate is low.

McGoldrick said a previous figure of 7,400 deaths was based on reporting from the health facilities that still function in Yemen, or about half the number that operated before the war. As a result, data collection has been incomplete, he said. "When you speak to activists and you speak to others on the ground, they say that even the figures we quoted yesterday (Monday) are far underreporting" the death toll, he added. In addition, many more are indirect victims of the conflict, including those who suffer from chronic diseases, including high blood pressure and diabetes, and are unable to get treatment, McGoldrick said. For example, a cancer clinic in Sanaa that used to treat 30,000 patients has closed, he said. Inevitably, those suffering from chronic disease "will die sooner than they should," he said. He also noted that more than 400,000 children under the age of five suffer from malnutrition, raising serious concern about their development and Yemen's future.

In fighting Tuesday, a rocket fired by Houthi rebels killed six civilians, including women and children, when it hit an area in the southern Taiz province, security officials said. The strike that also destroyed three old houses was part of broader fighting around the central city, Yemen's cultural capital. Clashes between rebels and forces loyal to President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi have killed 23 Houthis and 17 troops over the past two days, said the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief reporters. A Saudi-led coalition has waged an extensive air campaign since March 2015 aimed at restoring Hadi's government. The northern region remains under Houthi control.

News from The Associated Press

 

[irosie91]

for those who do not know------Yemen has been embroiled in an on again and off again civil war devoted to a splitting of the country for more than 60 years

 

[TheOldSchool]

for those who do not know------Yemen has been embroiled in an on again and off again civil war devoted to a splitting of the country for more than 60 years

Here's Trump's e-mail: SHOW YOUR SUPPORT FOR DONALD TRUMP

 

[waltky]

Yemen tryin' to get the world's attention...

Biggest challenge of Yemen’s humanitarian crisis is making the world pay attention
September 28, 2017 - Yemen’s civil war has killed more than 10,000, as a coalition led by Saudi Arabia fight against Houthi rebels and their allies. Diplomats from Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. met in Geneva Thursday seeking to establish an international inquiry into atrocities in Yemen. William Brangham speaks with U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator Jamie McGoldrick about the cholera outbreak and other crises.

JUDY WOODRUFF: Diplomats from Europe, the Middle East and the U.S. met in Geneva today to iron out a resolution that would establish an international inquiry into atrocities in Yemen. Saudi Arabia and its allies are aligned with one faction of Yemen’s civil war. They stand accused of causing massive civilian casualties amid a punishing bombing campaign, with American support. The Saudis deny this, and they say the time is not right for an international probe. Meanwhile, in Yemen, a disastrous humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate. William Brangham has that.

WILLIAM BRANGHAM: Yemen has been torn apart by a two-year-old civil war, as a coalition led by Saudi Arabia fight against Houthi rebels and their allies. Over 10,000 people have died, more than 40,000 have been injured, and over three million are malnourished. On top of it all, an outbreak of cholera has killed 2,000 people since late April, and 700,000 people currently are infected.

For more on all of this, I’m joined now by Jamie McGoldrick. He’s the United Nations humanitarian coordinator in Yemen. Welcome to the “NewsHour.” JAMIE MCGOLDRICK, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Yemen: Thank you.

MORE

 

[irosie91]

IRAN