PA blamed for Goldstone vote delay

The Palestinians missed a rare chance by delaying a vote on the Goldstone report which accuses Israel of committing war crimes in Gaza, a senior Qatari foreign ministry official has said.

Sheikh Khaled bin Jassem al-Thani, the ministry's human rights department head, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the Palestinian representative to the UN Human Rights Council had requested a delay until the next meeting in March.

"We won't be more royal than the king," he said.

"The Palestinian decision was based on their wishes ... and member states could not take unilateral measures contrary to the wishes of the Palestinian Authority (PA)."

"There were many countries that supported [the report and a vote] ... it could have been adopted, but I think that an opportunity was missed and it may not come back."

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, under pressure from the PA's executive council and the central committee of his Fatah party, has launched an investigation into the delay.

But there appears to be no respite for him from the barrage of criticism from Palestinians.

Resignation urged

A senior member of Hamas has demanded that Abbas resign for supporting the postponement of the vote.

Mahmoud al-Zahar told Al Jazeera on Monday that Abbas was guilty of "a very big crime against the Palestinian people" over the PA's support to defer endorsing the report.

"He is encouraging the Israeli military leaders to attack Gaza, to kill Hamas, and to kill people because they voted for Hamas; to postpone a very important report concerning the Israelis committing crimes against human beings," al-Zahar said.

"He should resign and he should seek a fair trial. He is not representing any of the Palestinian people."

The comments came as hundreds of people in the West Bank city of Ramallah protested against the delay in the vote on the report by Richard Goldstone, a former South African judge.

Protesters waved placards at Monday's events, saying the delay "insults the blood of the martyrs and wounds our people".

Protests were also held in Jerusalem, where pro-Palestinian activists demanded an apology from Abbas.

"If the government had anything to do with the decision we want it to resign," Muhammad Jadallah, the head of the Coalition for Jerusalem, said.

Thirty-two Palestinian groups in Europe also called on Abbas to immediately step down from office.

In a statement, the groups said "the step to delay the endorsement was not less dangerous than the atrocities committed by the Israeli occupation in Gaza".

South Yemenis rally for self-rule

Thousands of people have rallied on the streets of southern Yemen to demand the restoration of the region's independence.

Tuesday's protests coincide with the visit of Amr Moussa, secretary-general of the Arab League, who met Ali Abdullah Saleh, the Yemeni president, in the capital Sanaa.

Moussa was to discuss the conflict in the far north of the country, where rebels from the Shia Zaidi sect have been leading an uprising for the past five years with fighting intensifying in recent weeks.

After the talks, Moussa, the head of the 22-nation bloc, said that the Arab League "confirms its support to Yemen's unity and stability".

"The president has expressed openness in engaging in dialogue with the different political sides inside Yemen and abroad, no matter what the differences are, and he expressed his readiness to hold talks with them.

"The unity of Yemen does not concern only Yemenis but all Arabs, and what's important is a dialogue among everyone for the unity and the stability of Yemen," he added.

Yemen divisions

Witnesses said more than 10,000 demonstrators marched in the city of Dhaleh while thousands more turned out in various centres in Lahej and Abyan provinces.

Protesters brandished the flag of the former independent state and chanted anti-government slogans demanding the separation of the south of Yemen from the north and urging Arab League support for a renewed breakaway.

Abdullah al-Faqih, a professor of political science at Sanaa University, told Al Jazeera: "The southerners were turned into second class citizens; they were marginalised politically, socially and economically.

"If the regime doesn't react decisively and in a timely manner, we will have secession as a real cause, because if you kill people, forget about unity," he said.

Yemen is the Middle East's poorest country and southerners complain they have fared even worse than their fellow countrymen since unification with the north in 1990.

The conflict between the Houthi fighters and government forces first broke out in 2004, but last month the fighting intensified as the group pushed to topple the government.

Request to renew lifting immunity of al-Houthi in Parliament

SANA'A, Oct.06 (Saba)- In its session on Tuesday , the Parliament referred a request for renewing revoking immunity of the parliamentarian Yahya Badr al-Din al-Houthi to the constitutional and legal affairs committee to study and present its outcomes on it to the parliament next Saturday.

Justice Minster Ghazi Shaif al-Aghbari, who submitted the request, made it clear to the parliament on the procedures taken by the government during the past period towards this topic.

In his request letter, al-Aghbari demonstrated the main reasons for his request in which he pointed out that al-Houthi is convicted of playing part in forming an armed group, inciting a rebellion against the government, and supporting the terrorist and sabotage acts in some districts of Saada province as well as spying for other countries.

Al- Houthi rebels have been launching intermittent wars against the troops since 2004.

Since the fighting erupted in 2004, thousands of people, soldiers and insurgents have been killed in Saada province, after the rebel group was founded by rebel leader Hussein al- Houthi.

Hussein, the eldest brother of the current group leader Abdul-Malik, was killed by the army in September 2004.

The Yemeni government accuses the Houthi group of trying to reinstall the rule of imams, which was toppled by a republican revolution in northern Yemen in 1962.

Gulf Excellence Award in health media to be announced

SANA'A, Oct. 06 (Saba) - The Gulf Excellence Award in health media will be announced next Saturday at the Population Studies Center in Sana'a University.

The activity which will be attended by 37 participants for ten days will be started by a workshop on training media staff on basic health messages.

Speaking to Saba, Deputy Information Ministry for Childhood and Women Affairs Fathyah Abdulwasa'a said that the activity came within the framework of cooperation between Health Ministry, the General Program of Childhood and Women in Information Ministry and health basic services at U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) .

The activity aims at raising awareness of child and women health rights.

Health minister calls WHO to offer H1N1 vaccine to Muslim pilgrims

FES, Morocco, Oct. 06 (Saba)- Minister of Public Health and Population Abdul Kareem Rasa called on Tuesday World Health Organization (WHO) to offer one million doses of swine flu vaccine for Muslim pilgrims especially who are from poor countries.

Addressing the 56th round of the WHO regional committee for Middle East, Rasa reviewed decisions of the 55th round of the committee, saying that such decisions resulted in drawing a strategy to better health system in the region.

He also reviewed efforts exerted by the member countries and health organizations to face H1N1 virus.

Meanwhile, the minister appreciated the assistance presented by the Saudi Arabia to displaced people who left their houses because of the war of Yemen with rebels in Saada province.

He also expressed thank you for all international humanitarian organizations which offered assistance for the displaced people and victims of the war.

The 56th round is being held in Morocco to deal with several technical topics relating to increasing overtures for hepatitis, the strategy for prevention of cancer, the new strategy for research for and development of poverty-caused infectious diseases, and follow up the outcomes of the exceptional meeting of the committee on the H1N1 pandemic.

Dhamar University participates in 16th Dermatology World Congress

SANA'A, Oct. 06 (Saba) - Dhamar University participates in the 16th World Congress of Dermatology to be kicked off on Wednesday in Germany for five days.

Head of Skin and Reproductive Diseases in the University Dr. Jalal al-Absi said that the congress would discuss several practical papers presented by the participants on dermatology diseases.

The congress will also issue an annual scientific journal specialized in dermatology reviewing the last scientific studies and researches on dermatology diseases.

Yemen participates in the congress with a paper on the most widely dermatology diseases spreading in Yemen, he added.

Yemen to host Islam, Tourism Forum

SANA'A, Oct. 01 (Saba) - Ministry of Tourism is to host Islam and Tourism Forum 2009 in Sana'a and Hadramout governorates on October 11 – 13, the weekly 26 September said on Thursday.

High-profile preachers from Yemen and the Islamic world will take part in the Forum, Minister of Tourism Nabil al-Faqih said

He said that the Forum aims to shed light on the concept of tourism in Islam and its cultural and humanitarian role in serving development and job creation.

Al-Faqih affirmed the forum comes within the Ministry's keenness on promoting tourism in the country as a promising sector for the national economy, which would assist in creating job opportunities and reducing poverty and unemployment rates.

Sudanese President al-Bashir receives Vice President Hadi

KHARTOUM, Oct. 01 (Saba) - Sudanese President Umar al-Bashir has met here with the Vice President Abdu Rabo Mansour Hadi, who is visiting Sudan currently to take part in the third conference of the Sudanese National Congress Party (NCP).

President al-Bashir welcomed Hadi and the General People Congress (GPC) high-profile delegation, indicating to the brotherly ties linked the two countries and political leadership.

He accentuated the Sudanese attitude supporting Yemen and its democratic options, calling on the political powers in Yemen to give priority to the national interests rather than selfish interests.

Hadi said that Yemen's stand is with Sudan and its inspirations at all levels, topped by its rights of unity, stabilization and security in addition to its right not to be interfered in its internal affaires.

Al-Arhabi affirms Yemen concern to boost cooperation with WB

SANA'A, Sep. 30 (Saba)- Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi affirmed on Wednesday to the new WB Country Director of Yemen, Egypt and Djibouti David Craig readiness of the government of Yemen to offer all facilities to help him perform his tasks which would lead to reinforcing and improving current cooperation between Yemen and the Bank.

Al-Arhabi praised efforts of the previous country director in boosting and developing the bilateral cooperation between Yemen and the WB.

The meeting shed light on related issues to the ongoing cooperation between Yemen and the Bank to serve common goals.

The minister acquainted the new director with achievements Yemen has achieved in applying reforms as well as a set of challenges facing development in the country.

WB grants $20 mln to finance Quick Orbit project in Yemen

SANA'A, Sep. 30 (Saba)- A $20 million WB grant agreement was signed on Wednesday to finance the Quick Orbit Project in Yemen.

The agreement was signed by Deputy Prime Minister for Economic Affairs, Minister Planning and International Cooperation Abdul-Karim al-Arhabi and the WB regional director De Manual Embay.

It stipulates that the WB offers a financing grant at $20 million to finance the Quick Orbit Project which targets building 370 classrooms and renovating 200 others in 7 governorates; Dhamar, Baidha, Hudeidah, Dale, Raymah, Hajjah and Mahweet.

Following the signing of the agreement, al-Arhabi praised concern of the WB to continue supporting and reinforcing development process in Yemen.