"Yemen seems to be doomed to making historic, yet unfinished, accomplishments, which eventually lead to grave consequences," wrote Ahmed Youssef Ahmed, director of the Cairo-based Institute of Arab Research and Studies, in yesterday's edition of the Emirati newspaper Al Ittihad.
During the unification of Yemen in the late 1980s and early 1990s, everything seemed to be going smoothly, the writer said. "A compromise was reached that tempted both sides of the equation, the northerners and the southerners, into unification."
The idea was to make the southerners, who were fewer in number, feel just as empowered as the northerners in government halls, but with a key twist. While the parliamentary speaker position and the premiership went to the southerners, the presidency remained a northern privilege.
Also, the then-president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, chaired a five-member "presidential council". Two members were from the south (one of them the vice president), and two from the north, concentrating the reins of power in the hands of the fifth member, the president.
"But these developments at the government level did not extend to the military institution," the writer noted. "The armed forces in the south and the north did not merge."
The only change that happened was that these forces were redeployed, with some southern units stationed in the north and northern units moved to the south.
"Yet, whenever you had a defence minister from the south and a chief of staff from the north, you knew you were basically dealing with two armies: one taking orders from the minister, the other from the chief of staff," the writer pointed out.
This was a perilous way of running the military. When the northern and southern political elites fell out, and all attempts to reconcile them failed, the army situation made it easy for political confrontation to quickly spiral into a full-blown military conflict. This is now known as the 1994 secession war, or the civil war.
Sure, the central government army (the north) prevailed, but the problem was not solved. Many southern army officers were forced into retirement. This led to further resentment among the southerners and, eventually, turned the ignition on what came to be known as "the Southern Movement". The latter now hits out at the core of the very unity for which Yemen has paid dearly in recent decades.
The same mistake was made when, earlier this year, the youth protests in Yemen culminated in President Saleh stepping down. The revolution was not consummated. Mr Saleh still leads the General People's Congress party, the majority holder in parliament, and so can still influence parliamentary and presidential elections, the writer said.
Indeed, Yemen's is a tragic story of unfinished business.
Syria's Palestinians did not fall into a trap
The Palestinian residents in the Yarmouk camp, near the Syrian capital Damascus, have shown great "political and ethical wisdom" after 24 of them were killed and many more injured following a mortar attack that targeted them in Ramadan, according to Ali Bdwan, a Palestinian contributor to the opinion pages of the Dubai-based newspaper Al Bayan.
The Palestinians did not fall for the trap, he said in an article yesterday. With their stoicism and restraint, they spoiled it for those who wanted to drag them into the raging Syrian crisis, the writer said, without specifying who "those" might be.
After the shelling of the Yarmouk camp earlier this month, both the rebel Free Syrian Army and the government forces denied involvement.
"Palestinian residents in Syria held their position, which is positive and genuine neutrality, one that is predicated on solidarity with Syria and its people," the writer said.
"The Yarmouk tragedy hurt a great deal. Innocent blood was spilt; young men, older men and children bled," he added. But the camp's elders refrained from taking retaliatory action, electing instead to spare lives and preserve social stability.
All they did was bury their dead honourably, as quickly as possible, aware that the attack on their camp was more of a "deceitful" provocation meant to scramble the cards in the Syrian conflict.
Lakhdar Brahimi gets off on the wrong foot
The newly appointed United Nations-Arab League peace envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, is expected to travel to New York this week to officially take office, succeeding Kofi Annan, who gave up such a "difficult, if not impossible mission" in disgust, the London-based newspaper Al Quds Al Arabi stated in its lead editorial yesterday.
Mr Brahimi, a seasoned diplomat from Algeria, suggested in a statement to the media that it was still too early to comment on whether President Bashar Al Assad should step down.
"His words, uttered spontaneously, have angered both the rulers and the opposition in Syria," the paper said. "And this anger goes to show that the new envoy has already started making his way though the minefield."
The National Syrian Council demanded that Mr Brahimi apologise for his comments "which seem to give President Al Assad … a licence to kill tens of thousands more".
The Syrian regime also denounced Mr Brahimi's comments as interference in Syria's internal affairs.
If diplomacy is the art of saying the right thing at the right time - which Mr Brahimi, 78, certainly knows - that art might not be so easy to pull off, given the complexity of the Syrian crisis, the paper concluded.
* Digest compiled by Achraf El Bahi
aelbahi@thenational.ae
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
Company%20profile
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Jawan
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAtlee%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Shah%20Rukh%20Khan%2C%20Nayanthara%2C%20Vijay%20Sethupathi%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E4%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Electric scooters: some rules to remember
- Riders must be 14-years-old or over
- Wear a protective helmet
- Park the electric scooter in designated parking lots (if any)
- Do not leave electric scooter in locations that obstruct traffic or pedestrians
- Solo riders only, no passengers allowed
- Do not drive outside designated lanes
MEDIEVIL%20(1998)
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COMPANY%20PROFILE%20
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Fixtures:
Thursday:
Hatta v Al Jazira, 4.55pm
Al Wasl v Dibba, 7.45pm
Friday:
Al Dhafra v Al Nasr, 5.05pm
Shabab Al Ahli Dubai v Al Wahda, 7.45pm
Saturday:
Ajman v Emirates, 4.55pm
Al Ain v Sharjah, 7.45pm
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20Z%20FOLD5
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Confirmed%20bouts%20(more%20to%20be%20added)
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Company%20Profile
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
Company%20Profile
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Men's football draw
Group A: UAE, Spain, South Africa, Jamaica
Group B: Bangladesh, Serbia, Korea
Group C: Bharat, Denmark, Kenya, USA
Group D: Oman, Austria, Rwanda
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Bahrain%20GP
%3Cp%3EFriday%20qualifying%3A%207pm%20(8pm%20UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ESaturday%20race%3A%207pm%20(UAE)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ETV%3A%20BeIN%20Sports%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
BEETLEJUICE BEETLEJUICE
Starring: Winona Ryder, Michael Keaton, Jenny Ortega
Director: Tim Burton
Rating: 3/5
How Islam's view of posthumous transplant surgery changed
Transplants from the deceased have been carried out in hospitals across the globe for decades, but in some countries in the Middle East, including the UAE, the practise was banned until relatively recently.
Opinion has been divided as to whether organ donations from a deceased person is permissible in Islam.
The body is viewed as sacred, during and after death, thus prohibiting cremation and tattoos.
One school of thought viewed the removal of organs after death as equally impermissible.
That view has largely changed, and among scholars and indeed many in society, to be seen as permissible to save another life.
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now