26 SEPTEMBER: Sanaa weekly, 23-7-98. [Archives:1998/30/Press Review]

(Yemen Armed Forces)   Main Headline:
1- The President: “We are keen not to step up matters with Saudi Arabia.”
“Democracy is a national choice, and any attempts to undermine it will not succeed.”2- Council of Ministers: ‘The government will not be lenient with the perpetrators of criminal and subversive acts.’
3- Official sources declare that the Dowaima Island is 100% Yemeni, and it has reverted to its past situation.
4- Minister of Interior announces the arrest of several men who belong to the group that ambushed his motorcade near Al-Jawf.
Article Summary:
Rationalization of Policies
By: Iskandar Al-Asbahi
The state still subsidizes wheat at a rate of 85 riyals to the dollar. No consideration is given to the fluctuation in world prices of this basic commodity. Other countries like Egypt, for example, try to buy wheat when it is sold at its lowest price.
Newspaper reports often refer to subsidized wheat being bought at exorbitant prices, being smuggled out of the country, used as animal fodder or simply sold on the black market. This indicates that the government subsidy is not entirely benefiting the targeted segment of the population. So the subsidy policy has to be reviewed, and subsidies can be gradually lifted.

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