In brief [Archives:2007/1112/Local News]
Yemenis in Children's Art Festival
Dec. 16 – Yemen will participate in this February's Sharjah Children's Art Festival in the United Arab Emirates with 80 works by numerous creative Yemeni children.
Najibah Haddad, deputy culture minister for arts and theater, says Yemen will participate in the festival's first round with a number of artistic and creative works by talented children in various fields.
The festival seeks to honor such childhood dreams, as well as follow up their problems, thus affirming the importance of children's issues.
ADEN
Socotra art exhibit opens in Aden
Dec. 15 – An art and cultural exhibit about Socotra opened Sunday at Aden's Fine Art Institute and will continue for 15 days. Salah Ba-Fadl, director of technical projects at the British Council, notes that the exhibit highlights photographs of the island's variety of nature, adding that some 50,000 visitors attended the exhibit.
Additionally, on the sidelines of the event will be a symposium about the island this Monday, which will include both Yemeni and British academics presenting papers on Socotra's history and environment.
AL-MAHRAH
Foreign firms to invest in minerals
Dec. 14 – Both local and foreign companies have voiced their desire to invest in Al-Mahrah governorate's minerals sector.
Sadaq Tajaddin, director of the governorate's Oil and Minerals Office, reports that the corresponding Yemeni ministry has inked agreements with foreign firms to share in oil production in the governorate's oil blocks under the 2008 Investment Plan.
SANA'A
Over 90,000 students receive anti-bilharzias medicine
Dec. 16 – Yemen's Ministry of Public Health and Population has launched a 12-day anti-bilharzias campaign in seven infected districts of Sana'a, distributing anti-bilharzias medication to 90,320 students.
Khalid Al-Muntasir, director general of the Sana'a health office, explains that the campaign, which is being conducted by 150 health workers, targets students between ages 6 and 18 at 554 elementary and high schools.
SOCOTRA
Delegation to evaluate Socotra
Dec. 15 – An Italian delegation recently arrived to evaluate the Socotra Archipelago Conservation and Development Program's performance during the previous period.
Salem Ali, director general of the Environmental Protection Authority office on Socotra, notes that the delegation will be briefed on the program's activities regarding both land and marine studies, establishing nature reserves and operating environmental surveillance programs. The Italians' schedule will include a workshop and organized field visits to the island's nature reserves.
TAIZ
Wastewater management workshop
Dec. 16 – A two-day workshop on wastewater management was held Saturday in Taiz with the participation of 100 specialists from Taiz and Ibb universities.
Taiz Deputy Governor Abdulqader Al-Hatim stressed the importance of increasing public awareness regarding rationing water usage via all available media outlets, in addition to mosque imams, in order to come up with practical recommendations and distribute them to citizens in other Yemeni governorates to implement in their real-life situations.
Banned herbicides smuggled
TAIZ, Dec. 16 – Taiz governorate's Agriculture and Water Office reports that it has seized two trucks carrying approximately 43 tons of illegal herbicides and chemicals within the past two weeks.
The office confirmed that the herbicides and chemicals, some of which were expired and/or internationally banned, were smuggled into the country. Their report added that the trucks were prevented from entering Al-Makha port, but later smuggled in by mixing legal herbicides among the illegal ones.
Agriculture and Water Office general manager Abdullah Al-Junaid explained that following an investigation, they discovered that the trucks carried seven types of herbicides, three of which are internationally banned.
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