Reports from Yemen say the interior minister in the new national unity government has ordered the release of all prisoners arrested in connection with the past 10 months of protests against President Saleh. Sebastian Usher of our Arab desk reports.
The national unity government
was finally sworn in
at the weekend. Half the ministers are from opposition parties, and half from President Saleh's former ruling party. It faces huge challenges. After nearly a year of unrest, Yemen's
sectarian
and political fault lines are raw with violent conflict still an ever-present threat; the economy is collapsing; al-Qaeda is on the rise; and the young pro-democracy protesters who risked their lives to force President Saleh's resignation are still on the streets demanding that he faces trial.
A son of the Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa says the state media should give less attention to his family. Namal Rajapaksa, a 25-year-old MP who's seen as a rising political star, said a recent television bulletin had successive items about his father and three uncles followed by sports coverage about himself and his brother. Mr Rajapaksa told parliament that Sri Lankans were more likely to believe the state media if it had a more balanced approach.
A court in Croatia has convicted 15 football officials and players over a
match-fixing
scandal in the national league. The men were found guilty of fixing eight games and attempting to rig three others, and were ordered to return more than $200,000 in illegal profits. The verdicts follow a two-year investigation prompted by a