There are Other Countries

Whilst all eyes are on Japan and Libya we learn of turmoil in other countries such as Bahrain, Syria, Yemen and the Ivory Coast. Yemen seems the most likely next to have a change of leader with senior army officers having defected to the rebels. Will it go the way of Egypt where the army's support was crucial in getting rid of Mubarak, the holding this last weekend of a referendum and the promise of a general election in a few months time or will the army simply impose another despot to rule the country? We can but hope that the Yemeni army follows the Egyptian army example and that the Egyptian army accepts the choice of the electorate no matter which party is elected to office.