World Bank

The 30-year-old, who worked as a consultant on a World Bank-funded project, was seized in the capital Sanaa in February.

Isabelle Prime, 30, who worked for Ayala Consulting on a World Bank-funded project, was the only member of firm's staff left in Yemen.

The 30-year-old woman, who is believed to have ties with the World Bank, was taken by unidentified armed men in the capital Sanaa.

Two weeks ago Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali fled a popular revolution and rage that caught more than him and his cronies by surprise. For over the past decade, numerous international organisations and institutions regularly exhorted developing countries to follow Tunisia as a model of economic success and stability. Ludovic Lamant asks; how could the 'experts' have got it all so wrong?