Yemeni Rial Plummets, Power Outages Increase in Aden
High temperatures grip Aden amidst ongoing power outages (AFP)
With power outages in Aden, the interim capital of Yemen, reaching approximately 18 hours a day, the local currency has witnessed its highest decline since the formation of the Presidential Leadership Council.
The exchange rate of the US dollar has surged to 1,500 Yemeni rials compared to 1,200 rials last month.
According to workers at the electricity company, since Wednesday morning, power blackouts have increased to five hours compared to two hours of electricity due to the outage of the Petromasila station, which produces 90 megawatts of power for the province and the surrounding areas.
Workers at Petromasila attribute the reasons for the outage to the delay in the arrival of crude oil tankers from the province of Shabwah, which is used to operate the station.
They stated that disgruntled soldiers in Abyan province, who were experiencing delays in their salaries, halted the tankers before allowing them to pass on Tuesday evening.
The station will not resume operations until 36 hours have passed since its shutdown.
This will further exacerbate the suffering of the residents, as the temperature rises close to 40°C, accompanied by high humidity.
Moreover, this shortage comes just one day after reducing power outages to four hours, with two and a half hours of electricity, following the shutdown of several power stations due to the poor quality of fuel purchased from a trader, as reported by the workers.
A technical committee has been formed to re-examine the shipment, but the generators resumed operation after three days, and the results of the inspection are still unknown.
Government sources have indicated that the expiration of the fuel assistance provided by Saudi Arabia has significantly increased the burden on the government.
The government currently spends approximately $50 million per month to cover the operational costs of power production stations in Aden and to purchase a portion of the energy from privately-owned generators.
This comes amidst a severe financial crisis faced by the government, which is engaged in an economic war initiated by Houthi militias.
The crisis began with the obstruction of oil exports, followed by the imposition of restrictions on imports through ports under Houthi control, and the prevention of goods transfer from government-controlled areas.
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa waves as he arrives to visit a flooded area after the Euphrates River overflowed its banks in recent days, in Deir Ezzor, Syria, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syria: Sharaa Visits Deir Ezzor after Flooding Caused by Rising Euphrates Levels
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa waves as he arrives to visit a flooded area after the Euphrates River overflowed its banks in recent days, in Deir Ezzor, Syria, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa visited the province of Deir Ezzor on Friday, accompanied by a ministerial delegation, to assess the situation and humanitarian conditions there amid flooding due to rising water levels in the Euphrates River, state news agency SANA said.
Syrian naval forces deployed several boats and watercraft to Deir Ezzor Friday to assist with evacuation and transportation operations across both banks of the Euphrates following the sharp rise in the river's water level.
The Syrian Ministry of Defense announced the mobilization of its military units and relevant departments, in coordination with the Ministry of Emergency and Disaster Management, to help address the consequences.
On Thursday, Syria's energy ministry warned of rising water levels on the Euphrates River after flooding in the north and east following increased flows from neighboring Türkiye and recent rains.
The ministry said it was monitoring the situation on the Euphrates "in light of the significant and unprecedented increase in water flows from the Turkish side".
It said the increase was due to "the abundance of the current rainy season and the opening of floodgates at dams located along the river in Turkish territory".
A statement said government water authorities in Deir Ezzor, Raqa and Aleppo provinces had announced a "state of emergency" and were taking precautionary measures.
SANA reported flooding in urban and rural areas of Deir Ezzor province on Thursday, where an earthen bridge was submerged.
It had said several bridges in the province were out of service on Wednesday because of flooding which also affected farmland and homes, and had also reported flooding in neighboring Raqa province.
Turkish local media, quoting the regional water authority, reported "controlled water releases" from the Ataturk Dam after a rise in water levels due to heavy rainfall in recent months, with the spillway gates opened for the first time in seven years.
The Ataturk facility is one of Türkiye’s three major dams and was built to generate electricity and irrigate the region along the border with Syria.
The energy ministry in Damascus said that according to authorities managing the country's Euphrates Dam, Syria's dam storage capacities were almost full, "necessitating the continued release of large quantities of water".
Late Wednesday, the ministry posted an image showing the opening of the Euphrates Dam floodgates, saying they had not been used for around 40 years, and warned people to exercise caution.
Separately, Sharaa had previously apologized to the people of Deir Ezzor after remarks by his father, Hussein al-Sharaa, sparked backlash on social media. Critics said the comments, made during a podcast discussion about social divisions between urban and rural communities in Syria, were offensive to Deir Ezzor residents.
Hussein al-Sharaa later said his remarks were taken out of context and were intended to address the impact of past exclusionary policies, not to insult the province's residents.
Asharq Al-Awsat Publishes Hamas Letter to Mediators as Cairo Meeting Loomshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5278481-asharq-al-awsat-publishes-hamas-letter-mediators-cairo-meeting-looms
Asharq Al-Awsat Publishes Hamas Letter to Mediators as Cairo Meeting Looms
A Palestinian inspects the site of an Israeli strike in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, Friday, May 29, 2026. (AP)
Asharq Al-Awsat has obtained a document recently sent by Hamas to mediators regarding the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip, where escalating Israeli violations have killed more than 930 Palestinians since the deal took effect on October 10.
Israel’s Channel 13 reported on Thursday evening, citing a regional diplomat who recently met Hamas leaders, that the Palestinian group would not accept disarmament and believed the United States would prevent Israel from carrying out any major military action in Gaza.
The report said Hamas had grown stronger, gained confidence, and was tightening its control over the enclave, especially after the withdrawal of Israeli forces.
A senior Hamas source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the reports were completely baseless.
The source said the movement had recently sent mediators a document on Israeli violations and its position on the political deadlock, in light of the negative stance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government toward recent proposals by the mediators, as well as the roadmap put forward by the Board of Peace through its High Representative for Gaza, Nickolay Mladenov.
They also said Hamas had not recently held meetings with diplomatic officials in the region, apart from meetings held as part of negotiation rounds, with the participation of Mladenov and figures representing the US administration and the Board of Peace.
The source said the negotiation round, expected to take place before Eid al-Adha, had been postponed until after the holiday that started on Wednesday.
They said no specific date had been set for the round, but a delegation from the movement’s leadership was preparing to visit Cairo at Egypt’s invitation in the coming days, once the necessary arrangements were completed.
The source said messages of protest had been sent in the past period over Israel's continued escalation in killings and the targeting of people, adding that there had been no new positions.
Hamas sent the document to mediators in Egypt and sent copies to Qatar and Türkiye. Through those countries, it was relayed to other parties, including the Board of Peace and the US administration.
The Hamas document obtained by Asharq Al-Awsat.
The message
At the beginning of the document, dated May 20, Hamas referred to efforts made by mediators to bridge differences during the latest negotiation rounds in Cairo and Istanbul, which it said had succeeded in narrowing gaps.
The document said Israel’s measures, the expansion of its aggression, assassinations, and the targeting of Palestinians, the negotiating delegation, their families, and those connected to the negotiations had created a negative environment and strongly affected the course of talks, undermining mediators’ efforts to keep negotiations on their normal track.
The document criticized Mladenov’s recent briefing to the UN Security Council, saying it contained inaccurate points and held Hamas responsible for obstructing the negotiation process.
It said everyone knew the movement was fully committed to all provisions of the Sharm el-Sheikh agreement and that Israel was the party obstructing the deal and deliberately sabotaging mediators’ efforts.
The document affirmed Hamas and the Palestinian factions' commitment to the negotiation track and its importance. It said they were working seriously to develop ideas to help overcome the deadlock and saw the need to intensify cooperation with mediators to reach reasonable approaches.
Hamas urged mediators to pressure Israel to stop its daily violations of the agreement, which were obstructing the completion of the required tasks.
The document said that while consultations were underway to reach a suitable formula to present to mediators, Israel assassinated Ezzedine al-Haddad, the commander of the Qassam Brigades, Hamas’ armed wing. It said the killing disrupted communication and consultation.
Hamas hoped that once consultations were completed, it would communicate with mediators in the coming days to find a suitable formula to resume the negotiation process.
More than a month ago, Asharq Al-Awsat revealed the full details of the proposal, which was classified as a roadmap and aimed to complete what remained of the first phase while negotiating the provisions of the second phase.
Conditions set by Hamas and Israel obstructed the implementation of the roadmap. The two sides exchanged responses through mediators amid attempts to bridge their differences, and progress was later made.
But Netanyahu’s government’s demand to obtain a signed document on disarming Gaza before moving ahead with any steps stalled progress on the agreement again, especially as Israel also refrained from allowing the Gaza administration committee to enter the enclave and assume its duties.
Eleven Children Killed, Injured Every 24 Hours in Lebanon, UN Sayshttps://english.aawsat.com/arab-world/5278457-eleven-children-killed-injured-every-24-hours-lebanon-un-says
Rubble lies around damaged building at the site of an Israeli strike in Tyre, Lebanon, May 28, 2026. (Reuters)
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Eleven Children Killed, Injured Every 24 Hours in Lebanon, UN Says
Rubble lies around damaged building at the site of an Israeli strike in Tyre, Lebanon, May 28, 2026. (Reuters)
Eleven children have been killed or injured on average every 24 hours in Lebanon over the last week, the UN's children's agency said on Friday, as Israel has expanded strikes across the country despite a ceasefire.
Heavy Israeli strikes hit towns and villages in southern Lebanon overnight on Wednesday and into Thursday, after Israel declared a new swathe of the area a combat zone. It also struck a building in the southern suburbs of Beirut on Thursday.
A total of 77 children have been killed or injured in the last seven days, UNICEF said, citing figures provided by Lebanon's Ministry of Public Health. Since the ceasefire began on April 16, 55 children have been killed and 212 injured, according to the agency.
UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires called for all parties to fully respect the ceasefire.
"Under international humanitarian law, children and civilian infrastructure must be protected," he said.
The ceasefire announced by Washington was meant to halt the fighting that has raged between Israeli troops and Iran-backed Hezbollah since March 2.
The UN's World Health Organization also said on Friday that the threat from the expansion of military activities raised grave health concerns for the Lebanese population.
Since the ceasefire took effect, a total of 27 attacks on healthcare facilities in Lebanon have been reported, resulting in 25 deaths and 42 injuries, according to the WHO. A total of 16 hospitals and 13 primary healthcare centers have been damaged in attacks, it added.
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