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Egypt Moves to Postpone African Summit in El Alamein Over Ebola Concerns

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during his participation in the Korea-Africa Summit earlier this month (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during his participation in the Korea-Africa Summit earlier this month (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
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Egypt Moves to Postpone African Summit in El Alamein Over Ebola Concerns

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during his participation in the Korea-Africa Summit earlier this month (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty during his participation in the Korea-Africa Summit earlier this month (Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs).

An Egyptian official source said there is a move toward postponing the African Union's Mid-Year Coordination Summit, which had been scheduled for the end of this month, due to the widespread spread of the Ebola virus in several African countries.

The source told Asharq Al-Awsat that the outbreak has prompted the Egyptian government, in coordination with the African Union, to review plans for holding the summit and its accompanying events, including the El Alamein-Africa Business Forum. The summit and related activities are expected to be rescheduled for later this year.

The African Union Commission had been preparing to hold the summit on June 27. The gathering brings together the African Union and regional economic communities with the aim of accelerating economic integration across the continent.

The Egyptian government had also been preparing to host the inaugural El Alamein-Africa Forum from June 25 to 27, with the participation of government representatives, private-sector leaders and entrepreneurs from across Africa.

According to Egyptian sources, an announcement postponing the summit is expected until the health situation related to the spread of Ebola stabilizes.

The World Health Organization has expressed growing concern over the spread of Ebola following the rise in infections in Central Africa.

The organization previously raised its assessment of the outbreak risk in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda from "high" to "very high." WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that the risk level "remains high at the regional level."

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recently warned that the current outbreak identified by the World Health Organization could reach a scale similar to the record outbreak between 2014 and 2016, which claimed the lives of more than 11,000 people in West Africa, if strict containment measures are not implemented.

Egypt's Foreign Ministry previously announced the establishment of the El Alamein-Africa Forum as a permanent African business forum to be held every two years in Egypt. It said the inaugural edition, scheduled for this year, would bring together more than 20 heads of state and government, along with prominent leaders from international and regional financial institutions and key figures from Africa's business community.

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Arab World

Al-Alimi to Ambassadors: Houthi Attacks Will Not Go without Consequence

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)
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Al-Alimi to Ambassadors: Houthi Attacks Will Not Go without Consequence

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)
Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi meets with the ambassadors of countries sponsoring the political process in Yemen. (Government media)

Chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council Dr. Rashad al-Alimi said on Monday that the latest escalation by the Iran-backed terrorist Houthi group was a new test to the international community’s commitment to protecting peace in the country.

During a meeting in Riyadh with ambassadors whose countries are sponsoring the peace process in Yemen, he stressed that the legitimate government “did not start the escalation and did not seek it”.

The government “will not allow its commitment to peace to be exploited by the Houthis to launch attacks and then later be confronted with calls for restraint when it chooses to retaliate”, he declared.

Al-Alimi briefed the envoys on the Houthi ballistic missile and drone attacks on al-Mokha port on Yemen’s west coast. He said the attack, which claimed civilian lives including women and children, targeted civilian and services infrastructure, not a military position.

The attack was the latest in a weekslong Houthi escalation that started with the militants’ attempt to operate flights for the Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps at Sanaa International Airport, he went on to say.

That was followed by the Houthis’ targeting of commercial vessels and civilian locations in neighboring Saudi Arabia, he added.

The government has long been committed to peace, calm and restraint, he said. It facilitated operations at airports and marine ports, as well as the flow of goods. It cooperated with UN and international efforts for peace “despite the political and economic cost”.

“It did so out of its conviction that Yemeni lives are above all else”, al-Alimi stated, while holding the “lax” international position towards Yemen in recent years responsible for the current situation.

The political and field situation has now changed, he went on to say. The Houthis “must realize that the phase of carrying out attacks without consequences is over.”

He called on the international community to assume its responsibility in protecting the international order, starting with civilians and civilian infrastructure, as well as trade ports, respect for sovereignty of nations and rejecting the use of missiles and drones to impose illegitimate political or economic gains.

He warned that silence over the escalation will not help restore calm, but the Houthis may use it to continue their attacks.

He demanded a clear international political position that condemns the Houthis’ targeting of ports and civilians, as well as support for the right of the legitimate government in protecting its people and institutions under international law.

Arab World

Arab League Chief: Israel’s Rejection of Peace Plan Shows Disregard for International Will

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)
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Arab League Chief: Israel’s Rejection of Peace Plan Shows Disregard for International Will

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)
Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy attends a joint press conference on the day of the Arab Ministerial Committee meeting to discuss the situation in Jerusalem, in Amman, Jordan, August 5, 2026. (Reuters)

Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy said statements by the Israeli prime minister rejecting the15-point roadmap to complete implementation of the comprehensive peace plan in Gaza reveal an explicit disregard for international will and the foundations of the peace process.

Fahmy said the Israeli prime minister's insistence that no Palestinian state be established in the Gaza Strip or the West Bank directly undermines prospects for a peaceful settlement and the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace, the Saudi Press Agency said on Monday.

In a statement, Fahmy stressed that continued Israeli violations of the ceasefire, including attacks targeting civilians and medical facilities in the Gaza Strip, constitute a blatant breach of existing obligations and relevant UN resolutions. He welcomed the clear position expressed by the foreign ministers of eight Arab and Islamic countries in their August 6 statement regarding these violations.

He renewed his call for the full and serious implementation of the comprehensive peace plan and for completing the process established by the Sharm El-Sheikh Peace Summit in October 2025.

Fahmy warned that continued Israeli attempts to impose new realities on the ground in the Gaza Strip and occupied West Bank seek to entrench the occupation and expand control over Palestinian territories. He said such attempts undermine the possibility of establishing a Palestinian state and blatantly contradict international law and relevant international legitimacy resolutions.

The secretary-general called on US President Donald Trump and the international community to assume their responsibilities in ensuring the full implementation of the comprehensive peace plan in accordance with UN Security Council Resolution 2803 of 2025. He also called for pressure on the Israeli government to end its violations and fulfill its obligations in a manner that preserves prospects for a just and lasting settlement.

Arab World

Two Soldiers Killed in Houthi Drone Attack on Yemen’s Marib

The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Two Soldiers Killed in Houthi Drone Attack on Yemen’s Marib

The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)
The remains of a military projectile are embedded in the ground in the Port of Mokha the day after an attack by the Houthis on the city of Mokha, held by Yemen's legitimate Aden-based government on August 10, 2026. (AFP)

The Iran-backed Houthi group launched on Monday a drone attack on the Harib district in Yemen’s Marib governorate.

Two government soldiers were killed and seven others wounded in the attack, said field military sources. This was the second attack on Harib in days.

The Houthis continued their attacks on government forces, days after their escalation targeting al-Mokha city and its port on Yemen’s west coast, as well as Marib, Hadramawt, and Dhale.

Meanwhile, authorities in the southern and eastern governorates urged vigilance in anticipation of any attack.

Member of the Presidential Leadership Council Sultan Ali al-Aradah stressed the need for vigilance in the al-Mahra governorate and more coordination between military units and security agencies to confront threats.

He met with Chief of the General Staff of the Yemeni Armed Forces Lieutenant General Sagheer Aziz and other military officials, underlining the need to continue the crackdown on Houthi smuggling operations and thwarting their destabilizing activities.

He said al-Mahra was the gateway to eastern Yemen, calling for maintaining its stability, bolstering the presence of state institutions and protecting national interests.

In Hadramawt, PLC member and province governor Salem al-Khanbashi inspected the al-Riyan International Airport, Mukalla port and the al-Dhabba Oil Terminal to check the measures taken to ensure their security.

He chaired a meeting in Mukalla to tackle the level of readiness and emergency plans to confront any possible danger and protect lives.