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Yemen’s Hadi Appoints New Head of Shura Council, Attorney General, Cabinet Secretary

President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi chairs a meeting with cabinet ministers, Saba News Agency
President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi chairs a meeting with cabinet ministers, Saba News Agency
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Yemen’s Hadi Appoints New Head of Shura Council, Attorney General, Cabinet Secretary

President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi chairs a meeting with cabinet ministers, Saba News Agency
President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi chairs a meeting with cabinet ministers, Saba News Agency

The Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen announced its rejection of “unilateral” decisions issued recently by President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi, saying that they undermine the Riyadh Agreement.

A presidential decree released on Friday had appointed a new attorney general and Shura Council head.

Former prime minister Ahmed Ubaid bin Dagher was appointed as the head of the Shura Council and Ahmed Al-Mosai as attorney general.

Each of Abdullah Muhammad Abu Al-Ghaith and Taha Abdullah Jaafar Aman were appointed as deputy heads of the Shura Council.

The appointments came around a month after a new government was formed under the Riyadh Agreement.

Under Saudi sponsorship, the agreement was signed by the former government and the STC.

Hadi’s decision to have a change of leadership at the Shura Council comes as an apparent effort to rebuild Yemeni institutions whose performance was disrupted by the war waged by Iran-backed Houthi militias.

Al-Mosai, the new attorney general, held the post of deputy minister of interior and has worked on sensitive issues such as the war on terror and assassinations.

It is worth noting that Muti' Ahmad Dammaj was assigned the post of Secretary-General to the premiership.

“These decisions (appointments) are a dangerous escalation and a clear and unacceptable departure from what has been agreed upon, and undermining the Riyadh agreement,” the STC spokesman, Ali Al Kathiri, said today, on Twitter.

More so, the Club of Southern Judges criticized Friday's decrees.

The club said the appointment of the new attorney general violated the Yemeni constitution and judicial authority law.

There should have been a proposal by the president of the supreme judicial council for the appointment of the attorney general as the judicial authority law and its procedural amendments state, the club said.

Al-Mosai did not come from the judicial authority but from the ministry of interior, it stressed.

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Arab World

Israeli Army Sets Gaza-style ‘Yellow Line’ in Lebanon amid Differences with Govt

The rubble of a destroyed building, seen from inside a heavily damaged building, after an Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 2, 2026. (Reuters)
The rubble of a destroyed building, seen from inside a heavily damaged building, after an Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 2, 2026. (Reuters)
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Israeli Army Sets Gaza-style ‘Yellow Line’ in Lebanon amid Differences with Govt

The rubble of a destroyed building, seen from inside a heavily damaged building, after an Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 2, 2026. (Reuters)
The rubble of a destroyed building, seen from inside a heavily damaged building, after an Israeli strike, amid escalating hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, as the U.S.-Israeli conflict with Iran continues, in Tyre, Lebanon, April 2, 2026. (Reuters)

Israeli forces have advanced into Lebanon’s Ras al-Bayada area, a hilly region about 14 kilometers from the Galilee border overlooking the Litani River, with the army saying it plans to remain there for an extended, though temporary, period.

The move comes as tensions emerge between the military and the government over the scope of operations in southern Lebanon.

Families of several soldiers from the Nahal Infantry Brigade have written to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz and senior commanders, urging a reassessment of their sons’ deployment.

They warned that the “risks are unjustified due to a lack of air support” and cited rising casualties. “Remaining in Lebanon, under current conditions, exposes soldiers to danger in an extremely unreasonable way,” they said, calling for an urgent review and alternative strategies.

The government has advocated full control of South Lebanon and making the Litani River Israel’s new border. The army has rejected that approach, saying it will instead treat the Litani as a “line of fire,” monitored from what it calls a “yellow line” — a concept previously applied to the Gaza Strip border and viewed as temporary pending a withdrawal decision.

Tens of thousands of troops have been deployed to Lebanon under this framework.

The soldiers’ families said 13 people have been killed so far — 10 soldiers and three civilians — and 20 soldiers wounded. They added that “since most air force resources are currently devoted to Iran, soldiers in Lebanon are not receiving sufficient air support,” which they said was likely a key factor behind the casualties.

Debate over protecting northern civilians

Citing military sources, the families said one objective of the ground incursion is to draw Hezbollah fire toward Israeli troops rather than civilians in northern Israel.

While stressing the importance of protecting border communities, they argued this should not come at the direct expense of soldiers’ lives. “It is not legitimate to define drawing fire toward fighters as a war objective... without using all available tools to ensure their safety,” they wrote.

They suggested temporary alternatives, including evacuations or expanding shelters and fortified rooms in threatened areas.

“Exploiting our sons — young men who have been fighting for three years in a multi-front war — is a grave injustice,” they added, calling for accountability and an immediate review of operational decisions.

An Israeli report on Wednesday said Hezbollah is not currently capable of launching mass daily barrages toward central Israel, and that many recent projectiles have missed their targets.

However, it retains the ability to wage guerrilla warfare and target Israeli forces in southern Lebanon, where four divisions are operating.

According to Haaretz military analyst Amos Harel, Hezbollah is firing around 200 rockets and drones daily toward northern Israel and Israeli forces — more than many Israelis had expected at the start of the war.

He said the situation is “more complex” than official narratives suggest, adding that Hezbollah has used months of fighting and a ceasefire period since November 2024 to regroup and rebuild its capabilities.

A report in Maariv cited a senior officer who fought in the 2006 Lebanon war as saying current troop levels are insufficient for the political objectives being set.

“Promises of a decisive victory over Hezbollah do not match the reality on the ground,” he stated, warning of a repeat of past scenarios in which Israeli forces come under sustained anti-tank fire in exposed positions.

“A decisive outcome would require greater effort and larger forces,” he added, noting that the war with Iran and ongoing operations in the West Bank continue to stretch military resources.

Arab World

Russia, Egypt Discuss Means to Secure Energy, Food Supplies

Russian President Vladimir Putin receives Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Moscow on Thursday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Russian President Vladimir Putin receives Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Moscow on Thursday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
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Russia, Egypt Discuss Means to Secure Energy, Food Supplies

Russian President Vladimir Putin receives Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Moscow on Thursday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)
Russian President Vladimir Putin receives Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty in Moscow on Thursday. (Egyptian Foreign Ministry)

Egypt stressed on Thursday its keenness on developing its bilateral ties and strategic partnership with Russia, along with coordinating over regional and international affairs, most notably the impact of the war on Iran.

Russian President Vladimir Putin received in Moscow on Thursday Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who handed him a message from President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi that tackled bilateral ties and the strategic partnership between their countries.

The FM had arrived in Moscow on Wednesday on a visit aimed at exploring means to develop bilateral cooperation and exchange views on several regional issues.

Experts said the visit aimed at “bolster balances in alliances and secure energy and food supplies.”

During his talks with Abdelatty, Putin hailed the depth of Egyptian-Russian ties and the fruitful cooperation in all fields.

He praised the role Sisi is playing in leading mediation to ease the escalation, support security and stability in the Middle East and prevent the conflict from expanding, said the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.

Abdelatty and Putin discussed the “intense diplomatic efforts aimed at de-escalation in the Middle East.” They also tackled the outcomes of the ministerial meeting that was held in Pakistan earlier this week that brought together the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Türkiye to discuss the conflict.

Calm and diplomacy are the best choices to avoid the expansion of the conflict, they stressed.

Sisi and Putin held telephone talks on Tuesday during which the former stressed the need for de-escalation in the Middle East.

Russia, with its international standing, can use its influence to end the war, he added.

Arab World

UN Resumes Operations in Sudanese Capital after 3 Years of War

Officials are seen at the reopening ceremony in Khartoum. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Officials are seen at the reopening ceremony in Khartoum. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UN Resumes Operations in Sudanese Capital after 3 Years of War

Officials are seen at the reopening ceremony in Khartoum. (Asharq Al-Awsat)
Officials are seen at the reopening ceremony in Khartoum. (Asharq Al-Awsat)

The United Nations announced on Thursday that it was officially resuming operations in the Sudanese capital Khartoum after three years of war.

UN Resident Coordinator and Humanitarian and Development Coordinator in Sudan Denise Brown said the move was significant and allows UN agencies to reach all areas that were previously inaccessible.

Speaking at a press conference at the UN mission in central Khartoum, she added that the organization will continue its support to the state and individuals to end the war and reconstruct Sudan.

The UN quit Khartoum for Port Sudan shortly after the eruption of the war between the army and Rapid Support Forces in April 2023.

Sudanese Foreign Minister Mohi El-Din Salem said the UN’s return to Khartoum was an important message to internal partners that “we are working side by side to restore peace and stability in Sudan.”

“As we have reclaimed Khartoum from the rebel RSF, we will reclaim the regions of Darfur and Kordofan,” he told a press conference.

“We will work with the UN through the initiative proposed by Prime Minister Kamil Idris to the Security Council in December to end the war and restore peace and stability in Sudan,” he stressed.

Moreover, he said that Sudan was “open to all initiatives to reach sustainable peace,” while also rejecting any truce that allows the RSF to return to the Sudanese scene.

Sudan and the UN will work together to restore stability through intra-Sudanese dialogue, declared the FM. “Only the Sudanese people will decide the fate of their country.”