Algeria Summit: Several Leaders Attend for 1st Time, Guterres is Guest of Honor

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receives Tunisian President Kais Saied at the airport (AFP)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receives Tunisian President Kais Saied at the airport (AFP)
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Algeria Summit: Several Leaders Attend for 1st Time, Guterres is Guest of Honor

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receives Tunisian President Kais Saied at the airport (AFP)
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune receives Tunisian President Kais Saied at the airport (AFP)

The Algerian authorities did not announce the names of the leaders who would be attending this year's Arab Summit. However, it was reported that the event would bring together 15 Arab leaders, led by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi and Tunisian President Kais Saied, and Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani.

The 31st Arab Summit is the first for some leaders, including Saied, Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune, and Iraqi President Abdul Latif Jamal Rashid.

Algeria announced the arrival of Saied, Sisi, and the President of Djibouti, Ismail Omar Guelleh, to Houari Boumediene International Airport, and Tebboune received them.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres arrived in Algiers as the guest of honor and was received by Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra.

Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mahmoud was also in Algiers, while Ilham Aliyev, the Azeri President, who also chairs the Non-Aligned Movement, arrived to participate as a guest of honor at the Summit.

The Algerian President received the President of Mauritania, Mohamed Ould Ghazouani, at the international airport.

On Monday, the Iraqi President arrived in Algiers and was received by Tebboune.

The Algerian President also received the President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the President of the Yemen Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad al-Alimi, the President of Palestine, Mahmoud Abbas, and Senegalese President, Macky Sall, the current President of the African Union, in his capacity as the guest of honor of the Summit.

Furthermore, the Deputy Prime Minister for International Relations and Cooperation Affairs and Personal Representative of Oman, Asaad bin Tarik Al Said, and Lebanese Prime Minister Najib Mikati arrived on Monday at Algiers' international airport and were received by Algerian Prime Minister Ayman Abdel Rahman.

Also among the attendees were Bahrain's Deputy Prime Minister and Special Representative of the King, Sheikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, and Chairman of the Libyan Presidential Council, Mohammad al-Menfi.

The President of Comoros, Othman Ghazali, was received by Tebboune at the airport.

On behalf of the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan bin Abdullah chaired the Saudi delegation participating in the summit.

Meanwhile, Morocco announced that King Mohammed VI would not participate in the Summit.

The Representative of Kuwait's Emir Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, Crown Prince Mishal Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, arrived in Algiers to participate in the inaugural session.

Jordan's King Abdullah II will also be absent from the Summit, and Jordan News Agency announced on Sunday that Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah would head the country's delegation to Algeria.

UAE Vice President Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid will represent his country.



Houthis Report US Strikes on Yemen's Sanaa, Hodeidah

 A plume of smoke billows above buildings in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa late on April 19, 2025. (AFP)
A plume of smoke billows above buildings in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa late on April 19, 2025. (AFP)
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Houthis Report US Strikes on Yemen's Sanaa, Hodeidah

 A plume of smoke billows above buildings in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa late on April 19, 2025. (AFP)
A plume of smoke billows above buildings in Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa late on April 19, 2025. (AFP)

Yemen's Houthi militias said Saturday that the US military launched a series of airstrikes on the capital, Sanaa, and the Houthi-held coastal city of Hodeidah, less than two days after a US strike wrecked a Red Sea port and killed more than 70 people.

The Houthis’ media office said 13 US airstrikes hit an airport and a port in Hodeidah, on the Red Sea. The office also reported US strikes in the capital, Sanaa.

There were no immediate reports of casualties.

The US. military’s Central Command, which oversees American military operations in the Middle East, said it continues to conduct strikes against the Houthis in Yemen.

Thursday’s strike hit the port of Ras Isa, also in Hodeidah province, killing 74 people and wounding 171 others, according to the Houthi-run health ministry. It was the deadliest strike in the US ongoing bombing campaign on the Iranian-backed militants.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres on Saturday said he was “gravely concerned” about the attack on Ras Isa, as well as the Houthi missile and drone attacks on Israel and the shipping routes, his spokesman Stéphane Dujarric said Saturday.

“The secretary-general recalls that international law, including international humanitarian law as applicable, must be respected at all times, and he appeals to all to respect and protect civilians as well as civilian infrastructure,” Dujarric said.

US Central Command declined to answer any questions about possible civilian casualties. It referred to a statement in which it said “this strike was not intended to harm the people of Yemen.”

The strikes on Hodeidah have been part of a month-long US bombing campaign, which the Trump administration said came about because of the Houthi attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, a crucial global trade route, and on its close ally, Israel.

About 200 people have been killed in the US campaign since March 16, according to the Houthis' health ministry.