Yemeni President Meets VP, PM ahead of US Trip for Medical Checkup

Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi meeting with VP, PM (Saba News)
Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi meeting with VP, PM (Saba News)
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Yemeni President Meets VP, PM ahead of US Trip for Medical Checkup

Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi meeting with VP, PM (Saba News)
Yemen's President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi meeting with VP, PM (Saba News)

Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi headed on Saturday evening to the United States for his usual, periodic medical checkup, according to informed Yemeni sources.

Prior to his departure, Hadi held a meeting with Vice President Ali Mohsen Saleh and Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik.

The sources confirmed to Asharq Al-Awsat that Hadi is in good health, however, his visit is two months earlier than his usual annual checkup in US hospitals.

During the meeting, the President reviewed the latest developments and discussed the military situations on various Yemeni frontlines.

Hadi also reviewed the people's demands, field developments, and issues related to the situation of the citizen's livelihood.

The officials briefed the president on the recent developments and reviewed the services and general needs of the citizens.

In the meeting, Hadi touched on the difficulties facing the people along with the challenges of the ongoing war and escalation of the Houthi coup militia against the Yemenis to serve Iran's agenda, according to Saba news agency.

Furthermore, Hadi held several telephone conversations with Minister of Defense Lieutenant-General Mohammed al-Maqdeshi, Chief of the Staff General Saghir bin Aziz, and Marib Governor Major General Sultan al-Arada, during which they discussed arranging ranks, and committing to military plans to confront the Houthi militias.

Saba news agency reported that Hadi urged more vigilance, training, and rehabilitation for the national army, asserting that the republic will be restored.

“While the international community and sincere efforts of the brotherly countries aim to create opportunities for peace, the coup militias continue to escalate and claim innocent lives.”

The Yemeni president stressed that the Houthis' continuous missile attacks will not establish real peace.



Building Collapse Kills 11 People in Morocco's Fez

The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
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Building Collapse Kills 11 People in Morocco's Fez

The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)
The Moroccan flag is seen in front of a destroyed building following the devastating earthquake in Marrakesh last month. (Reuters)

Eleven people were killed and six others injured when a four-storey building collapsed overnight in the Moroccan city of Fez, about 200 kilometres (124 miles) east of Rabat, state-owned broadcaster 2M said on Thursday.

Authorities said a search for others who might still be buried was ongoing. Media showed footage of rescuers and residents digging through the rubble, Reuters reported.

An investigation has been launched into the incident, and residents of adjacent buildings were asked to evacuate as a precaution against potential further collapses, authorities said.

Fez, a former capital dating back to the eighth century and the country's third-most-populous city, has seen similar incidents in recent months, including one in December when two buildings collapsed, killing at least 22 people.

In 2010, the collapse of a minaret in the historic northern city of Meknes killed 41 people.

Adib Ben Ibrahim, housing secretary of state, said last year that approximately 38,800 buildings across the country had been classified as being at risk of collapse.


Syria's Sharaa to Attend G7 Summit in France

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 24, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 24, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
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Syria's Sharaa to Attend G7 Summit in France

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 24, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)
Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa speaks during the General Debate of the United Nations General Assembly at the UN headquarters in New York City on September 24, 2025. (Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP)

Syria will attend the G7 summit in France next month as a guest nation and be represented by President Ahmed al-Sharaa, three sources familiar with the matter said, marking Syria's first participation in a summit of the group since the forum was founded in 1975. An invitation to Sharaa to attend the June 15-17 summit in Évian-les-Bains, southeastern France, was hand-delivered to Syrian Finance Minister Yisr Barnieh, who attended the group's financial talks earlier this week in Paris, one of the sources said.

The source, a Syrian official, said Syria's participation in the talks would likely focus on the country's role as a “potential strategic hub for supply chains” following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Shipping through the strait has been largely halted since the Iran war erupted at the end of February, rattling the global economy.

Syria, emerging from its 14-year civil war as an ally of the West, is seeking to rebuild an economy shattered by years of conflict and sanctions.

While most sanctions imposed during former Presidents Hafez and Bashar al-Assad's rule have since been eased, attracting foreign investment and restoring normal banking ties have proven slower and more difficult than many officials had hoped.


Lebanese Bury Victims of Deadliest Israeli Strike since Ceasefire

20 May 2026, Lebanon, Tyre: A view of the destruction after Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
20 May 2026, Lebanon, Tyre: A view of the destruction after Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
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Lebanese Bury Victims of Deadliest Israeli Strike since Ceasefire

20 May 2026, Lebanon, Tyre: A view of the destruction after Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa
20 May 2026, Lebanon, Tyre: A view of the destruction after Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese port city of Tyre. Photo: Marwan Naamani/dpa

Mourners gathered in a southern Lebanese town on Thursday to bury victims from an Israeli airstrike earlier this week that killed 14 people, the deadliest single bombing raid on Lebanon since the announcement of a tenuous ceasefire last month.

The toll from Israel's strike on the town of Deir Qanoun En-Nahr on Tuesday included four children and three women, according to Lebanon's health ministry.

Dozens of people gathered in the southern town on Thursday to bury the victims, carrying pictures of three children and their parents who were killed in the bombing raid.

Ali Reda Dibo identified them as his 33-year-old brother, who was killed at home along with his wife and their children -- a 1-year-old son, and two daughters aged 6 and 8.

"They were children, angels, what more can we say? There is nothing left to say after what you are seeing today, nothing at all," Dibo said.

Two of the coffins were draped in the yellow flag of Hezbollah, and a third bore the green flag of Hezbollah's ally, the Amal movement.

When asked about the strike, the Israeli military told Reuters that it had "struck a Hezbollah terrorist in a structure used for military purposes in the area of Deir Qanoun in southern Lebanon".

It said the area had been evacuated of civilians and that precise munitions and aerial surveillance had been used to mitigate harm.

Israel has issued orders for people across southern Lebanese towns to leave their homes and head north, including during the ceasefire. More than one million people have been displaced in Lebanon by the evacuation orders and by Israel's bombing campaign.

But many have opted to stay in their hometowns, refusing to stay in government-run shelters or unable to afford rent for a new home.

More than 3,070 people have been killed in Israeli strikes on Lebanon since March 2, when Lebanese armed group Hezbollah fired on Israel and ignited a new war.

They include more than 200 children, nearly 300 women and more than 110 healthcare workers. Fighting has continued despite a US-brokered ceasefire announced on April 16, with each side accusing the other of truce violations.