Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh is “stable” after being treated in Riyadh for bomb wounds, a Saudi official said yesterday.
The veteran leader’s health status has been sketchy since he was flown on Saturday to Riyadh for treatment from wounds sustained in a bomb attack the day before on his presidential compound. He has not been seen in public since.
“The condition of the Yemeni president is stable,” a Saudi official said on condition of anonymity, adding the beleaguered president was waiting for doctors to “appoint a date for cosmetic surgery.”
Saleh, 69, would undergo a cosmetic operation to treat “light burns on the scalp,” he said, adding that “reports on the deterioration of his health condition are baseless.”
On Tuesday, US officials said Saleh was burned over 40 percent of his body and suffered bleeding in the brain from the attack, indicating his wounds were worse than initially reported. The revelation cast doubts on a quick return to Yemen and pointed to a deepening power vacuum.
Yemeni Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has insisted that Saleh is in good condition and that he will return to Yemen within days.
The Saudi newspaper Al-Watan yesterday quoted a Yemeni diplomat in Riyadh as saying that Saleh’s condition was no longer critical despite his having been “in great danger” earlier.
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
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