News & Views

The Yemeni president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, has returned after three months of absence, amid clashes between opposition activists and troops loyal to him. He had been recovering in Saudi Arabia since suffering injuries in a bomb blast at his presidential palace in the capital, Sanaa, on June 3 "Ali Abdullah Saleh, president of the republic, returned this morning to the land of the nation safely after a trip for treatment in Riyadh that lasted more than three months," Yemen Television announced on Friday. A freelance reporter based in Sanaa told Al Jazeera that Saleh's return, if confirmed, "will encourage more Yemenis to join the march today. "It will also encourage more gunfire". Machine gunfire was heard in Sanaa as news of Saleh's return broke in the early morning hours.