Saleh to appear in media in 48 hours

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh will make a media appearance within the next 48 hours, his media secretary said on Sunday. 

"The president will appear within the next 48 hours despite our fear that the burns on his features and on different parts of his body will be an obstacle given that his appearance will not be as the media expects it," Ahmed al-Sufi said in a statement. 

Saleh was forced to leave Yemen for treatment in a Saudi hospital after an attack on his palace earlier this month.

Yemen power transfer ruled out while Saleh away

Yemen's deputy information minister on Sunday ruled out any transfer of power in Yemen so long as wounded President Ali Abdullah Saleh remains hospitalised in Saudi Arabia.

"Our moral values do not allow us to discuss a transfer of power as the president lies on his sick bed" in Riyadh, where he was flown on June 4 for treatment after an explosion at his palace compound in Sanaa, Abdo al-Janadi told AFP.

Saleh, 69, who has faced nearly six months of protests against his 33-year-long autocratic rule, has not appeared in public since the attack that killed 11 people and wounded 124 others, among them senior officials.

In his absence, Vice President Abdrabuh Mansur Hadi has come under pressure from the parliamentary opposition and the West to assume power, while street protesters demand he form an interim ruling council.

"The president is in good health. He is recovering but his discharge from hospital will be decided by his doctors," said Janadi.

Hadi, who under the constitution replaces Saleh in his absence, "is working hard to normalise the situation in Yemen and to gather all parties in Yemen for dialogue," said the deputy minister.

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