In brief: Hadi says he’s still president of Yemen

SANAA, Yemen – The embattled Yemeni leader who resigned the presidency last month and fled the rebel-controlled capital said Sunday he is still the country’s legitimate president and is ruling from the south.

“Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi exercises his functions as president of the republic in Aden with legitimacy not subject to questioning,” his office said in a statement after he met with governors from all six southern provinces and received their backing.

Hadi’s aides said that since he made his resignation under house arrest, with rebels controlling the capital and without the legally required ratification by parliament, it was invalid.

On Sunday, the Socialist, Leftist, Nasserist, Salafi and Islamist Islah parties threw their weight behind Hadi’s cause, issuing statements endorsing him.

The largest party in Yemen, however, the General People’s Congress of Hadi’s predecessor Ali Abdullah Saleh, rejected Hadi’s move to reclaim office.

Retrial of Al-Jazeera journalists begins

CAIRO – The retrial of two Al-Jazeera English journalists who face terror-related charges in a case widely criticized by human rights organizations and media groups is set to begin today in Egypt.

Both bureau chief Mohamed Fahmy and Egyptian producer Baher Mohammed have been free on bail since earlier this month awaiting trial.

The two, arrested in December 2013, face charges of being part of a terrorist group and airing falsified footage intended to damage Egyptian national security.

Another colleague arrested with them, Australian Peter Greste, was deported Feb. 1.

Egypt’s Court of Cassation, the country’s highest appeals court, ordered the retrial, saying the initial proceedings were marred by violations of the defendants’ rights. Fahmy received a seven-year prison sentence, while Mohammed received a 10-year sentence.

Bomb attacks kill 19 across Iraq

BAGHDAD – Multiple bombings, including a suicide truck bomb attack on Shiite militiamen, killed 19 people Sunday in Iraq, officials said.

Police officials said the deadliest attack took place Sunday afternoon when a suicide bomber drove his explosives-laden truck into a checkpoint manned by Shiite militias near the city of Tikrit. Eight militiamen were killed and at least 15 wounded in the attack.

Tikrit, which fell under the control of the Islamic State group last summer, is 80 miles north of Baghdad. Iraqi security forces and Shiite militiamen now control most of the roads leading to the city, but have yet to retake it.

Elsewhere, a bomb exploded near an outdoor market in the town of Youssfiyah, just south of Baghdad, killing two people and wounding 10 others.

Police said another bomb blast on a commercial street in Baghdad’s southeastern district of Zafaraniyah killed two people and wounded six others.

At night, a car bomb exploded near a string of car repair shops in Baghdad’s western district of Baiyaa, killing seven people and wounding 14.

El-Sissi says need for Arab force growing

CAIRO – Egypt’s president said Sunday that the need for a joint Arab military force is growing every day as the region faces the threat of Islamic militancy.

President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi said in an address to the nation aired by local TV that Egypt’s military has no interest in invading or attacking other nations, but will defend Egypt as well as the region “if required and in coordination with our Arab brothers.”

Jesuits say priest freed in Afghanistan

ROME – The Jesuit religious order says an Indian priest who was abducted in Afghanistan eight months ago has been released.

James Stapleton, a Jesuit Refugee Service spokesman in Rome, said the Rev. Alexis Prem Kumar was released Sunday and has since returned to his native India.

Kumar was visiting a Jesuit Refugee Service-supported school near Herat, western Afghanistan, while serving as the service’s Afghanistan director when he was abducted by several armed men in June.