Saleh's health improving, officials say

SANAA, Yemen, July 6 (UPI) -- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh and state officials wounded in a June 3 attack in Sanaa are in good health, the Yemeni government announced.

Saleh is recovering from burns and shrapnel wounds suffered when insurgents bombed his presidential compound following Friday prayers. Foreign Minister Abu Bakr al-Qirbi told state officials following meetings with the president in Riyadh that he was in good health.

The president, he added, had discussed a proposal from the Gulf Cooperation Council regarding Saleh's leaving office, the official Saba news agency reports.

Saleh has endured months of pressure to step down. The GCC initiative outlines his departure in exchange for immunity. Saleh has refused to sign the deal and various transition plans were rejected because the president isn't in the country.

Qirbi this week was quoted by Bloomberg News as saying Saleh was starting talks on political transition with the opposition Joint Meeting Parties, southern separatists and members of the Houthi rebellion.