US welcomes new Yemeni president

The United States has welcomed the swearing-in of the new Yemeni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi who recently won the presidential elections held in Yemen. US President Barack Obama told Yemen's new president in a telephone conversation late Saturday that the United States would be a steadfast partner, urging him to follow through on promises for a broad national dialogue, political reforms and elections by 2014. "I told President (Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi) that the United States will stand with the people of Yemen as they continue their efforts to forge a brighter future for their country," Obama said in a White House statement. He also offered condolences for the victims of the suicide bombing by al Qaeda that killed at least 26 people outside the presidential palace in southern Yemen on Saturday, only hours after Hadi was sworn in.