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Yemen's government, Shiite rebels sign peace deal

 
Published Sept. 22, 2014

Yemen

Government, Shiite rebels sign peace deal

Yemeni government officials and Shiite rebels signed a peace agreement on Sunday following days of violence that left more than 140 people dead and sent thousands fleeing their homes, state media said, although major rebel advances earlier in the day deepened a sense of uncertainty in the country. The agreement calls for an immediate cease-fire and the formation of a technocratic government within a month after consultations with all political parties, a U.N. envoy said at a joint news conference with President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi in the capital, Sana. The impoverished but strategically located Arabian peninsula nation has long been riven by violence, but the latest outbreak has involved unusually sustained and widespread fighting in the capital between Shiite Muslim rebels known as Houthis and government-allied Sunni Muslim militias.

Russia

Putin's stance on Ukraine protested

Thousands of Russians marched through Moscow on Sunday in an antigovernment demonstration criticizing President Vladimir Putin for what they saw as his warmongering in Ukraine. It was the first large-scale public demonstration against Putin since March, despite the patriotic fervor that has seized Russia since his annexation of Crimea in that month. The conflict in eastern Ukraine between the government and separatist republics has left more than 3,000 people dead. The West has accused Russia of supplying arms and soldiers to the separatists, a charge that Putin has denied.

Elsewhere:

Sierra Leone: Frustrated residents complained of food shortages in some neighborhoods of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, on Sunday as the country reached the third and final day of a lockdown designed to combat the deadly Ebola disease, volunteers said.

Sacramento, Calif.: Seeking to put more California drivers in electric cars, Gov. Jerry Brown signed a bill Sunday providing financial incentives to entice consumers to buy the environmentally friendly vehicles.

China: Explosions in a county in China's western region of Xinjiang killed two people and injured many others, authorities said today.

Times wires