Yemeni general says rebels planning coup
SANAA, Yemen – Shiite rebels shelled the residence of Yemen’s leader and swept into the nearby presidential palace Tuesday in what a top army commander said was an unfolding coup.
President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi – an important U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida’s powerful and highly lethal branch in Yemen – was unharmed, authorities said. But his grip on power appeared increasingly precarious.
The Shiite rebels, known as Houthis, seized the capital Sanaa in September as part of a longer power struggle with Hadi and effectively govern several other cities as well.
It remained unclear whether the Houthis intend to seize power outright or allow the internationally backed Hadi to remain in office.
Hero in Paris attacks granted citizenship
PARIS – French authorities Tuesday honored a Mali-born employee who saved lives at the kosher supermarket attacked by terrorists as a hero and granted him French citizenship.
Interior Minister Bernard Cazeneuve praised Muslim Lassana Bathily, 24, for his “courage” and “heroism” during a ceremony in the presence of Prime Minister Manuel Valls.
Cazeneuve said Bathily’s “act of humanity has become a symbol of an Islam of peace and tolerance.”
UN staffer in Africa freed by kidnappers
BANGUI, Central African Republic – The United Nations says a female staffer who was kidnapped in Central African Republic has been released.
A U.N. official Tuesday said a Kurdish female staffer had been kidnapped. The official said a Ugandan colleague who escaped told them the staffer was kidnapped by anti-Balaka Christian militia members.
Associated Press
