Abyzemen

Yemeni government and Houthi representatives have reached an agreement on the first phase of their redeployment of forces under a UN-sponsored deal for the warring armies to leave the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah, the United Nations said on Sunday. Representatives of the Yemeni government and Houthi rebels met in the UN-facilitated talks in Hodeidah on Saturday and Sunday, and reached agreement on Phase 1 of the troop withdrawal, said the press office of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. However, the press office didn't give details of exactly what the Iranian-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed government agreed. The United Nations is trying to implement a truce and troop-withdrawal accord in Hodeidah, the main entry point for most of Yemen's imports, as part of efforts to end a war that has killed tens of thousands and left millions on the brink of starvation. Under Phase 1, the Houthis are to withdraw from the ports of Hodeidah, Saleef and Ras Isa to be met...

The Haitian government vowed to deepen the investigation into alleged corruption in the PetroCaribe oil program and to reduce its expenses, seeking to meet some of protestors' demands as demonstrations roil the country. During a televised address on Saturday night, Prime Minister Jean-Henry Ceant announced nine measures aimed at alleviating the country's economic crisis.  Ceant said the government will reduce its expenses by 30 percent, meet with the private sector to try to raise the minimum wage and appoint a new director to intensify the investigation into alleged corruption under PetroCaribe. "I and the members of the government listen to (the opposition's) voice, we hear his cry, we understand his anger and indignation," Ceant said. Since Feb. 7, thousands of demonstrators have called for President Jovenel Moise and Ceant to resign and for an independent probe into the whereabouts of funds from the PetroCaribe agreement, an alliance between Caribbe...

China announced Monday that it is developing the modified version of the Long March-6 rocket with four additional solid boosters to increase its carrying capacity. The improved medium-lift carrier rocket will be sent into space by 2020, according to Shanghai Academy of Spaceflight Technology under the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation (CASTC), which designed the rocket. With a short launch preparation cycle, the Long March-6 has been mainly used for the academy's commercial launches. The rocket completed two space tests in September 2015 and November 2017, carrying 20 satellites and three satellites, respectively. The three-stage rocket is 29.3 meters long, with a launch weight of 103 tonnes. It has a carrying capacity of one tonne for sun-synchronous orbit. Fueled by a liquid propellant made of liquid oxygen and kerosene, the Long March-6 is China's first carrier rocket that uses non-toxic and non-polluting fuel. Ding Xiufeng, executive manager of...

China's foreign ministry expressed anger on Monday over two U.S. warships entering the South China Sea. The two warships entered China's territorial seas around the Nansha Islands without permission from the Chinese government, ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a daily news briefing. The Chinese side immediately conducted verification and identification on the U.S. ships and warned them to leave, said the spokeswoman. The relevant action by the U.S. side infringed upon China's sovereignty, and undermined the peace, security, and order of the relevant waters, Hua said, adding that China will continue to take necessary measures to safeguard itself. China firmly opposed the relevant action and urged the U.S. to immediately stop its provocations, Hua stressed.

U.S. Democratic and Republican negotiators have reached an agreement "in principle" on Monday to fund the government and avoid another partial shutdown. Republican Senator Richard Shelby, one of the congressional negotiators working on border security funding, said late on Monday that an "agreement in principle" had been reached, according to Reuters. "Our staffs are going to be working feverishly to put all the particulars together,” Shelby said. He did not say whether President Donald Trump would get any money for the U.S.-Mexico border wall as he has asked. Trump's December demand for 5.7 billion U.S. dollars to help construct the border wall triggered a 35-day partial government shutdown that ended last month without him getting wall funding. A congressional aide, who asked not to be identified, said the outline of the deal included 1.37 billion U.S. dollars for erecting new fencing along the southern border. That is about the same amount C...

France has recalled its ambassador to Italy for talks after "provocations" from Italy's political leaders, said the French Foreign Ministry on Thursday. "France has been, for several months, the target of repeated, baseless attacks and outrageous statements," the ministry said in a statement. It came one day after Italy's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi di Maio hailed the "winds of change across the Alps" on Twitter following his meeting with leaders of the "yellow vest" movement.