Official: Yemen, Houthis Reach Ceasefire

Yemen President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi has reached a ceasefire with Houthi rebels after violence erupted outside the presidential palace early Monday, according to an official. Information Minister Nadia Sakkaf said Hadi, who was at his private residence away from the clash, will meet with his political advisers and representatives from the Houthis later on Monday. Gunfire was heard across the city earlier in the day, but there were no reports from state media on the violence as residents were suffering a power outage at the time. The clash comes after the Houthis kidnapped Hadi's chief of staff on Saturday over a scheduled meeting to draft a new constitution. Last year the Shia Houthis seized large swaths of Yemen, including Sanaa, in a power struggle with Hadi before entering a truce in September. The deal between political parties and the Houthis called for creating a new unity government and the withdrawal of Houthi fighters in Sanaa.