Yemen’s president and Shiite rebels reach deal to end standoff

Yemen’s state news agency is reporting that the country’s embattled president has reached an agreement with Shiite rebels to end a violent standoff in the capital.

The agreement called for the armed Houthi rebels to pull out from around President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi’s home and the presidential palace, which they besieged on Tuesday. Media reports from Yemen said the deal also calls for them to release a top aide to Hadi they had kidnapped in recent days, and also included a clause that would answer the rebels’ demands to amend the constitution and expand their representation in the parliament and in state institutions.