In this Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011 file photo, an anti-government protestor chants slogans and holds a piece of bread that reads in Arabic, "Leave". (AP)
Yemen has sworn in a new government despite objections from the ruling party, led my former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, and allied Shiite rebels who control the capital.
Thirty ministers were sworn in on Sunday. Another three rejected their appointments, and three were outside Yemen.
After weeks of wrangling, a U.N.-brokered deal saw Khaled Bahah nominated as prime minister and tasked with forming a government. All Yemeni parties and political groups eventually agreed on an independent technocrat Cabinet last Saturday.
But Saleh, seen as a behind-the-scenes power broker, and the Shiite Houthi rebels backed away after the U.N. Security Council approved sanctions against the former leader and two rebel commanders on Friday.
The Houthi rebels have since dismissed the government as unrepresentative and called for a new lineup.