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ellisonz

(27,739 posts)
Tue Feb 21, 2012, 08:20 PM Feb 2012

Yemen's new leader inherits shattered nation

By AHMED AL-HAJ and BEN HUBBARD | Associated Press – 4 hrs ago

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Yemenis flocked to the polls across their battered nation Tuesday to vote in a U.S.-backed, single-candidate election meant to instate a new leader to replace the outgoing autocrat.

Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is set to be declared president in the coming days, which will make his predecessor, Ali Abdullah Saleh, the fourth leader to be pushed from power in the Arab Spring uprisings that erupted early last year.

While the voters were largely hopeful — with some waiting in long lines to cast ballots bearing only Hadi's name — the new leader will face tremendous challenges as he tries to lead the Arab world's poorest country out of its year-old political crisis, which has shattered the economy, splintered the security forces and allowed al-Qaida to seize swaths of territory.

The U.S. has played an active role in the transition, in hopes it can head off chaos and ensure cooperation against the country's active al-Qaida branch, which has targeted the U.S.

More: http://news.yahoo.com/yemens-leader-inherits-shattered-nation-210420450.html
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