也门首都发生自杀炸弹爆炸42人死亡

A suicide bomber has killed at least 42 people in Yemen's capital in an attack apparently targeting Shi'ite Houthi rebels.

The blast happened Thursday in the Tahrir Square section of central Sanaa, which the rebels have controlled since last month.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the bombing. In southern Yemen, a suicide car bombing also killed at least 20 soldiers.

The Houthis staged weeks of protests calling for better power sharing and a new government before reaching a U.N.-brokered deal in September.

They planned new demonstrations Thursday rejecting President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's appointment of Ahmed Awad bin Mubarak as the new prime minister. But bin Mubarak has turned down the nomination.

State media quoted bin Mubarak as saying he wanted to avoid further disagreement in the country.