South Yemenis demand independence vote at UN talks A small group of southern Yemenis stage a protest outside the venue of UN peace talks in Sweden demanding a referendum to restore independence. The Sweden talks, which opened Thursday, mark the first meeting between Yemen's Huthi rebels and the government of President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi, backed since 2015 by a behemoth military coalition led by Saudi Arabia. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITES