Hundreds of people marched in Mali's capital Monday to protest a new agreement designed to end the country's political crisis.

A VOA reporter in Bamako says the demonstrators voiced support for the military junta leaders who seized power in March but have now agreed to let civilian interim president Diouncounda Traore remain in power.

The protest briefly halted traffic but was otherwise peaceful.

The junta leaders, Mr. Traore and the West Africa bloc ECOWAS reached a deal Sunday that will allow the interim president to stay in office until the country transitions back to civilian rule.

The accord was signed after ECOWAS agreed to give the coup's leader, Captain Amadou Sanogo, all the benefits and privileges of a former head of state.

In an interview with VOA on Monday, government spokesman Hamadoune Toure called the agreement “a positive move.”

He said the junta leader's status as a former head of state does not mean he will hold sway during the transition process.

“It's not recognizing him to have a say, but they [ECOWAS] said he will have advantages recognized to all former heads of state. They invited him to work as a team with the president and with the prime minister for the supreme interests of Mali.”

Mr. Traore took over power from coup leaders on April 12, after ECOWAS used sanctions to pressure the military government to restore constitutional rule.

No timetable was given for the government to organize elections, but ECOWAS has previously said it would likely take about a year.

The constitution gives an interim leader a 40-day mandate; Mr. Traore's was to expire on Tuesday.

Soldiers ousted Mali's elected government in a March 22 coup stemming from its handling of a Tuareg rebellion in the north.

The German and French finance chiefs are meeting Monday to discuss their competing views about how to boost economic growth in the 17-nation euro currency bloc and resolve its governmental debt crisis.

Germany's finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, is hosting his French counterpart, Pierre Moscovici, for talks in Berlin ahead of an informal summit of European Union leaders in Brussels on Wednesday. The meeting between the finance chiefs comes amid growing evidence that the German government is isolated in its focus on austerity measures aimed at cutting the deficits of the eurozone's debt-ridden governments.

New French President Francois Hollande is pushing for the creation of eurobonds, debt jointly issued by the currency bloc as a way to boost economic growth throughout the region and cut the cost of borrowing for weaker governments.

But Germany, with the eurozone's most robust economy and its lowest borrowing costs, has long resisted the sale of eurobonds. It says debtor governments like Greece, Italy and Spain and others must first control their spending. The German government says it is worried that jointly issued bonds would increase the very low interest rates Berlin pays.

Germany's deputy finance minister, Steffen Kampeter, told German radio Monday that eurobonds are “the wrong prescription at the wrong time with the wrong side-effects.”

The debate over eurozone economic policy is occurring as Greece's continued membership in the eurozone remains in question, with new national elections set for June 17 after a splintered vote earlier this month left the country's fractious parties unable to form a coalition government.

The caretaker Greek government said Friday that German Chancellor Angela Merkel proposed that Greece also stage a referendum at the same time about whether to stay in the eurozone. But Ms. Merkel's spokesman on Monday forcefully denied that she had made the suggestion.

Yemeni officials say a suicide bomber attacked a military parade rehearsal in the capital Sana'a on Monday, killing at least 96 troops and wounding more than 200 others.

Officials say the bomber was dressed in a military uniform and detonated the explosives as hundreds of soldiers gathered around him. Yemen's defense minister was at the rehearsal but was unharmed.

The soldiers were preparing for a parade on Tuesday to mark the unification of Yemen's north and south. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was due to attend the parade.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. But it coincides with a U.S.-backed Yemeni government offensive against al-Qaida militants who seized parts of the country's south last year as it was engulfed in a popular uprising against then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Mr. Hadi, who succeeded Mr. Saleh in February, has vowed to fight the growing presence of the terrorist network's regional affiliate, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Economist Intelligence Unit Middle East analyst Robert Powell told VOA that al-Qaida has been trying to organize itself in Sana'a for a long time and its activities have usually been disrupted. He said the symbolism and substantial casualties from the attack on the military parade rehearsal indicate that al-Qaida has a greater reach inside Yemen than previously known.

Protesters in Chicago plan more demonstrations a day after clashing with authorities outside the NATO summit.

Organizers from the Occupy Chicago movement are planning to demonstrate at the headquarters of aerospace giant Boeing.

At least 45 protesters were arrested Sunday when thousands took to the streets protesting the war in Afghanistan, economic inequality, and other issues.

The demonstrations were largely peaceful until late in the day, when some of the protesters tried to push through a line of police keeping them from the convention center where leaders and delegates from 50 countries were meeting.

Police in riot gear used batons to respond to the demonstrators after several protesters threw bottles and other objects at the officers. Four officers reportedly suffered minor injuries in the clashes.

Earlier, police said two men were in custody on charges of planning to make bombs for use during the NATO meetings.

Those arrests followed terrorism charges against three other men Saturday for possession of explosive devices. Police say the three plotted to attack President Barack Obama's campaign headquarters in Chicago, the home Mayor Rahm Emanuel, and other targets.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has announced his new government, keeping many of the Cabinet ministers who served former president Dmitry Medvedev.

Igor Shuvalov, a close Putin ally, kept his post as first deputy prime minister in overall charge of economic policy, and Anton Siluanov, a career civil servant, remained as finance minister.

Anatoly Serdyukov stayed on as defense minister, while Sergei Lavrov kept his post as foreign minister.

One significant change was the appointment of Arkady Dvorkovich, who favors privatization, as first deputy prime minister in charge of energy and industrial policy. Dvorkovich was an advisor to Mr. Medvedev.

Mr. Medvedev, named prime minister after Mr. Putin returned to the Kremlin earlier this month, has pledged to launch pro-growth policies and a privatization drive to boost Russia's weak economy.

Mr. Medvedev swapped jobs with Mr. Putin, who until his May 7 inauguration was prime minister for four years. The job swap angered many Russians and sparked protests against the men's grip on power.

Mr. Putin was elected to a third presidential term in March with 64 percent of the vote. He served as president from 2000 to 2008, but term limits prevented him from running for a third consecutive term. He then became prime minister under Mr. Medvedev.

A constitutional amendment has extended the president's time in office to two consecutive six-year terms, meaning Mr. Putin could stay in power until 2024 — an outlook many Russians find unsettling.

Yemeni officials say a suicide bomber has attacked a military parade rehearsal in the capital Sana'a, killing at least 63 troops and wounding more than 60 others.

Officials say the bomber was dressed in a military uniform and detonated the explosives as hundreds of soldiers gathered around him. Yemen's defense minister was at the rehearsal but was unharmed.

The soldiers were preparing for a parade on Tuesday to mark the unification of Yemen's north and south. Yemeni President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi was due to attend the parade.

No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. It coincides with a U.S.-backed Yemeni government offensive against al-Qaida militants who seized parts of the country's south last year as it was engulfed in a popular uprising against then-president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Mr. Hadi, who succeeded Mr. Saleh in February, has vowed to fight the growing presence of the terrorist network's regional affiliate, al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.

Thousands of people in northern Italy woke up in tents and cars Monday morning, after a powerful 6.0 magnitude earthquake killed seven people and devastated centuries-old cultural sites Sunday.

The U.S. Geological Survey said the quake was centered about 35 kilometers northwest of Bologna.

It struck about 4 a.m. local time, sending panic-stricken residents running into the streets. A series of aftershocks followed.

Many of those residents say they are afraid to go back to their homes, fearing more aftershocks.

Civil protection crews are checking government buildings, schools, businesses, homes, churches and other cultural heritage sites to evaluate the scale of damage and rebuilding costs.

The quake turned historic buildings and churches into piles of rubble and dust. The Italian Culture Ministry says the damage is significant.

Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti has sent his condolences to the victims. He plans to leave the NATO summit in Chicago early to return home.

French prosecutors say they have opened a preliminary investigation into rape allegations against former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn.

Prosecutors in Lille said Monday that Strauss-Kahn may have been involved in a gang rape during a sex party in December 2010 in a Washington, DC hotel. Authorities say three other people were allegedly involved in the incident.

A prostitute testified that Strauss-Kahn and friends forced her to have sex in a group. She has not filed a formal complaint.

The former IMF chief has denied the allegations and said he is not guilty of any violence. He also is facing charges in Lille in connection with a prostitution case.

A New York hotel maid accused Strauss-Kahn of sexually assaulting her last year in the luxury hotel where she worked. Those charges were dropped when prosecutors questioned the woman's credibility, but not before Strauss-Kahn was forced to step down as IMF chief.

Earlier this month, he countersued the maid, Guinea native Nafissatou Diallo, saying she cost him not only his IMF job but also political opportunities, including the French presidency.

Diallo's lawyers called the $1-million lawsuit a publicity stunt.

French Socialists had earlier touted Strauss-Kahn as a likely presidential candidate. Instead the party backed newly elected President Francois Hollande, who defeated former leader Nicolas Sarkozy in a runoff vote earlier this month.

Sri Lankan opposition leader and former army chief Sarath Fonseka has been released from prison.

Thousands gathered outside the prison to greet him as he emerged on Monday. It was not immediately clear if there were any conditions attached to his release.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa ordered the release after Sri Lanka's foreign minister met in Washington Friday with Secretary of State Hillary Clinton. They discussed the island's human rights record, amid U.S. calls for Fonseka's release.

Fonseka was serving a 30-month prison sentence for arms procurement offenses. He was also serving a three-year sentence for making allegations about the defense secretary, who is the president's brother.

Fonseka says the cases against him were politically motivated because he challenged Mr. Rajapaksa in the 2010 presidential election.

Fonseka is widely credited with helping defeat Tamil Tiger rebels after a 25-year civil war. Both he and Mr. Rajapaksa were hailed as heroes by Sri Lanka's majority Sinhalese, but they parted ways over political differences. Fonseka then quit the army and made his unsuccessful run for the presidency.