Yemen

Yemen's beleaguered Western-backed president escaped house arrest and fled the capital to friendly territory Feb. 21, labelling as a coup the grab for power by the Shiite militia that had held him.
      
An aide said presidential guards had sneaked Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi out of his residence in Sanaa, and that he later made it to the main southern city of Aden.
      

The United States sought to unite nations around a common vision for combating violent jihadist groups in three days of talks which ended on Feb. 19 long on words but short on concrete steps.

Yemen's political parties are edging closer to a deal that would resolve the crisis caused by the Shiite Huthi militia seizing power, UN envoy Jamal Benomar has said.
      
Parties including the powerful Huthis have agreed on the "form of the legislative authority in the interim period", Benomar wrote on his Facebook page late Feb. 19.
      

The U.S. government on Feb. 17 established a policy for exports of military and commercial drones, including armed ones, and said it plans to work with other countries to shape global standards for the use of the controversial weapons systems.

Istanbul's Topkap? Palace Museum is hosting a new exhibition, featuring the 500-year history of Turkish coffee. Organized in collaboration with the Turkish Coffee Culture and Research Association, the exhibition, titled "A Drop of Pleasure: 500 years of Turkish Coffee" opened on Feb. 17 at the museum's Has Ah?rlar section with the attendance of Culture and Tourism Minister Ömer Çelik.

Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala has held a meeting with Saudi Arabian counterpart Mohammed bin Nayef in Riyadh during with the pair agreed to continue effective bilateral relations under Saudi Arabia?s new ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz al-Saud.

The visit and the meeting were announced late on Feb. 15 in a written statement released by the Turkish Interior Ministry.

The United Nations Security Council on feb. 15 urged Yemen's Huthis to cede power, release President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi and negotiate in "good faith," after the Shiite militia vowed to defy the body's "threats."       

Turkey announced on Feb. 16 that it has suspended the operations of its embassy in Yemen and evacuated all of its diplomats, including Ambassador Fazl? Çorman, because of the worsening situation in the capital Sanaa due to intensified clashes between Shiite militia and Sunni groups.

Turkey has decided to shut down its embassy in Yemen and evacuate its staff because of the worsening situation in the capital Sanaa due to intensified clashes between Shiite militia and Sunni opposition groups.

A Jordanian court on Feb. 15 sentenced a senior leader of the Muslim Brotherhood to 18 months in prison for criticising a decision by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to blacklist his organisation.