Yemen's Houthi rebels take over government in coup

Yemen's Shia Houthi rebels have announced that they have dissolved parliament and installed a five-member "presidential council" which will form a transitional government to govern for two years.

In a televised statement on Friday from the Republican Palace in the capital, Sanaa, the rebel group said that it would set up a transitional national council of 551 members to replace the dissolved legislature.

The "constitutional declaration", attended by tribal and military representatives as well as by the outgoing interior and defence ministers, came after a Wednesday deadline set by the Shia militia for political parties to resolve the crisis passed with no agreement.

The United Nations said that it would not acknowledge the announcement made on Friday afternoon, calling it a unilateral decision. The US said it was "deeply concerned" by the developments in the country, saying that the move by the Houthis did not meet the standards set by the UN envoy to Yemen. ...Aljazeera