Shi’ite rebels are keeping up the pressure on Yemen’s beleaguered president. They stayed put outside Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi’s residence on Thursday (January 22) and held him a virtual prisoner, despite winning major concessions from him on power-sharing.<br /><br /> The president had little choice. <br /><br /> After seizing the capital Sanaa in September, the Shi’ite fighters, known as Houthis, battled their way into his presidential palace this week. They had already abducted his chief of staff.<br /><br /> Hadi now says he is ready to accept their demands including constitutional change.<br /><br /> A rebel source says they could pull back and free the presidential aide in the next three days if the authorities commit to implementing their promises.<br /><br /> The capital remains largely shut down, witnesses said, even though the airport and seaport in the southern city of Aden resumed work on Thursday, having closed for a day in protest at the Houthi offensive against Hadi’s administration.<br /><br /> The rebels’ rise to influence has cau
