Here's a look at the important events in the world this week.
Al-Jazeera said that a three-man news crew for the Qatar-based channel has been freed more than 10 days after being kidnapped in the flash point Yemeni city of Taez (also called Taiz). Reporter Hamdi al-Bokari, cameraman Abdulaziz al-Sabri and driver Munir al-Subaie went missing on January 18 while covering the conflict between rebels and Gulf-backed forces loyal to President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi. (Photo: AFP)
Australian authorities searching for a missing Malaysia Airlines passenger jet said they had lost a deep-water sonar detector being used to scour a patch of the ocean floor where the plane is believed to have gone down almost two years ago. Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014 (Photo: Twitter)
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said he had not asked his Italian hosts to cover up classical nude statues in a Rome museum he visited with Prime Minister Matteo Renzi. A Roman museum had covered up all nude statues including a Venus dating from the second century BC, in temporary wooden cartons, removing the risk of them creeping into any of the shots or catching Rouhani's eye. (Photo: AFP)
The death toll in a migrant boat sinking off the Greek island of Samos has risen to 18 people, with 17 others still missing, the coastguard said. (Photo: AP)
An EgyptAir mechanic whose cousin joined Islamic State in Syria is suspected of planting a bomb on a Russian passenger plane that was blown out of Egypt's skies in late October, according to sources familiar with the matter. The MetroJet flight, which crashed in the Sinai Peninsula after takeoff from Sharm el-Sheikh airport, killing all 224 people on board (Photo: AP)
The snow-ravaged Washington resumed partial business as trains and buses restarted near-normal service. Metro trains resumed service on all but one of its lines after Winter Storm Jonas covered the region with more than two feet of snow. (Photo: AFP)
Two people were killed and three others wounded as shooting erupted at a Seattle homeless encampment known as 'The Jungle,' officials said. (Photo: AP)
Inderjit Singh Reyat, the only person convicted for the 1985 Air India Kanishka bombing, has been released from a Canadian prison under tough conditions, including one that he will have to live at a halfway house until August 2018 when his perjury sentence will expire. (Photo: AP)
A vaccine for the Zika virus, which has been linked to severe birth defects in thousands of infants, could be ready for emergency use before year-end, one of its lead developers said, a timetable well ahead of estimates by US officials. (Photo: AP)
Boeing Co's 737 MAX aircraft took off on its first flight on Friday from wet tarmac at an airport south of Seattle, marking another step toward scheduled delivery to airlines in 2017. The 737 MAX features new engines from CFM International a joint venture of General Electric and Safran SA of France, and other refinements that improve fuel efficiency by 14 percent compared with the current generation 737. (Photo: AP)
At least 22 people were killed in a double suicide bomb attack at an army checkpoint in the central Syrian city of Homs, state media said. (Photo: AFP)
Security forces found a mass grave in the Iraqi city of Ramadi containing the remains of at least 18 people killed by the Islamic State group, police said. (Photo: AP)
A shooting at a Shiite mosque in eastern Saudi Arabia killed three people and wounded others during prayers, security officials and a witness said, in the latest violence to strike the region. (Photo: AFP)
Five more bodies believed to be those of illegal Indonesian migrants were found in Malaysia after a boat capsized in rough seas off southern Johor state, raising the death toll to 18, police said. (Photo: AP)
A craze for lifelike dolls thought to bring good luck is sweeping Thailand, reflecting widespread anxiety as the economy struggles and political uncertainty persists nearly two years after a coup. (Photo: AFP)
Japan unveiled its first stealth fighter jet, officials said, with the maiden test flight planned for next month. The first domestically-made stealth aircraft, X-2, sits in a hangar at Nagoya Airport in Toyoyama town, central Japan. (Photo: AP)
Nepal's Madhesis announced fresh week-long protest programmes, a day after they rejected as \"incomplete\" the constitutional amendments passed by the Parliament for failing to address their concerns. (Photo: AP)
China is planning to build a floating nuclear power station as it seeks to double its atomic capacity by 2020, a senior official said. (Photo: CNNC)
China is set to join the underwater search for a Malaysia Airlines passenger jet missing for almost two years by providing a sonar-equipped vessel by the end of February. Malaysian Airlines Flight MH370 disappeared with 239 people on board during a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in March 2014, sparking one of the greatest mysteries in aviation history. (Photo: AP)
A 650-year-old urban walled village in Hong Kong the last of its kind will be destroyed to make way for development in what critics say is another nail in the coffin for the city's cultural heritage. (Photo: AFP)
Amidst Taliban threats, over 230 educational institutions, most of them government-run, in Pakistan's Punjab province have been shut, with authorities asking them to step up security or face action. (Photo: AP)