US-led marine coalition foils ‘large-scale’ Houthi drone attack in Red Sea

In this photo provided by the Ministry of Defense, Sea Ceptor missiles are fired from HMS Richmond shooting down two Houthi drones, on Mar. 9, 2024, in the Red Sea. (AP)
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Updated 09 March 2024
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US-led marine coalition foils ‘large-scale’ Houthi drone attack in Red Sea

  • The US Central Command said that its navy ships, warplanes and others from allied countries shot down 15 drones fired by the Houthis in Yemen
  • The French military also said that its warships and aircraft shot down four drones launched by the Houthis on Saturday

AL-MUKALLA: A maritime coalition led by the US in the Red Sea foiled a major drone attack by the Houthis on Saturday as the Yemeni militia claimed to have fired dozens of drones and ballistic missiles at commercial and navy ships.
The US Central Command said that its navy ships, warplanes and others from allied countries shot down 15 drones fired by the Houthis in Yemen at commercial and navy ships in the Red Sea, accusing the militia of endangering international maritime navigation in the strategic shipping channel.
The French military also said that its warships and aircraft shot down four drones launched by the Houthis on Saturday targeting the EU maritime operation in the Gulf of Aden.
In Sanaa, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Sarea said that their naval and drone forces launched a “number” of missiles at the “US-owned” cargo ship Propel Fortune, as well as 37 drones at US Navy vessels in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis claim that their missile and drone assaults against US ships are both in support of the Palestinian people and vengeance for US and UK bombings on regions under their control in Yemen.
According to information about the targeted ship on www.marinetraffic.com, which provides data on ship movements and whereabouts, the bulk carrier is sailing under the flag of Singapore and left India’s Dhamra Port on Feb. 25 to an undisclosed location, posting a “No connect to Israel” message on the website to avoid being targeted by the Houthis.
Since November, Iran-backed Houthis have seized a commercial ship and launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles, and remotely operated and explosive-laden boats, against foreign commercial and naval vessels in the Red Sea, Bab Al-Mandab Strait and Gulf of Aden.
The Houthis claim that their strikes are intended to push Israel to release supplies of water, food and medicine into the besieged Gaza Strip in Palestine.
However, many Yemenis believe that the Houthis are attacking ships to win the hearts and minds of Yemenis who are outraged by Israeli military operations in Gaza, to divert attention away from their failure to address public services or pay public employees in areas under their control, and to prepare for attacks against their opponents in Yemen.
Tawfeeq Al-Sharjabi, Yemen’s water and environment minister, and a member of the Yemen government’s crisis cell tasked with dealing with the sunk MV Rubymar ship in the Red Sea, told Arab News that an oil spill expert from the UN team would assist in the rescue of the ship after arriving in Aden on Saturday and that the remaining four members of the same team would arrive in the coming days.
“When the remaining specialists arrive, which is anticipated within a few days, they will meet with the government’s ship crisis management cell to go over the emergency response plan and commence field landing and inspection,” Al-Sharjabi said.
On March 2, the Belize-flagged and Lebanese-operated ship sank in the Red Sea, carrying more than 21,000 tons of ammonium phosphate-sulfate NPS fertilizer and more than 200 tons of gasoline, almost two weeks after being severely damaged by Houthi missiles.
The ship has raised concerns about an impending environmental calamity in the Red Sea, prompting the Yemeni authorities to request international aid in retrieving the ship.
On Saturday, hundreds of people, including fishermen, organized a demonstration in the Red Sea Khokha region to condemn Houthi assaults on ships in the Red Sea and to urge for the rescue of the sinking ship.
The demonstrators held banners accusing the Houthis of harming Red Sea security and nautical life, as well as threatening their livelihoods.
“The targeting of commercial ships damaged us, the fishermen, not Israel,” read one of the posters.
“Thousands of fishermen’s families face famine due to the Rubymar ship’s sinking,” said another.


Israeli strike kills one in south Lebanon: ministry

Updated 55 min 56 sec ago
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Israeli strike kills one in south Lebanon: ministry

  • The ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” hit a forested area in Nabatiyeh Al-Fawqa
  • The Israeli army said it stuck “a Hezbollah terrorist” in southern Lebanon

BEIRUT: Lebanon’s health ministry said an Israeli strike on the country’s south killed one man on Thursday, with Israel saying it struck a member of the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

The attack came despite a ceasefire between Israel and the Lebanese armed group.

The ministry said an “Israeli enemy strike” hit a forested area in Nabatiyeh Al-Fawqa, killing one man.

The Israeli army said it stuck “a Hezbollah terrorist” in southern Lebanon, alleging he was working to restore a site used to manage the group’s “fire and defense array.”

Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency said the man was a “municipal employee” who had been rehabilitating wells when his motorcycle was struck.

Israel has continued to bomb Lebanon despite the November truce that sought to halt more than a year of hostilities with Hezbollah, including two months of open war.

Under the deal, only UN peacekeepers and the Lebanese army are meant to operate in the south, though Israel maintains a presence in five areas it deems strategic.

Lebanon has urged the international community to pressure Israel to halt its attacks and withdraw its forces.


Netanyahu says Israel accepts Witkoff’s new Gaza truce proposal, media report

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the border with the Gaza Strip shows destroyed buildings in territory.
Updated 29 May 2025
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Netanyahu says Israel accepts Witkoff’s new Gaza truce proposal, media report

JERUSALEM: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told families of hostages held in Gaza that Israel has accepted a new ceasefire proposal presented by US President Donald Trump’s Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff, Israeli media reported on Thursday.
Hamas said earlier that it had received the new proposal from mediators and was studying it.


Tunisian minister expects grain harvest rising 64 percent to 1.8 million metric tons this season

Updated 29 May 2025
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Tunisian minister expects grain harvest rising 64 percent to 1.8 million metric tons this season

  • The sharp increase is attributed to improved rainfall in key agricultural regions
  • Last year’s grain crop was around 1.1 million metric tons

TUNIS: Tunisia’s grain harvest to rise to 1.8 million metric tons this season, Agriculture Minister Ezzedine Ben Cheikh said on Wednesday, up more than 64 percent from last year’s harvest, marking the country’s strong season in five years after consecutive drought seasons.

The sharp increase is attributed to improved rainfall in key agricultural regions.

“It is a good season with about 1.8 million metric tons,” Ben Cheikh said.

Last year’s grain crop was around 1.1 million metric tons.

The country, which is suffering a deep financial crisis, was badly affected by the rise in global wheat prices and successive dry seasons.

The anticipated production growth will enable Tunisia to reduce its imports of grain.

Over the last decade, Tunisia has averaged about 1.5 million metric tons in annual grain harvests, while it has consumed around 3.4 million metric tons per year.


Cyprus offers Syrian families money to resettle and work permits for main earners

Updated 29 May 2025
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Cyprus offers Syrian families money to resettle and work permits for main earners

  • Ioannides said that families wishing to voluntarily return will be given a one-off sum of 2,000 euros ($2,255) for one adult and 1,000 euros ($1,128) for each child
  • Family’s main income earner will be granted a special residency and work permit allowing them to stay for a minimum of two years in Cyprus with the option of another year

NICOSIA: Cyprus will offer Syrian families money to help them resettle back in their homeland and allow the main income earners to remain on the island nation for up to three years to work as part of a voluntary repatriation program, a Cypriot minister said Thursday.

Deputy Minister for Migration Nicholas Ioannides said that a prerequisite for families to qualify for the program is that they must drop their claims for asylum or rescind international protection status already granted to them prior to Dec. 31, 2024.

Unveiling the program, Ioannides said that families wishing to voluntarily return will be given a one-off sum of 2,000 euros ($2,255) for one adult and 1,000 euros ($1,128) for each child. Childless couples are also eligible to apply. The application period runs from June 2 to Aug. 31.

Additionally, the family’s main income earner — either the father or mother will be granted a special residency and work permit allowing them to stay for a minimum of two years in Cyprus with the option of another year.

Ioannides said that many Syrians have expressed their willingness to return and help rebuild their country, but are reluctant to do so because of the uncertainty surrounding where they’ll be able to earn a living wage.

According to the head of Cyprus’ Asylum Service Andreas Georgiades, the program’s premise is to help families overcome any such reluctance by affording them a modest nest egg with which to cover their immediate needs while enabling the main income earner to continue working and sending money to his family.

The income earner will be allowed to travel back and forth to Syria while his or her residency and work permit are valid.
Syrian nationals make up the largest group of asylum-seekers in Cyprus by far. According to Asylum Service figures, 4,226 Syrians applied for asylum last year — almost 10 times more than Afghans who are the second-largest group.

“This new program is a targeted, humanitarian and realistic policy that bolsters Syria’s post-war transition to normality,” Ioannides said, adding that European Home Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner considers the program as a potential example for other European Union member countries to follow.

Meanwhile, Ioannides repeated that a 2009 Search and Rescue agreement that Cyprus has with Syria enables Cypriot authorities to send back boatloads of Syrian migrants trying to reach the island nation after they’re rescued in international waters.

Ioannides said that two inflatable boats each loaded with 30 Syrian migrants were turned back in line with the bilateral agreement after being rescued when they transmitted that they were in danger.

Ioannides again denied Cyprus engages in any pushbacks, despite urgings from both the UN refugee agency and Europe’s top human rights body to stop pushing back migrants trying to reach the island by boat.


Libya’s eastern-based government says it may announce force majeure on oil fields, ports

Updated 29 May 2025
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Libya’s eastern-based government says it may announce force majeure on oil fields, ports

  • The NOC is currently located in Tripoli under the control of the internationally-recongized Government of National Unity
  • Safar said that “what happened was nothing more than a limited personal dispute”

CAIRO: Libya’s eastern-based government said on Wednesday it may announce a force majeure on oil fields and ports citing “repeated assaults on the National Oil Corporation (NOC).”

The government in Benghazi is not internationally recognized, but most oilfields in the major oil producing country are under the control of eastern Libyan military leader Khalifa Haftar.

The government said it may also temporarily relocate the national oil corporation’s headquarters to one of the “safe cities such as Ras Lanuf and Brega, both of which are controlled by the eastern-based government.

The NOC is currently located in Tripoli under the control of the internationally-recongized Government of National Unity (GNU).

The NOC denied in an earlier statement that the corporation’s headquarters was stormed deeming it as “completely false.”

It also emphasized it is operating normally “and continuing to perform its vital duties without interruption.”

The acting head of NOC Hussain Safar said that “what happened was nothing more than a limited personal dispute that occurred in the reception area and was immediately contained by administrative security personnel, without any impact on the corporation’s workflow or the safety of its employees.”

GNU’s media office posted video footage from inside the headquarters of the NOC showing “stable conditions and no signs of a storming or security disturbance.”

Libya’s oil output has been disrupted repeatedly in the chaotic decade since 2014 when the country divided between two rival authorities in the east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Qaddafi in 2011.

In August, Libya lost more than half of its oil production, about 700,000 bpd, and exports were halted at several ports as a standoff between rival political factions over the central bank threatened to end four years of relative peace.

The shutdowns lasted for over a month with production gradually resuming from early October.

The North African country’s crude oil production reached 1.3 million barrels per day in the last 24 hours, according to the NOC.