DUBAI: The EU formally launched a naval mission on Monday to protect Red Sea shipping from Yemen’s Houthi rebels as attacks by the group forced the crew of one vessel to abandon ship and damaged another.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who control much of war-torn Yemen, have been harassing the vital shipping lane since November in a campaign they say is in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza during the Israel-Hamas war.
The European Union aims to have the mission — called Aspides, Greek for “shield” — up and running in a “few weeks” with at least four vessels, an official said on Friday.
“Europe will ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, working alongside our international partners,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X.
The United States is already spearheading its own naval coalition in the area and has conducted retaliatory strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen, as has Britain.
The dozens of Houthi attacks have roiled shipping in the Red Sea, forcing some companies to take alternative routes including a two-week detour around the tip of southern Africa.
On Monday evening, the Houthis said they had targeted three vessels in the last 24 hours, including the British-registered Rubymar, the US-owned Sea Champion and the Navis Fortuna which they described as “American.”
Earlier, the maritime security firm Ambrey had reported that a Greek-flagged, US-owned bulk carrier was attacked twice in two hours in the gulf, which adjoins the Red Sea.
The bulk carrier reported a “missile attack” before another projectile hit the water just meters (yards) from the ship, Ambrey said.
The ship’s master reported “evidence of shrapnel and damage to paintwork” in the second incident, the Royal Navy’s UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.
The Sea Champion is a Greek-flagged bulk carrier that was traveling from Argentina to Yemen, multiple tracking sites show.
Meanwhile, the crew of the British-registered, Belize-flagged Rubymar were forced to abandon ship following a Houthi strike.
A UK government spokesperson condemned what they called a “reckless attack” on the bulk carrier and said coalition vessels were already on the scene, Britain’s Press Association reported.
The UKMTO reported that the incident took place 35 nautical miles (65 kilometers) south of Mokha on Yemen’s Red Sea coast. The location would be toward the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.
Citing “military authorities,” it said the crew had safely “abandoned the vessel” which was left at anchor with military authorities at the site and providing assistance.
The Navis Fortuna was approaching the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait on Monday afternoon, Marine Traffic, a ship tracking service, showed.
Late on Monday the UKMTO said it had received a report of an incident 60 nautical miles (110 kilometers) north of Djibouti, also near the Bab Al-Mandeb Strait.
As the attacks continued, Qatar’s energy minister called for a ceasefire in Gaza to end the insecurity in the Red Sea, which has disrupted oil deliveries along with other trade.
Saad Al-Kaabi, who is also the chief executive of state-owned QatarEnergy, said the “root of the problem” in the Red Sea “is the Israeli invasion of Gaza.”
“Hopefully there is a ceasefire soon that will stop that so that the economic impact on the entire world stops,” he said.
Separately, Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said that revenues from the Suez Canal, which links the Red Sea with the Mediterranean, had fallen “40 to 50 percent” so far this year.
The canal, which brought in $8.6 billion in the 2022-23 fiscal year, is a vital source of foreign currency for Cairo, which is suffering from a severe financial crisis.
Italian top diplomat Antonio Tajani confirmed the EU mission’s launch during a meeting of foreign ministers in Brussels, calling it “an important step toward common European defense.”
The overall commander of the EU mission will be Greek, while the lead officer in operational control at sea will be Italian.
So far France, Germany, Italy and Belgium have said they plan to contribute ships.
The EU says the mission’s mandate — set initially for one year — is limited to protecting civilian shipping in the Red Sea and that no attacks will be carried out “on Yemeni soil.”
An EU official said there would be “continuous military to military contact” to coordinate actions with the United States and other forces in the region.
EU launches Red Sea mission as US ship attacked twice
https://arab.news/b44zr
EU launches Red Sea mission as US ship attacked twice
- “Europe will ensure freedom of navigation in the Red Sea, working alongside our international partners,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen wrote on X
Indian FM says Kashmir attackers ‘must face justice’
NEW DELHI: India’s foreign minister said Thursday that those who planned and carried out an attack in Kashmir last week that left 26 men dead “must be brought to justice.”
New Delhi blames Pakistan for the gun attack on civilians at the tourist site of Pahalgam in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22.
Islamabad has rejected the charge and both countries have since exchanged gunfire in Kashmir and issued a raft of tit-for-tat punitive diplomatic measures.
“Its perpetrators, backers and planners must be brought to justice,” India’s top diplomat Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said in a statement following a conversation with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Wednesday evening in which they discussed the attack.
Rubio also spoke to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, and in a US readout of the call, told Sharif of the “need to condemn the terror attack” in Kashmir.
Indian and Pakistani soldiers fired at each other overnight along the Line of Control, the de facto border in contested Kashmir, the Indian army said.
It was a seventh straight night gunfire was reported by India.
“During the night... Pakistan Army posts initiated unprovoked small-arms fire across the Line of Control opposite Kupwara, Uri and Akhnoor,” the army said in a statement.
“These were responded proportionately by the Indian Army.”
There were no reported casualties and there was no immediate confirmation from Pakistan.
Indian police have issued wanted posters for three men accused of carrying out the Kashmir attack — two Pakistanis and an Indian — who they say are members of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba group, a UN-designated terrorist organization.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi gave the military “complete operational freedom” to respond to the attack during a closed-door meeting on Tuesday, a senior government source told AFP.
Pakistan’s government has denied any involvement in the shooting and vowed that “any act of aggression will be met with a decisive response.”
Stay as long as you want, Trump says as chief disruptor Elon Musk eyes exit
- At a Cabinet meeting, Trump hinted at Musk giving up his DOGE role “to get back home to his cars”
- Musk's Tesla car company had been hit by boycott calls over his role in gutting the US bureaucracy
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Tesla boss Elon Musk could stay working for the White House as long as he wanted but understood the tycoon wanted to get back to his businesses.
Musk last month said he will step back from his role as the unofficial head of the administration’s cost-cutting “Department of Government Efficiency” to focus more on his troubled Tesla car company.
“The vast majority of the people in this country really respect and appreciate you,” Trump told Musk during a White House cabinet meeting, which could be his last before giving up his DOGE role.
“And you know you’re invited to stay as long as you want,” Trump said, though added that Musk may want “to get back home to his cars.”
Musk, the world’s richest person, has seen his Tesla car company, which is the major source of his wealth, suffer significant brand damage from his political work.
Tesla showrooms have been hit by vandalism and boycott calls in Europe and the United States in a backlash against public service cuts introduced by Musk in his role as a close adviser to Trump.
“You really have sacrificed a lot. They treated you very unfairly,” Trump said of opponents to Musk.
“They did like to burn my cars, which is not great,” Musk responded.
The Wall Street Journal on Wednesday reported that Tesla’s board had begun procedures several weeks ago to find a successor to Musk as CEO.
The outlet reported — citing people familiar with the matter — that the board had met with Musk and told him that he needed to spend more time with the company, rather than in Washington.
David Sacks, a close Musk ally who is also a member of the Trump administration, last week said that Musk would not be leaving DOGE but reducing his role.
This was the same plan he carried out during his takeover of Twitter in 2022, he said.
“Once he felt like he had a mental model and he had the people in place that he trusted, he can move to more of a maintenance mode,” Sacks told the All-In podcast.
After sparking trade war, US now reaching out to China for tariff talks: Beijing state media
- Punishing US tariffs that have reached 145 percent on many Chinese products, forcing China to retaliate
- US President Trump has repeatedly claimed that China has reached out for talks on the tariffs , which Beijing denies
BEIJING: US officials have reached out to their Chinese counterparts for talks on vast tariffs that have hammered markets and global supply chains, a Beijing-backed outlet said on Thursday citing sources.
Punishing US tariffs that have reached 145 percent on many Chinese products came into force in April, while Beijing has responded with fresh 125 percent duties on imports from the United States.
US President Donald Trump has repeatedly claimed that China has reached out for talks on the tariffs — claims Beijing has vehemently denied.
On Thursday Yuyuan Tantian, a Chinese outlet linked to state broadcaster CCTV, said citing sources that Washington was “proactively” reaching out to China via “multiple channels” for talks on the tariffs.
“From a negotiation standpoint the US is currently the more anxious party,” the outlet, which blends analysis with news reporting, said on the X-like platform Weibo.
“The Trump administration is facing multiple pressures,” it added.
AFP has reached out to China’s foreign ministry for comment.
Beijing has repeatedly urged the United States to engage in dialogue in a “fair, respectful and reciprocal” manner.
But it has also said it will fight a trade war to the bitter end if needed, with a video posted on social media this week by its foreign ministry vowing to “never kneel down!”
US Senate votes down resolution to block Trump’s global tariffs amid economic turmoil
- Absence of two opponents of Trump's global tariffs denied the Democrats the votes for passage of the resolution
- The 49-49 vote came weeks after the Senate approved a resolution opposing Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada
WASHINGTON: Senate Republicans narrowly voted down a Democratic resolution Wednesday that would have blocked global tariffs announced by Donald Trump earlier this month, giving the president a modest win as lawmakers in both parties have remained skeptical of his trade agenda.
Trump announced the far-reaching tariffs on nearly all US trading partners April 2 and then reversed himself a few days later after a market meltdown, suspending the import taxes for 90 days. Amid the uncertainty for both US consumers and businesses, the Commerce Department said Wednesday that the US economy shrank 0.3 percent from January through March, the first drop in three years.
The 49-49 vote came weeks after the Senate approved a resolution that would have have thwarted Trump’s ability to impose tariffs on Canada. That measure passed 51-48 with the votes of four Republicans — Sens. Susan Collins of Maine, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Mitch McConnell and Rand Paul of Kentucky. But McConnell — who has been sharply critical of the tariffs but had not said how he would vote — and Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse were absent Wednesday, denying Democrats the votes for passage.
Democrats said their primary aim was to put Republicans on the record either way and to try to reassert congressional powers.
“The Senate cannot be an idle spectator in the tariff madness,” said Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, a lead sponsor of the resolution.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer said the dismal economic numbers should be a “wakeup call” to Republicans.
Wary of a rebuke to Trump, GOP leaders encouraged their conference not to vote for the resolution, even as many of them remain unconvinced about the tariffs. Vice President JD Vance attended a Senate GOP luncheon Tuesday with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, who assured senators that the administration is making progress toward trade deals with individual countries.
Collins said ahead of the vote that she believes the Democratic resolution is too broad, but she was supporting it because it sends a message that “we really need to be far more discriminatory in imposing these tariffs and not treat allies like Canada the way we treat adversaries like China.”
But some Republicans argued that the vote was a political stunt. North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis said he backs separate legislation by Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley that would give Congress increased power over determining tariffs but would vote no on the resolution, which he said is only about “making a point.”
Democrats say the Republicans’ failure to stand up to Trump could have dire consequences. “The only thing Donald Trump’s tariffs have succeeded in is raising the odds of recession and sending markets into a tailspin,” said Schumer, D-N.Y. “Today, they have to choose – stick with Trump or stand with your states.”
The Democratic resolution forced a vote under a statute that allows them to try to terminate the national economic emergency Trump used to levy the tariffs.
Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren called it a “fake” emergency that Trump is using to impose his “on again, off again, red light, green light tariffs.”
The tariffs “are pushing our economy off a cliff,” Warren said.
The Republican president has tried to reassure voters that his tariffs will not provoke a recession as his administration has focused on China, raising tariffs on Chinese goods to 145 percent even as he paused the others. He told his Cabinet Wednesday morning that his tariffs meant China was “having tremendous difficulty because their factories are not doing business.”
Trump said the US does not really need imports from the world’s dominant manufacturer. “Maybe the children will have two dolls instead of 30 dolls,” he said. “So maybe the two dolls will cost a couple bucks more than they would normally.”
Trump suggests US may not give more grants to Harvard University
- Harvard rejected numerous Trump demands earlier in April, calling them an attack on free speech and academic freedom
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump suggested on Wednesday his government may stop giving grants to Harvard University, which has refused to concede to his demands regarding hiring, administration and speech regulation.
“And it looks like we are not going to be giving them any more grants, right Linda?” Trump said in remarks on Wednesday while referring to US Education Secretary Linda McMahon and without elaborating.
“A grant is at our discretion and they are really not behaving well. So it’s too bad.”
Harvard and the US Education Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Trump’s remarks.
The Trump administration has targeted Harvard over antisemitism on campus during pro-Palestinian protests against US ally Israel’s military assault on Gaza after the October 2023 attack on Israel by Palestinian Hamas militants.
In recent weeks, the Trump administration has escalated its actions against Harvard. It began a formal review into nearly $9 billion in federal funding for Harvard, demanded the university ban diversity, equity and inclusion practices, and crack down on some pro-Palestinian groups and masks in protests.
It has also urged Harvard to give more details on its foreign ties and threatened to remove its tax-exempt status and its ability to enroll foreign students.
Harvard rejected numerous Trump demands earlier in April, calling them an attack on free speech and academic freedom. It sued the Trump administration after it suspended about $2.3 billion in federal funding for the educational institution, while also pledging to tackle discrimination on campus.
The Trump administration has also threatened other educational institutions with federal funding cuts over issues like pro-Palestinian protests, DEI, climate initiatives and transgender rights.
Protesting groups, including some Jewish ones, have said the administration conflates their criticism of Israel’s actions in Gaza with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.
Harvard University released two reports on Tuesday that found many Jewish, Arab and Muslim students experienced bigotry at its Massachusetts campus during protests last year, with some fearing exclusion for airing political views.
The Trump administration has thus far not initiated probes over Islamophobia or anti-Arab bias.
