logo
Israel attacks three Yemeni ports and power plant

Israel attacks three Yemeni ports and power plant

Japan Today12 hours ago
By Yomna Ehab
Israel has attacked Houthi targets in three Yemeni ports and a power plant, the Israeli military said early on Monday, marking the first Israeli attack on Yemen in almost a month.
The strikes on Hodeidah, Ras Isa and Salif ports, and Ras Qantib power plant were due to repeated Houthi attacks on Israel, the military added.
Since the start of the war in Gaza in October 2023, the Iran-aligned Houthis have fired at Israel and at shipping in the Red Sea, disrupting global trade, in what it says are acts of solidarity with the Palestinians.
Most of the dozens of missiles and drones fired toward Israel have been intercepted or fallen short. Israel has carried out a series of retaliatory strikes.
Israel also attacked Galaxy Leader ship in Ras Isa port, which was seized by Houthis in late 2023, the military added.
"The Houthi terrorist regime's forces installed a radar system on the ship, and are using it to track vessels in international maritime space, in order to promote the Houthi terrorist regime's activities," the military said.
The Houthi military spokesperson said following the attacks that Houthis' air defences confronted the Israeli attack 'by using a large number of domestically produced surface-to-air missiles'.
Residents told Reuters that the Israeli strikes on the Red Sea port city of Hodeidah put the main power station out of service, leaving the city in darkness.
There were no immediate reports of casualties.
Houthi-run Al-Masirah TV reported that Israel launched a series of strikes on Hodeidah, shortly after the Israeli military issued an evacuation warning for people at the three Yemeni ports.
The assault comes hours after a ship was attacked off of Hodeidah and the ship's crew abandoned it as it took on water.
No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but security firm Ambrey said the vessel fits the typical profile of a Houthi target.
Israel has severely hurt other allies of Iran in the region - Lebanon's Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
The Tehran-backed Houthis and pro-Iranian armed groups in Iraq are still standing.
The group's leader, Abdul Malik al-Houthi, created the force challenging world powers from a group of ragtag mountain fighters in sandals.
Under the direction of al-Houthi, the group has grown into an army of tens of thousands of fighters and acquired armed drones and ballistic missiles. Saudi Arabia and the West say the arms come from Iran, though Tehran denies this.
© Thomson Reuters 2025.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists faces federal trial
Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists faces federal trial

The Mainichi

time2 hours ago

  • The Mainichi

Trump administration's crackdown on pro-Palestinian campus activists faces federal trial

BOSTON (AP) -- A federal bench trial begins Monday over a lawsuit that challenges a Trump administration campaign of arresting and deporting faculty and students who participated in pro-Palestinian demonstrations and other political activities. The lawsuit, filed by several university associations against President Donald Trump and members of his administration, would be one of the first to go to trial. Plaintiffs want U.S. District Judge William Young to rule the policy violates the First Amendment and the Administrative Procedure Act, a law governs the process by which federal agencies develop and issue regulations. "The policy's effects have been swift. Noncitizen students and faculty across the United States have been terrified into silence," the plaintiffs wrote in their pretrial brief. "Students and faculty are avoiding political protests, purging their social media, and withdrawing from public engagement with groups associated with pro-Palestinian viewpoints," they wrote. "They're abstaining from certain public writing and scholarship they would otherwise have pursued. They're even self-censoring in the classroom." Several scholars are expected to testify how the policy and subsequent arrests have prompted them to abandon their activism for Palestinian human rights and criticizing Israeli government's policies. Since Trump took office, the U.S. government has used its immigration enforcement powers to crack down on international students and scholars at several American universities. Trump and other officials have accused protesters and others of being "pro-Hamas," referring to the Palestinian militant group that attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Many protesters have said they were speaking out against Israel's actions in the war. Plaintiffs single out several activists by name, including Palestinian activist and Columbia University graduate Mahmoud Khalil, who was released last month after spending 104 days in federal immigration detention. Khalil has become a symbol of Trump 's clampdown on campus protests. The lawsuit also references Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk, who was released in May from a Louisiana immigration detention. She spent six weeks in detention after she was arrested walking on the street of a Boston suburb. She claims she was illegally detained following an op-ed she co-wrote last year that criticized the school's response to Israel's war in Gaza. The plaintiffs also accuse the Trump administration of supplying names to universities who they wanted to target, launching a social media surveillance program and used Trump's own words in which he said after Khalil's arrest that his was the "first arrest of many to come." The government argued in court documents that the plaintiffs are bringing a First Amendment challenge to a policy "of their own creation." "They do not try to locate this program in any statute, regulation, rule, or directive. They do not allege that it is written down anywhere. And they do not even try to identify its specific terms and substance," the government argues. "That is all unsurprising, because no such policy exists." They argue the plaintiffs case also rest on a "misunderstanding of the First Amendment, "which under binding Supreme Court precedent applies differently in the immigration context than it otherwise does domestically." But plaintiffs counter that evidence at the trial will show the Trump administration has implemented the policy a variety of ways, including issuing formal guidance on revoking visas and green cards and establishing a process for identifying those involved in pro-Palestinian protests. "Defendants have described their policy, defended it, and taken political credit for it," plaintiffs wrote. "It is only now that the policy has been challenged that they say, incredibly, that the policy does not actually exist. But the evidence at trial will show that the policy's existence is beyond cavil."

Trump threatens extra 10% BRICS tariff as leaders meet in Brazil
Trump threatens extra 10% BRICS tariff as leaders meet in Brazil

Nikkei Asia

time4 hours ago

  • Nikkei Asia

Trump threatens extra 10% BRICS tariff as leaders meet in Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO (Reuters) -- President Donald Trump said the U.S. will impose an additional 10% tariff on any countries aligning themselves with the "Anti-American policies" of the BRICS group of developing nations, whose leaders kicked off a summit in Brazil on Sunday. With forums such as the Group of Seven and Group of 20 major economies hamstrung by divisions and the disruptive "America First" approach of the U.S. president, the BRICS is presenting itself as a haven for multilateral diplomacy amid violent conflicts and trade wars. In a joint statement from the opening of the BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro released on Sunday afternoon, the group warned the rise in tariffs threatened global trade, continuing its veiled criticism of Trump's tariff policies. Hours later, Trump warned he would punish countries seeking to join with the grouping. "Any Country aligning themselves with the Anti-American policies of BRICS, will be charged an ADDITIONAL 10% Tariff. There will be no exceptions to this policy. Thank you for your attention to this matter!" Trump said in a post on Truth Social. Trump did not clarify or expand on the "Anti-American policies" reference in his post. Trump's administration is seeking to finalize dozens of trade deals with a wide range of countries before his Wednesday deadline for imposing significant "retaliatory" tariffs. The original BRICS group gathered leaders from Brazil, Russia, India and China at its first summit in 2009. The bloc later added South Africa and last year included Egypt, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates as members. Saudi Arabia has held off formally joining, according to sources, while another 30 nations have expressed interest in participating in BRICS, either as full members or partners. Airlangga Hartarto, Indonesia's senior economic minister, is in Brazil for the BRICS summit and is scheduled to go to the U.S. on Monday to oversee tariff talks, an official told Reuters. India's foreign ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In opening remarks to the summit earlier, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva drew a parallel with the Cold War's Non-Aligned Movement, a group of developing nations that resisted joining either side of a polarized global order. "BRICS is the heir to the Non-Aligned Movement," Lula told leaders. "With multilateralism under attack, our autonomy is in check once again." BRICS nations now represent more than half the world's population and 40% of its economic output, Lula noted in remarks on Saturday to business leaders, warning of rising protectionism. Expansion of the bloc has added diplomatic weight to the gathering, which aspires to speak for developing nations across the Global South, strengthening calls for reforming global institutions such as the United Nations Security Council and the International Monetary Fund. "If international governance does not reflect the new multipolar reality of the 21st century, it is up to BRICS to help bring it up to date," Lula said in his remarks, which highlighted the failure of U.S.-led wars in the Middle East. Stealing some thunder from this year's summit, Chinese President Xi Jinping chose to send his premier in his place. Russian President Vladimir Putin is attending online due to an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court related to his war in Ukraine. Still, several heads of state were gathered for discussions at Rio's Museum of Modern Art on Sunday and Monday, including Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa. However, there are questions about the shared goals of an increasingly heterogeneous BRICS group, which has grown to include regional rivals along with major emerging economies. In the joint statement, the leaders called attacks against Iran's "civilian infrastructure and peaceful nuclear facilities" a "violation of international law." The group expressed "grave concern" for the Palestinian people over Israeli attacks on Gaza, and condemned what the joint statement called a "terrorist attack" in India-administered Kashmir. The group voiced its support for Ethiopia and Iran to join the World Trade Organization, while calling to urgently restore its ability to resolve trade disputes. The leaders' joint statement backed plans to pilot a BRICS Multilateral Guarantees initiative within the group's New Development Bank to lower financing costs and boost investment in member states, as first reported by Reuters last week. In a separate statement following a discussion of artificial intelligence, the leaders called for protections against unauthorized use of AI to avoid excessive data collection and allow mechanisms for fair payment. Brazil, which also hosts the United Nations climate summit in November, has seized on both gatherings to highlight how seriously developing nations are tackling climate change, while Trump has slammed the brakes on U.S. climate initiatives. China and the UAE signaled in meetings with Brazilian Finance Minister Fernando Haddad in Rio that they plan to invest in a proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility, according to two sources with knowledge of the discussions about funding the conservation of endangered forests around the world.

EDITORIAL: Trading rules that served the world so well must be rebuilt
EDITORIAL: Trading rules that served the world so well must be rebuilt

Asahi Shimbun

time6 hours ago

  • Asahi Shimbun

EDITORIAL: Trading rules that served the world so well must be rebuilt

A mine for rare-earth metals in Inner Mongolia, northern China (Reuters) Although the United States and China reached an agreement to mutually rescind high tariffs, there is still a potential for flareups. Avoiding further negative ramifications on the global economy is paramount. Ministerial-level discussions between the two nations in London in early June led Beijing to lift its restrictions on rare-earth metal exports to the United States. For its part, Washington partially removed restrictions on semiconductor-related exports to China. During the discussions, the focus was on China's restrictions on exports of rare-earth metals. Rare-earth metals are used in high-performance magnets and optical equipment. They are also indispensable to a wide range of products, from automobiles and home appliances to missiles and fighter jets. China has about a 70-percent share of the global market in rare-earth metals. From April, Beijing implemented a system to regulate rare-earth metal exports on grounds they could be used not only for commercial products but also military purposes. But China did not explain the standards it uses for the assessment. That led to concerns being raised by both the United States and Europe. In Japan, Suzuki Motor Corp. has had to stop production of some models. Beijing began restricting exports of rare-earth metals after a Chinese fishing boat collided with a Japan Coast Guard cutter close to the disputed Senkaku Islands in 2010. The move was seen as retaliation against Japan. However, China said it was simply protecting its resources. In 2012, Japan, the United States and Europe filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization, which ruled against China. Even with its latest move, Beijing has not retracted its explanation that restrictions were needed because the metals could be used for both military and commercial purposes. This is not an issue that involves only criticizing China. Since his first term, U.S. President Donald Trump has intensified restrictions on semiconductor exports to China. It was intended to thwart China from gaining the advantage in a sector that has direct national security implications. China's restrictions on rare-earth metals can be seen as tit-for-tat for the U.S. semiconductor restrictions. Whatever the reason, excuses for limiting or preventing trade should not be permitted. After two world wars, the global economy operated on the common understanding that a relationship based on free trade provides national security benefits to all. But that recognition now stands on the brink of collapse. An action plan was compiled at the June Group of Seven summit to diversify the sources of rare-earth metals. The intention was to move away from dependence on China, but doing so will likely be difficult in the near term, given the overwhelming share controlled by China. Every nation has national security considerations. But with the deeper mutual economic dependence now in place, nations need to figure out rules that protect the free trade order. In the background to the United States and China sitting down at the negotiating table lies the condition of mutual dependency, which differs from what existed between the United States and the Soviet Union during the Cold War. We call on both superpowers to fulfill their responsibility. --The Asahi Shimbun, July 7

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store