Ship hit in Red Sea as Israel strikes Houthi-controlled ports
The vessels opened fire and launched self-propelled grenades at the ship, UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Sunday (Jul 6) in a series of social posts citing a company security officer, without identifying the vessel. A passing merchant vessel rescued all crew members, while the ship remains abandoned.
UKMTO said earlier that an armed security team was returning fire in the attack, some 51 nautical miles southwest of Al Hudaydah, a stronghold of the Iran-backed Houthi militia that has been targeting ships in the strategic waterway for over a year. No group claimed responsibility for Sunday's attack.
Later in the day, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) carried out airstrikes on Al Hudaydah, Ras Issa and Al-Salif ports on the Red Sea in addition to a power plant in Al Hudaydah. The IDF said the strikes were in response to the repeated attacks by the Houthis against Israel, with the group regularly firing missiles at the Jewish state.
'The Houthi terrorist regime exploits the maritime domain to project force and conduct terrorist activity against passing vessels and global maritime commerce. The targets struck demonstrate the regime's systematic use of civilian infrastructure for terrorist purposes,' the IDF said.
The Houthis began attacking commercial vessels in the Red Sea after Israel launched a campaign against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, disrupting global shipping routes. Those attacks have largely dried up since late 2024 as shippers send vessels along other routes.
After an intense bombing campaign by the US and Israel earlier this year, the Yemen-based militia reached a ceasefire with Washington. But the group threatened to return to targeting US-associated vessels in the Red Sea following the US decision last month to join an offensive by Israel on Iran's nuclear sites.
The Houthi assaults on ships in the Red Sea caused the biggest disruption to global trade since the Covid-19 pandemic, subduing activity in one of the world's busiest maritime corridors. BLOOMBERG
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Straits Times
3 hours ago
- Straits Times
China risks global heavy rare-earth supply to stop Myanmar rebel victory
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox FILE PHOTO: A combination image shows a satellite image and a Google Earth image of an area in Bhamo town in northern Myanmar, which has seen months of fighting between the country's ruling junta and the Kachin Independence Army, an ethnic armed group since December 2024, in Bhamo, Myanmar, Decemeber 12, 2024 (L) and May 20, 2025 (R). 2025 Planet Labs PBC, Google/Airbus/Handout via REUTERS/File photo The global supply of heavy rare earths hinges in part on the outcome of a months-long battle between a rebel army and the Chinese-backed military junta in the hills of northern Myanmar. The Kachin Independence Army since December has been battling the junta over the town of Bhamo, less than 100 km (62 miles) from the Chinese border, as part of the civil war that erupted after the military's 2021 coup. Nearly half the world's supply of heavy rare earths is extracted from mines in Kachin state, including those north of Bhamo, a strategically-vital garrison town. They are then shipped to China for processing into magnets that power electronic vehicles and wind turbines. China, which has a near-monopoly over the processing of heavy rare earths, has threatened to halt buying the minerals mined in KIA-controlled territory unless the militia stops trying to seize full control of Bhamo, according to three people familiar with the matter. The ultimatum issued by Chinese officials to the KIA in a meeting earlier this year, which is reported by Reuters for the first time, underscores how Beijing is wielding its control of the minerals to further its geopolitical aims. One of the people, a KIA official, said the Chinese demand was made in May, without detailing where the discussions took place. Another person, a KIA commander, said Beijing was represented by foreign ministry officials at the talks. Reuters could not determine whether China had carried out its threat. Fighting in the region has restricted mining operations and rare-earth exports from Myanmar have plunged this year. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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China's foreign ministry said in response to Reuters' questions that it was not aware of the specifics of deliberations with the KIA. "An early ceasefire and peace talks between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army are in the common interests of China and Myanmar as well as their people," a ministry spokesperson said. A senior KIA general did not respond to a request for comment. The KIA official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters, said Beijing also offered a carrot: greater cross-border trade with KIA-controlled territories if the militia abandoned efforts to seize Bhamo, a logistics hub for the junta that's home to some 166,000 people. "And if we did not accept, they would block exports from Kachin State, including rare-earth minerals," said the official, who did not elaborate on the consequences of an economic blockade. Beijing is not seeking to resolve the wider civil war but it wants fighting to subside in order to advance its economic interests, said David Mathieson, an independent Myanmar-focused analyst. "China's pressure is a more general approach to calming down the conflict." DEFYING CHINA The battle for Bhamo began soon after the KIA wrested control of the main rare-earths belt in Kachin last October. After its takeover, the KIA raised taxes on miners and throttled production of dysprosium and terbium, sending prices of the latter skyrocketing. Supply has been squeezed, with Beijing importing 12,944 metric tons of rare-earth oxides and metals from Myanmar in the first five months of 2025, according to Chinese customs data. That is down half from the same period last year, though exports rose more than 20% between April and May. The KIA, which analysts estimate has over 15,000 personnel, was founded in 1961 to fight for the autonomy of Myanmar's Kachin minority. Battle-hardened through decades of combat and funded by a combination of local taxation and natural resources, it is among the strongest of Myanmar's rebel groups. The militia is confident of its ability to seize Bhamo and believes Beijing won't ultimately carry out its threat to stop exports due to its thirst for the minerals, two of the people said. Myanmar has been in crisis since the military overthrew a democratically-elected government in 2021, violently quashing protests and sparking a nationwide armed rebellion. Swathes of territory were subsequently seized by anti-junta forces, but the rebels have come under Chinese pressure to make concessions to the military. Beijing has also sent jets and drones to the junta, which is increasingly reliant on airpower, according to the U.S.-based Stimson Centre think-tank. China, which has major investments in Myanmar, last year brokered a ceasefire for the junta to return to Lashio, a northeastern town housing a regional military command. More than 200 km to the north, some 5,000 KIA and allied personnel have been involved in the offensive for Bhamo, according to a KIA commander with direct knowledge of the fighting. Losing Bhamo would cut off the military's land and river access to parts of Kachin and neighbouring region, isolating its troops housed at military bases there and weakening its control over northern trade routes, according to Maj. Naung Yoe, who defected from the junta after the coup. The junta spokesperson's office told Reuters that China may have held talks with the KIA, but it did not respond to a question about whether it had asked Beijing to threaten a blockade. "China may have been exerted pressure and offered incentives to the KIA," it said in a statement. Beijing first advised the rebels to pull back from Bhamo during negotiations in early December, according to the KIA official. Instead of withdrawing from Bhamo after those talks, the KIA doubled down, according to the commander and the official. The International Institute for Strategic Studies think-tank said in a May briefing that the battle for Bhamo had cost the KIA significant resources and hundreds of casualties. Beijing became more confrontational during further discussions that took place in spring, when its representatives threatened to stop rare-earth purchases, the official said. A disruption in the movement of heavy rare earths from Kachin could lead to a deficit in the global market by the end of the year, said Neha Mukherjee of U.K.-based consultancy Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Supplies of the critical minerals outside China were already constrained, she said: "In the short term, during the brief disruption period, prices outside of China could shoot up higher." BATTLE FOR BHAMO The KIA has pushed junta troops into a handful of isolated pockets, according to the commander. But the junta retains air superiority and has devastated large parts of Bhamo with relentless airstrikes, according to the KIA official, the commander and a former resident of the town. The junta spokesperson's office said it was permitted to strike such sites because the KIA had been using them for military purposes, though it did not provide evidence. Nathan Ruser, an analyst at the Australian Strategic Policy Institute think-tank who has reviewed satellite imagery of Bhamo, said much of the damage across the town appeared to be from airstrikes. Airstrikes have killed civilians including children and destroyed schools and places of worship, according to Khon Ja, a Kachin activist from Bhamo who said her home had been bombed. "I don't know for how long that the revolutionary groups will be able to resist Chinese pressure," she said, adding that existing border restrictions had led to shortages of petrol and medicine in Kachin. Despite the obstacles, KIA leaders believe capturing Bhamo would shift momentum in their favour and strengthen public support. If the ethnic army were to take control of the entire state, then Beijing would have no option but to negotiate and sideline the junta, the commander and the official said. "China, which needs rare earths, can only tolerate this for a limited time," the commander said. REUTERS
Business Times
6 hours ago
- Business Times
Moody's affirms Israel's ‘Baa1' rating, warns Iran conflict to deepen fiscal strain
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Straits Times
6 hours ago
- Straits Times
Netanyahu meets Trump at White House as Israel, Hamas discuss ceasefire
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The two leaders were scheduled to have a private dinner instead of formal talks in the Oval Office. WASHINGTON/TEL AVIV - President Donald Trump hosted Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for White House talks on July 7, while Israeli officials held indirect negotiations with Hamas aimed at securing a US-brokered Gaza ceasefire and hostage-release deal. Mr Netanyahu's visit follows Mr Trump's prediction, on the eve of their meeting, that such an agreement could be reached this week. Before heading to Washington, the right-wing Israeli leader said his discussions with Mr Trump could help advance negotiations under way in Qatar between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. It was Mr Trump's third face-to-face encounter with Mr Netanyahu since returning to office in January, and came just over two weeks after the president ordered the bombing of Iranian nuclear sites in support of Israeli air strikes. Mr Trump then helped arrange a ceasefire in the 12-day Israel-Iran war. Mr Trump and his aides appeared to be trying to seize on any momentum created by the weakening of Iran, which backs Hamas, to push both sides for a breakthrough in the 21-month Gaza war. He said he also wants to discuss with Mr Netanyahu the prospects for a 'permanent deal' with Iran, Israel's regional arch-foe. The two leaders were scheduled to have a private dinner instead of formal talks in the Oval Office, where the President usually greets visiting dignitaries. It was not immediately clear why Mr Trump was taking a lower-key approach with Mr Netanyahu this time. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. 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Mr Trump told reporters last week that he would be 'very firm' with Mr Netanyahu on the need for a speedy Gaza deal and that the Israeli leader also wanted to end the war. Some of Mr Netanyahu's hardline coalition partners oppose halting military operations but, with Israelis having become increasingly weary of the Gaza war, his government is expected to back a ceasefire if he can secure acceptable terms. A ceasefire at the start of 2025 collapsed in March, and talks to revive it have so far been fruitless. Meanwhile, Israel has intensified its military campaign in Gaza and sharply restricted food distribution. Gazans were watching closely for any sign of a breakthrough. 'I ask God almighty that the negotiating delegation or the mediators pressure with all their strength to solve this issue, because it has totally became unbearable,' said Mr Abu Suleiman Qadoum, a displaced resident of Gaza city. The Gaza war erupted when Hamas attacked southern Israel in October 2023, killing around 1,200 people and taking 251 hostages. Some 50 hostages remain in Gaza, with 20 believed to be alive. Israel's retaliatory war in Gaza has killed over 57,000 Palestinians, according to the enclave's health ministry. Most of Gaza's population has been displaced by the war and nearly half a million people are facing famine within months, according to United Nations estimates. Mr Trump has been strongly supportive of Mr Netanyahu, even wading into domestic Israeli politics in June by lashing out at prosecutors over a corruption trial against the Israeli leader on bribery, fraud and breach-of-trust charges that Mr Netanyahu denies. REUTERS
