Gunfire broke out off the coast of Yemen on Friday in an incident appearing to involve a private yacht with a glamorous Hollywood history.
Private guards on the yacht Kalizma fired at Yemeni coast guards after mistaking them for pirates, according to a maritime intelligence company.
The yacht once belonged to the actor Richard Burton, who gave it as a gift to his wife Elizabeth Taylor and while on board presented her with the 69-carat Taylor-Burton diamond.
It was not clear if anyone was wounded in Friday's gunfire.
The British military had initially reported a vessel under attack by three boats early on Friday.
But it later downgraded the attack to an incident after clarifying that the gunfire was "government agency activity".
Ambrey, a maritime intelligence company, said the Yemeni coast guard had approached a Cook Islands-flagged yacht after it failed to respond to radio calls.
According to the coast guard, “an armed security team ... on board the yacht then opened fire on the approaching Yemenis and attempted to escape perceived pirates”, the company said.
The coast guard “returned fire and followed the yacht for approximately an hour until communications with the yacht could be established and the misunderstanding between the parties resolved”.
Satellite tracking data appeared to show the Kalizma as the craft involved, the Associated Press reported, based on co-ordinates provided by the British military.
The Royal Navy's UK Maritime Trade Operations agency provides updates to merchant shipping on possible threats in the region.
Yemen's government did not publicly acknowledge the incident.
The Gulf of Aden is a busy route for global trade and has been the site of attacks attributed to Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels as its civil war rages.
The gunfire occurred south of Nishtun, which is held by forces loyal to the internationally recognised Yemeni government.
The government is backed by a Saudi-led coalition in a war with the Houthi rebels who seized the capital Sanaa in 2014.
The attack came after Iran separately seized an oil tanker on Thursday carrying crude for Chevron on its way to Houston, Texas.
Earlier in the week, three Russians and two Egyptians were reported missing near Yemen's Red Sea coast, raising fears of piracy.
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COMPANY PROFILE
Initial investment: Undisclosed
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Core42
Current number of staff: 47
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
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Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
The specs
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Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
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Getting there
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly to Johannesburg or Cape Town daily. Flights cost from about Dh3,325, with a flying time of 8hours and 15 minutes. From there, fly South African Airlines or Air Namibia to Namibia’s Windhoek Hosea Kutako International Airport, for about Dh850. Flying time is 2 hours.
The stay
Wilderness Little Kulala offers stays from £460 (Dh2,135) per person, per night. It is one of seven Wilderness Safari lodges in Namibia; www.wilderness-safaris.com.
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
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Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
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