The US military last month launched an international task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to patrol the Red Sea. Reuters
The US military last month launched an international task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to patrol the Red Sea. Reuters
The US military last month launched an international task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to patrol the Red Sea. Reuters
The US military last month launched an international task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to patrol the Red Sea. Reuters

US carries out second strike against Houthis in Yemen


Patrick deHahn
  • English
  • Arabic

The US military struck at the Houthis in Yemen on Friday, a day after it sent a wave of attacks on military sites used by the Iran-backed group,.

US Central Command said in a statement posted on X that its strike was aimed at a radar station used by the rebel group.

It said the raid was "designed to degrade the Houthi's ability to attack maritime vessels, including commercial vessels".

The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have been threatening maritime security in the Red Sea in response to Israel's bombardment of Gaza.

The group said it would strike Israeli ships or any vessel travelling to Israeli ports, although many of its targets have had no connection to the country.

One American official told CNN that the latest strike was carried out by the US alone, in contrast to the previous strike that was conducted alongside the UK, with support from other nations.

Yemenis are worried about what is to come, especially after the Houthis have threatened retaliation for the strikes.

"I am very afraid and my optimism for peace is almost non-existent," Sara Haig, 36, a lab worker, told The National from Al Hodeidah.

Ms Haig said she has not gone to work for two days and fears "the worse is yet to come".

Mariam Ahmad, 28, a housewife, is more hopeful. She said it would be "madness" for another war to break out in Yemen.

"Nine years of war and destruction have passed [in Yemen] ... I believe the crisis will calm down, but slowly."

The US military last month launched an international task force, Operation Prosperity Guardian, to patrol the Red Sea.

But many shipping companies have rerouted vessels around southern Africa to avoid the security risk posed by the Houthis.

The Centcom statement said the strike had "no association with and are separate from Operation Prosperity Guardian, a defensive coalition of over 20 countries operating in the Red Sea, Bab Al Mandeb strait, and Gulf of Aden".

US President Joe Biden earlier on Friday said the US “will make sure we respond to the Houthis if they continue this outrageous behaviour”.

Thursday's strikes, aimed at “disrupting and degrading” the group's ability to affect global trade in the vital waterway, were carried out in co-ordination with the UK and involved “non-operational support” from other countries.

UK officials said their military action on Thursday was a one-off, with no more strikes to come.

The latest strike comes after the White House asserted it does not want to start a war with the Houthis.

“We're not interested in a war with Yemen. We're not interested in a conflict of any kind here,” National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told journalists on Friday.

“In fact, everything the President has been doing has been trying to prevent any escalation of conflict, including the strikes last night.”

Sole survivors
  • Cecelia Crocker was on board Northwest Airlines Flight 255 in 1987 when it crashed in Detroit, killing 154 people, including her parents and brother. The plane had hit a light pole on take off
  • George Lamson Jr, from Minnesota, was on a Galaxy Airlines flight that crashed in Reno in 1985, killing 68 people. His entire seat was launched out of the plane
  • Bahia Bakari, then 12, survived when a Yemenia Airways flight crashed near the Comoros in 2009, killing 152. She was found clinging to wreckage after floating in the ocean for 13 hours.
  • Jim Polehinke was the co-pilot and sole survivor of a 2006 Comair flight that crashed in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Brief scores:

Toss: India, opted to field

Australia 158-4 (17 ov)

Maxwell 46, Lynn 37; Kuldeep 2-24

India 169-7 (17 ov)

Dhawan 76, Karthik 30; Zampa 2-22

Result: Australia won by 4 runs by D/L method

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CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections" 

SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom" 

ELIO

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Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

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Emirates and Etihad fly direct from the UAE to Geneva from Dh2,845 return, including taxes. The flight takes 6 hours. 

The package

Clinique La Prairie offers a variety of programmes. A six-night Master Detox costs from 14,900 Swiss francs (Dh57,655), including all food, accommodation and a set schedule of medical consultations and spa treatments.

Tightening the screw on rogue recruiters

The UAE overhauled the procedure to recruit housemaids and domestic workers with a law in 2017 to protect low-income labour from being exploited.

 Only recruitment companies authorised by the government are permitted as part of Tadbeer, a network of labour ministry-regulated centres.

A contract must be drawn up for domestic workers, the wages and job offer clearly stating the nature of work.

The contract stating the wages, work entailed and accommodation must be sent to the employee in their home country before they depart for the UAE.

The contract will be signed by the employer and employee when the domestic worker arrives in the UAE.

Only recruitment agencies registered with the ministry can undertake recruitment and employment applications for domestic workers.

Penalties for illegal recruitment in the UAE include fines of up to Dh100,000 and imprisonment

But agents not authorised by the government sidestep the law by illegally getting women into the country on visit visas.

Real estate tokenisation project

Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.

The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.

Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

The five pillars of Islam

1. Fasting

2. Prayer

3. Hajj

4. Shahada

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5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
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Hotel Data Cloud profile

Date started: June 2016
Founders: Gregor Amon and Kevin Czok
Based: Dubai
Sector: Travel Tech
Size: 10 employees
Funding: $350,000 (Dh1.3 million)
Investors: five angel investors (undisclosed except for Amar Shubar)

'Brazen'

Director: Monika Mitchell

Starring: Alyssa Milano, Sam Page, Colleen Wheeler

Rating: 3/5

Superliminal%20
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Dubai World Cup Carnival Card:

6.30pm: Handicap US$135,000 (Turf) 1,200m
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7.40pm: Zabeel Turf Listed $175,000 (T) 2,000m​​​​​​​
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8.50pm: Handicap $135,000 (D) 1,600m​​​​​​​
9.25pm: Handicap $175,000 (T) 1,600m

EA Sports FC 26

Publisher: EA Sports

Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S

Rating: 3/5

SPIDER-MAN%3A%20ACROSS%20THE%20SPIDER-VERSE
%3Cp%3EDirectors%3A%20Joaquim%20Dos%20Santos%2C%20Kemp%20Powers%2C%20Justin%20K.%20Thompson%3Cbr%3EStars%3A%20Shameik%20Moore%2C%20Hailee%20Steinfeld%2C%20Oscar%20Isaac%3Cbr%3ERating%3A%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The%20Afghan%20connection
%3Cp%3EThe%20influx%20of%20talented%20young%20Afghan%20players%20to%20UAE%20cricket%20could%20have%20a%20big%20impact%20on%20the%20fortunes%20of%20both%20countries.%20Here%20are%20three%20Emirates-based%20players%20to%20watch%20out%20for.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EHassan%20Khan%20Eisakhil%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EMohammed%20Nabi%20is%20still%20proving%20his%20worth%20at%20the%20top%20level%20but%20there%20is%20another%20reason%20he%20is%20raging%20against%20the%20idea%20of%20retirement.%20If%20the%20allrounder%20hangs%20on%20a%20little%20bit%20longer%2C%20he%20might%20be%20able%20to%20play%20in%20the%20same%20team%20as%20his%20son%2C%20Hassan%20Khan.%20The%20family%20live%20in%20Ajman%20and%20train%20in%20Sharjah.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EMasood%20Gurbaz%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20opening%20batter%2C%20who%20trains%20at%20Sharjah%20Cricket%20Academy%2C%20is%20another%20player%20who%20is%20a%20part%20of%20a%20famous%20family.%20His%20brother%2C%20Rahmanullah%2C%20was%20an%20IPL%20winner%20with%20Kolkata%20Knight%20Riders%2C%20and%20opens%20the%20batting%20with%20distinction%20for%20Afghanistan.%0D%3Cbr%3E%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOmid%20Rahman%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3EThe%20fast%20bowler%20became%20a%20pioneer%20earlier%20this%20year%20when%20he%20became%20the%20first%20Afghan%20to%20represent%20the%20UAE.%20He%20showed%20great%20promise%20in%20doing%20so%2C%20too%2C%20playing%20a%20key%20role%20in%20the%20senior%20team%E2%80%99s%20qualification%20for%20the%20Asia%20Cup%20in%20Muscat%20recently.%0D%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Updated: January 17, 2024, 11:40 PM`