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Abdul Malik Al Houthi, leader of Yemen’s Houthi rebels, said on Thursday that US and British air strikes had no effect on the group, which has carried out regular attacks against ships in the Red Sea.
The Iran-backed Houthis have since November launched hundreds of drones and missiles at commercial vessels, disrupting trade. About 12 per cent of global seaborne trade passes through the Red Sea.
Mr Al Houthi said in his speech that “this week, eight ships have been targeted with 26 missiles and drones” and that the group carried out 153 attacks.
He also dismissed US air strikes on Houthi command and control positions in Yemen.
The US and UK have already suggested that their military strikes would have limited, if any, impact on the Houthis.
US President Joe Biden in January publicly admitted that US strikes on Houthi sites would not deter the militant group from its actions but they were to keep on.
“Are [the strikes] stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” Mr Biden said.
Pentagon spokesman Maj Gen Pat Ryder said Mr Al Houthi's claims that the air strikes had no effect were inaccurate.
“They started with a certain amount of capability, and now they have a less amount of capability. So that’s just factually incorrect," Maj Gen Ryder said.
He said the US was not looking for a “full-scale” conflict with the Houthis and warned that the rebels' actions would ultimately hurt Yemeni citizens by making it harder to deliver aid and by harming the region's economic viability.
“The ultimate objective here is to ensure freedom of navigation through the Red Sea, and to continue to work with the international community to safeguard mariners that are transiting this area. And we’ll continue to do that,” Maj Gen Ryder said.
In January, UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the strikes to “degrade and disrupt” Houthis' capabilities may be successful, but suggested that it may be a reactionary measure to send a message.
“It’s clear that this type of behaviour can’t be met without a response,” he said at the time.
AMr l Houthi repeated claims the group attempted to damage or sink the US aircraft carrier USS Eisenhower.
The Houthis said they hit the 100,000-tonne vessel, one of 11 “super carriers”, this month. The US has denied the claim.
The Houthis have sunk two civilian ships. The Rubymar was carrying fertiliser to Lebanon when it was attacked and the Tutor was carrying coal from Russia.
"The United States condemns the latest reckless and indiscriminate attacks on civilian ships by the Houthis," US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller said in a statement.
"This includes the deliberate attacks on the MV Tutor, which sank earlier this week."
Mr Al Houthi referred to the attack on the Tutor in his speech.
He said the Houthis planted explosives on the stricken vessel after it was struck by a drone boat. Video of the incident showed large blasts on the ship.
Several other vessels have been severely damaged in the Red Sea, including the now abandoned Ukrainian-owned Verbena. Four civilian sailors have been killed in the Houthi campaign.
"The Houthis previously killed three seafarers aboard the MV True Confidence on March 6 and sank the MV Rubymar on March 2, posing a critical threat to Red Sea ecosystems," Mr Miller also said.
"Houthi attacks continue to hinder vital humanitarian assistance from reaching Yemenis and pose dire risks to economic and humanitarian conditions in countries across the Red Sea region and to the broader global economy."
The Houthis say they are acting in support of Hamas will not stop its campaign until Israel ends the Gaza war, which has killed more than 37,400 Palestinians. The group claims to only target ships linked to Israel.
Al Houthi also condemned what he called Israel's “brutal, barbaric, criminal aggression against the Palestinian people”.
Shipping volumes in the Red Sea, and subsequently through the Suez Canal, have slumped by at least 55 per cent and in January the US and UK launched air strikes on Houthi positions in Yemen.
An EU-led mission has also been launched to protect ships in the region, but has not involved air strikes.
Critics say the Houthis have committed rights abuses in areas they control.
The group has seized about 30 per cent of Yemen, including the capital Sanaa.
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup - Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
Key findings of Jenkins report
- Founder of the Muslim Brotherhood, Hassan al Banna, "accepted the political utility of violence"
- Views of key Muslim Brotherhood ideologue, Sayyid Qutb, have “consistently been understood” as permitting “the use of extreme violence in the pursuit of the perfect Islamic society” and “never been institutionally disowned” by the movement.
- Muslim Brotherhood at all levels has repeatedly defended Hamas attacks against Israel, including the use of suicide bombers and the killing of civilians.
- Laying out the report in the House of Commons, David Cameron told MPs: "The main findings of the review support the conclusion that membership of, association with, or influence by the Muslim Brotherhood should be considered as a possible indicator of extremism."
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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How much do leading UAE’s UK curriculum schools charge for Year 6?
- Nord Anglia International School (Dubai) – Dh85,032
- Kings School Al Barsha (Dubai) – Dh71,905
- Brighton College Abu Dhabi - Dh68,560
- Jumeirah English Speaking School (Dubai) – Dh59,728
- Gems Wellington International School – Dubai Branch – Dh58,488
- The British School Al Khubairat (Abu Dhabi) - Dh54,170
- Dubai English Speaking School – Dh51,269
*Annual tuition fees covering the 2024/2025 academic year
What sanctions would be reimposed?
Under ‘snapback’, measures imposed on Iran by the UN Security Council in six resolutions would be restored, including:
- An arms embargo
- A ban on uranium enrichment and reprocessing
- A ban on launches and other activities with ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons, as well as ballistic missile technology transfer and technical assistance
- A targeted global asset freeze and travel ban on Iranian individuals and entities
- Authorisation for countries to inspect Iran Air Cargo and Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines cargoes for banned goods
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
The specs
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