Yemeni

New airstrip emerges on Yemeni island as Houthis face increasing pressure

A new airstrip is being built on a volcanic island in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen, satellite images show, likely the latest project by forces allied to those opposed to the country's Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. The airstrip on Zuqar Island provides yet another link in a network of offshore bases in a region key to international shipping, where the Houthis already have attacked over 100 ships, sank four vessels and killed at least nine mariners during the Israel-Hamas war. It could give a military force the ability to conduct aerial surveillance over the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden and the strategic, narrow Bab el-Mandeb Strait connecting the two waterways off East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. Still, it remains unclear what would trigger the airstrip to be used for a military campaign. The United Arab Emirates, which has built other runways in the region, did not respond to requests for comment. Nor did Yemen's anti-Houthi forces, divided by warring interests and unable t

Nimisha Priya on death row: SC told talks ongoing, no immediate threat

The Supreme Court was informed on Thursday that there was "no immediate threat" to Indian nurse Nimisha Priya who is on death row in Yemen for murder. It then listed the matter after eight weeks. The counsel for petitioner organisation Save Nimisha Priya International Action Council, which is extending legal support to Priya, requested a bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta to adjourn the matter. The apex court was hearing a plea seeking a direction to the Centre to use diplomatic channels to save the 38-year-old nurse from Palakkad in Kerala who was convicted of murdering her Yemeni business partner in 2017. "Negotiations are going on. As of now there is no immediate threat. Kindly adjourn it by four weeks. Hopefully, everything will be over by that time," the counsel said. "Let this matter be listed after eight weeks," the bench then said. The petitioner's counsel said they would mention the matter before the top court if there was any urgency. The top court was appr

Yemen's leader praises deep-rooted friendship, cooperative ties with India

Yemen's top leader Rashad Al-Alimi has praised the "cooperative" bilateral relations and "deep-rooted friendship" his country shares with India, in a meeting with the Indian envoy. Al-Alimi, who heads the Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen, met with the Indian Ambassador Suhel Khan on Sunday in Riyadh. "Amb. Dr Suhel Khan called on Chairman, Presidential Leadership Council of Yemen H.E. Dr Rashad Al-Alimi @PresidentRashad today in Riyadh, along with DCM Shri Abu Mathen & First Secretary Shri Rishi Tripathi. They discussed India-Yemen relations & other issues of mutual interests," the Indian mission said in an X post. Al-Alimi "praised the bilateral cooperative relations and deep-rooted friendship," according to an official statement by his office. He expressed his appreciation for India's "historical stance in support of the Yemeni people and its legitimate government, including humanitarian interventions such as shipments of wheat, medical supplies, medicines, and ...

Nimisha Priya row: Mahdi family presses for execution, rejects 'settlement'

The execution of Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya was delayed after intervention from an Indian Muslim leader, but the Mahdi family continues to demand death penalty

Ship attacked by Houthi rebels sinks in Red Sea, six of 25 aboard rescued

A Liberian-flagged cargo ship attacked by Yemen's Houthi rebels sank on Wednesday in the Red Sea, and a European naval force in the Mideast said only six of the 25 people who were on board have been rescued. The attack on the Eternity C, which also killed at least three of the crew, represents the most serious assault carried out by the Houthis in the crucial maritime trade route where USD 1 trillion in cargo once passed through annually. From November 2023 to December 2024, the Houthis targeted more than 100 ships with missiles and drones in a campaign the rebels describe as supporting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the Israel-Hamas war. The Iranian-backed rebels stopped their attacks during a brief ceasefire in the war. They later became the target of an intense weekslong campaign of airstrikes ordered by US President Donald Trump. The attack on the Eternity C, as well as the sinking of the bulk carrier Magic Seas in another attack Sunday, raise new questions about the Red

Response to US strikes on Iran only a matter of time: Yemeni Houthis

Mohammed al-Bukhaiti, a member of the Houthi movement's political bureau, told Al Jazeera Mubasher TV that its ceasefire deal with Washington was before the "war" on Iran

Suspected US strikes in Yemen kill at least 4 near Hodeida: Houthi rebels

Suspected US airstrikes battered rebel-controlled areas of Yemen into Wednesday, with the Houthis saying one strike killed at least four people near the Red Sea port city of Hodeida. The intense campaign of airstrikes under President Donald Trump, targeting the rebels over their attacks on shipping in Mideast waters stemming from the Israel-Hamas war, has killed at least 65 people, according to casualty figures released by the Houthis. The campaign appears to show no signs of stopping as the Trump administration again linked their airstrikes on the Iranian-backed Houthis to an effort to pressure Iran over its rapidly advancing nuclear program. While so far giving no specifics about the campaign and its targets, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt put the overall number of strikes on Tuesday at over 200. Iran is incredibly weakened as a result of these attacks and we have seen they have taken out Houthi leaders, Leavitt said. They've taken out critical members who were ...

Trump warns Houthi rebels of 'complete annihilation' amid strikes in Yemen

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Yemen's Houthi rebels on Wednesday that they'll be completely annihilated as American airstrikes pounded locations under their control, while further pressuring the group's main benefactor Iran. Strikes hit Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-held capital, as well as their stronghold of Saada in the country's northwest on Wednesday night, the Houthi's al-Maisrah satellite news channel reported. It aired footage showing firefighters battling a blaze in Sanaa and damaged at what it described as a sheep farm in al-Jawf. It also said strikes happened overnight Tuesday, though the U.S. military has not offered a breakdown of places targeted since the airstrikes campaign began. The first strikes this weekend killed at least 53 people, including children, and wounded others. As the strikes hit, Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians. Watch how it will get progressively worse It's not even a fair

Will target only Israel-linked vessels after Gaza ceasefire: Yemen's Houthi

The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on ships since November 2023 and sunk two vessels

US Army carries out airstrikes against Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels

The US military says it carried out a wave of strikes against what it said were underground arms facilities of Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. US Central Command said in a statement that Wednesday's strikes targeted weapons used by the rebels to attack ships in the Red Sea. The Houthis said seven strikes targeted sites in the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and the northern Amran province, without providing further details. There were no immediate reports of casualties. The United States and its allies have carried out repeated strikes on the Houthis, who have continued to target shipping. The rebels say they target ships linked to Israel, the US or the UK to force an end to Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza. However, many of the ships attacked have little or no connection to the conflict, including some bound for Iran.

Iran offers help in case of Kerala nurse Nimsha Priya on death row in Yemen

Priya's mother is currently in Yemen, negotiating with Mahdi's family to stop the death penalty by offering 'blood money', a compensation allowed under Yemeni law

What is blood money, key to saving Kerala nurse from death row in Yemen?

The Quran encourages forgiveness and compensation to the victim's family as preferable alternatives to retribution. This system is called 'diyya,' which loosely refers to 'blood money.'

Centre, state govt need to take initiative: Kerala LoP on Nimisha Priya

Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) earlier in the day confirmed its awareness of the death sentence handed to Nimisha Priya and assured that the government is providing all possible assistance

Kerala nurse Nimisha Priya on death sentence in Yemen: All we know

Nimisha Priya's death sentence was approved by the Yemeni President on December 30 and her execution is scheduled to take place within a month

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen airport as jet was landing: UN official

Israeli airstrikes hit Yemen's main airport as a civilian Airbus 320 with hundreds of passengers on board was landing and a UN delegation was waiting to leave, the UN's top humanitarian official in Yemen said Friday. Julien Harneis told UN reporters that the most frightening thing about the two airstrikes on Thursday wasn't their effect on him and about 15 others in the VIP lounge at the international airport in Yemen's capital, Sanaa, including the head of the UN World Health Organisation. Rather, it was the destruction of the airport control tower as a Yemenia Airways plane was taxiing in after touching down. Fortunately, that plane was able to land safely and the passengers were able to disembark, but it could have been far, far worse, said Harneis, who was with WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in the lounge. He said one airstrike landed approximately 300 metres (330 yards) south of the VIP lounge and another about 300 metres to the north around 4:45 pm, while abo

Israel intercepts projectile launched from Yemen, former hostage dies

A septuagenarian Israeli woman who was taken hostage during Hamas's attack on southern Israel on 0ctober 7, 2023 has died. She was among the 250 hostages the Palestinian militant group took back into Gaza following the surprise attack that left about 1,200 people dead. Israel's subsequent bombardment and ground invasion have killed over 45,000 Palestinians in Gaza, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not distinguish between fighters and civilians in its count. Meanwhile, the Israeli military said on Tuesday it intercepted a projectile launched from Yemen. Here's the latest: A former Israeli hostage dies at 78 Tel Aviv Hannah Katzir, an Israeli woman who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, and freed in a brief ceasefire last year, has died. She was 78. The Hostages Families Forum, a group representing the families of people taken captive, confirmed the death on Tuesday but did not disclose the cause. Her daughter, Carmit P

Soldier with Yemen's exiled govt opens fire on Saudi troops killing two men

A soldier for Yemen's exiled government opened fire on Saudi troops as they exercised in eastern Yemen, killing two of them and wounding another in a rare insider attack during the kingdom's nearly decadelong war there, officials said Saturday. The assault in eastern Hadramawt province comes as a yearslong cease-fire between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi rebels largely has held despite the militants' ongoing attacks against shipping in the Red Sea corridor. While the Houthis did not claim the attack, at least one Houthi official praised it as being the beginning and an indication of a harsh future awaiting the invaders. Meanwhile, US warplanes carried out new strikes targeting Houthi positions that lasted into early Sunday morning, the American military said. The strikes come after the militants likely shot down yet-another American reconnaissance drone over the country. The attack on the Saudi troops took place Friday night in Seiyun, a city some 500 kilometers (310 miles) east o

US sanctions 2 Indians for alleged ties to Houthis transporting Iranian oil

The US has sanctioned 18 companies and individuals, including two Indians, for their alleged ties to a Houthi network transporting Iranian oil, revenue from which enables Houthi attacks on Israel and disrupting shipping in the Red Sea region. The Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctioned the companies, including the captains of vessels transporting illicit oil, for their ties to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force-backed Houthi financial official Sa'id al-Jamal and his network, a press release said on Thursday. The 18 companies sanctioned include Marshall Islands-registered Changtai Shipping and Motionavigations Limited and UAE-based Indo Gulf Ship Management. The two Indians sanctioned are linked to the Indo Gulf Ship Management, according to the Treasury Department. The release said that UAE and India-based Indian national Rahul Rattanlal Warikoo acts as the managing director of Indo Gulf Ship Management. He has also served in managemen

Yemen's Houthi rebels look to gain from continuing conflict in Mideast

In the days since Israel intensified its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, including the strike that killed the militant group's leader Hassan Nasrallah, Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels have been quick to show they are an important player in the complex conflicts convulsing the Middle East. In a brazen attack on Saturday, the Houthis fired a ballistic missile at Israel's main airport as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was arriving back from New York, where he had addressed the United Nations. On Monday, they threatened escalating military operations to target Israel after apparently shooting down a U.S. military drone flying over Yemen. And on Tuesday, an explosive-loaded drone crashed into one ship in the Red Sea as a missile exploded against another, the British military and private security officials said, the latest in the Houthis' assaults on commercial shipping in the key waterway. The salvo of Houthi attacks has again drawn attention to the Yemeni rebels and raised .

Hezbollah recovers Hassan Nasrallah's body; Israel targets Houthis: Updates

Following the death of Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, Israel intensified attacks on Lebanon while waging simultaneous airstrikes on Houthis in Yemen