Houthi supporters shout anti-Saudi slogans during a rally in Sanaa.
Houthi supporters shout anti-Saudi slogans during a rally in Sanaa.

US: Iran improved Houthis' ability to hit Arab coalition seapower



A senior US general says Iran's support for Houthi rebels extends to helping them target ships belonging to the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

General Robert Ashley, Director of the Defence Intelligence Agency, told the Senate Armed Services Committee that "low-cost, high-payoff support" from Tehran has helped the Houthis "improve their military and missile capabilities, demonstrated through missile launches against targets in Saudi Arabia and Saudi-led coalition ships in the Red Sea".

This now includes "anti-ship missiles, explosive-laden boats, and mines," he said, making the Yemen war a "threat to vital international shipping lanes through the Red Sea".
Gen Ashley said Iran's regional goals were undiminished.

"Iran is poised to wield the most power in a post-conflict environment" in Syria, he said.

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"We expect Iran to transition to efforts that secure and increase its long-term influence and to look for new opportunities to challenge its regional adversaries."
In Iraq, this will take form in Iran leveraging "its aligned PMF (Hasd Shaabi) and Shia militia groups, as well as its longstanding political and societal ties as its main avenues of influence to pressure Baghdad to expel US and coalition forces and prevent Kurdish separatism".

As the ISIL territorial threat recedes, Shia militia groups, including those loyal to Iran, "are likely to pose an increasing threat to US forces", the general said. 
And in Syria, Iran's presence "not only benefits the (Bashar Al) Assad regime, it represents a key step toward Iran's goal of a land bridge from Tehran through Iraq and Syria into Lebanon".
Gen Ashley said that after the nuclear deal - known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) - agreed in 2015 but enacted in January the following year, the Iranian government increased funding to its security forces. However, with the latest protests in Iran driven by economic difficulties, the US commander said spending on domestic programmes will remain the priority for Tehran in the near term.
With regard to Iran's military capabilities, Gen Ashley said that in 2017, Tehran tested and fielded its Russian-made SA-20c surface-to-air missile system.
In the long run, "Tehran is pursuing long-range, precision land-attack cruise missiles, which present a new type of threat in the region" and "is also developing more powerful space launch vehicles and technologies that enable development of long-range missile subsystems", he said.

His testimony came as President Donald Trump's government is consulting with regional partners on a counter-Iran strategy, and with European powers on measures to amend few provisions in the JCPOA or otherwise abandon it in May.

The Transfiguration

Director: Michael O’Shea

Starring: Eric Ruffin, Chloe Levine

Three stars

And%20Just%20Like%20That...
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Various%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Sarah%20Jessica%20Parker%2C%20Cynthia%20Nixon%2C%20Kristin%20Davis%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%203%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Why are you, you?

Why are you, you?
From this question, a new beginning.
From this question, a new destiny.
For you are a world, and a meeting of worlds.
Our dream is to unite that which has been
separated by history.
To return the many to the one.
A great story unites us all,
beyond colour and creed and gender.
The lightning flash of art
And the music of the heart.
We reflect all cultures, all ways.
We are a twenty first century wonder.
Universal ideals, visions of art and truth.
Now is the turning point of cultures and hopes.
Come with questions, leave with visions.
We are the link between the past and the future.
Here, through art, new possibilities are born. And
new answers are given wings.

Why are you, you?
Because we are mirrors of each other.
Because together we create new worlds.
Together we are more powerful than we know.
We connect, we inspire, we multiply illuminations
with the unique light of art.

 Ben Okri,

Director: Laxman Utekar

Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna

Rating: 1/5

What is safeguarding?

“Safeguarding, not just in sport, but in all walks of life, is making sure that policies are put in place that make sure your child is safe; when they attend a football club, a tennis club, that there are welfare officers at clubs who are qualified to a standard to make sure your child is safe in that environment,” Derek Bell explains.

Bio

Age: 25

Town: Al Diqdaqah – Ras Al Khaimah

Education: Bachelors degree in mechanical engineering

Favourite colour: White

Favourite place in the UAE: Downtown Dubai

Favourite book: A Life in Administration by Ghazi Al Gosaibi.

First owned baking book: How to Be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson.

How the bonus system works

The two riders are among several riders in the UAE to receive the top payment of £10,000 under the Thank You Fund of £16 million (Dh80m), which was announced in conjunction with Deliveroo's £8 billion (Dh40bn) stock market listing earlier this year.

The £10,000 (Dh50,000) payment is made to those riders who have completed the highest number of orders in each market.

There are also riders who will receive payments of £1,000 (Dh5,000) and £500 (Dh2,500).

All riders who have worked with Deliveroo for at least one year and completed 2,000 orders will receive £200 (Dh1,000), the company said when it announced the scheme.

Yemen's Bahais and the charges they often face

The Baha'i faith was made known in Yemen in the 19th century, first introduced by an Iranian man named Ali Muhammad Al Shirazi, considered the Herald of the Baha'i faith in 1844.

The Baha'i faith has had a growing number of followers in recent years despite persecution in Yemen and Iran. 

Today, some 2,000 Baha'is reside in Yemen, according to Insaf. 

"The 24 defendants represented by the House of Justice, which has intelligence outfits from the uS and the UK working to carry out an espionage scheme in Yemen under the guise of religion.. aimed to impant and found the Bahai sect on Yemeni soil by bringing foreign Bahais from abroad and homing them in Yemen," the charge sheet said. 

Baha'Ullah, the founder of the Bahai faith, was exiled by the Ottoman Empire in 1868 from Iran to what is now Israel. Now, the Bahai faith's highest governing body, known as the Universal House of Justice, is based in the Israeli city of Haifa, which the Bahais turn towards during prayer. 

The Houthis cite this as collective "evidence" of Bahai "links" to Israel - which the Houthis consider their enemy. 

 

How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.

Bob Honey Who Just Do Stuff
By Sean Penn
Simon & Schuster

Profile Idealz

Company: Idealz

Founded: January 2018

Based: Dubai

Sector: E-commerce

Size: (employees): 22

Investors: Co-founders and Venture Partners (9 per cent)

Racecard
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Sunday:
GP3 race: 12:10pm
Formula 2 race: 1:35pm
Formula 1 race: 5:10pm
Performance: Guns N' Roses

SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20SAMSUNG%20GALAXY%20S24%20ULTRA
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While you're here ...

Damien McElroy: What happens to Brexit?

Con Coughlin: Could the virus break the EU?

Andrea Matteo Fontana: Europe to emerge stronger

MATCH INFO

Liverpool 0

Stoke City 0

Man of the Match: Erik Pieters (Stoke)

Traces%20of%20Enayat
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Student Of The Year 2

Director: Punit Malhotra

Stars: Tiger Shroff, Tara Sutaria, Ananya Pandey, Aditya Seal 

1.5 stars