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US and British strikes against the Houthis in Yemen are not deterring the Iran-backed rebels but the military action will continue, President Joe Biden said on Thursday as the dangerous retaliations in the Red Sea escalate.
“Are [the strikes] stopping the Houthis? No. Are they going to continue? Yes,” Mr Biden told reporters.
Moments later, the Pentagon said US fighter jets had conducted a fifth strike on Houthi targets since last week, this time hitting two anti-ship missiles that were being prepared for launch towards the Red Sea.
The strike destroyed two Houthi anti-ship missiles that “were aimed into the southern Red Sea and prepared to launch,” US Central Command said in a statement posted to X.
They were conducted by Navy F/A-18 fighter aircraft, the Pentagon said.
The strike came just hours after the US said it fired a barrage of missiles from ships and submarines at 14 Houthi missiles that were ready for launch and considered to be an “imminent threat”.
The Houthis have conducted dozens of attacks in the Red Sea since November, claiming they are aiming for ships with ties to Israel as a response to the war in Gaza.
Critics say the Israeli connections are tenuous.
The risk to shipping has forced several global companies to reroute their vessels on an expensive trip around the southern tip of Africa.
Mr Biden's acknowledgement that military strikes are not working – so far – illustrates the dilemma facing his administration as it tries to contain the fallout from Israel's war in Gaza and seeks to avoid a broader regional war during months ahead of presidential elections.
The British military also took part in the first strikes last week.
“The United States is trying to avoid having to escalate further, but rather to do the minimum necessary to convince the Houthis to stop their attacks on international shipping,” said Tom Warrick, non-resident senior fellow with the Middle East Programmes at the Atlantic Council.
“It remains to be seen what it will take to to get the Houthis to stop these attacks.”
The US on Wednesday said it would re-list Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis as a specially designated global terrorist organisation, limiting the rebel group's access to funding.
But a network as large as the Houthis, which has been operating for three decades, is likely to be able to circumvent such measures, and the group shows no sign of stopping its harassment of commercial and military ships.
Ibrahim Jalal, non-resident scholar at the Middle East Institute, said the US-led strikes so far were limited in scope so as to avoid escalating the situation and getting into a broader conflict in Yemen with the Houthis and Iran.
“These attacks are symbolic. I mean, the United States cannot afford to do nothing. It's the only superpower in the world,” Mr Jalal told The National.
“They [the US and UK] have framed this as a challenge to the freedom of navigation … rather than a problem that is emanating from the Houthis in Yemen.”
The New York Times at the weekend quoted two US officials as estimating that the US-led strikes in Yemen had damaged or destroyed about 20 to 30 per cent of the Houthis' offensive capability.
But Mr Jalal said the current situation could drag on for some time, and that the extent of the Houthis' arsenal is not fully understood as it is spread across a vast area, often hidden underground in mountain areas.
Further complicating the dynamic, the Houthis are using their direct confrontation with the West as a recruiting tool and for gathering some support in Yemen.
“They think that God is with them, that [because] they defeated the Saudi-led coalition, they can defeat the US-led coalition now too,” Mr Jalal said.
The Pentagon has stressed that it does not seek a broader confrontation with the Houthis.
“We don't seek war. We don't think that we are at war. We don't want to see a regional war,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Thursday.
“The Houthis are the ones that continue to launch cruise missiles or anti-ship missiles at innocent mariners, at commercial vessels that are just transiting an area that sees 10 to 15 per cent of the world's commerce.
"What we are doing with our partners is self-defence.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that the US strikes would continue “for as long as they need to continue”.
“I’m not going to telegraph punches one way or another,” Mr Kirby told reporters.
Yemenis protest in Sanaa after US and UK hit Houthi sites – in pictures
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
The%20specs
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THE%20SWIMMERS
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RESULTS
Catchweight 63.5kg: Shakriyor Juraev (UZB) beat Bahez Khoshnaw (IRQ). Round 3 TKO (body kick)
Lightweight: Nart Abida (JOR) beat Moussa Salih (MAR). Round 1 by rear naked choke
Catchweight 79kg: Laid Zerhouni (ALG) beat Ahmed Saeb (IRQ). Round 1 TKO (punches)
Catchweight 58kg: Omar Al Hussaini (UAE) beat Mohamed Sahabdeen (SLA) Round 1 rear naked choke
Flyweight: Lina Fayyad (JOR) beat Sophia Haddouche (ALG) Round 2 TKO (ground and pound)
Catchweight 80kg: Badreddine Diani (MAR) beat Sofiane Aïssaoui (ALG) Round 2 TKO
Flyweight: Sabriye Sengul (TUR) beat Mona Ftouhi (TUN). Unanimous decision
Middleweight: Kher Khalifa Eshoushan (LIB) beat Essa Basem (JOR). Round 1 rear naked choke
Heavyweight: Mohamed Jumaa (SUD) beat Hassen Rahat (MAR). Round 1 TKO (ground and pound)
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammad Ali Musalim (UAE beat Omar Emad (EGY). Round 1 triangle choke
Catchweight 62kg: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Mohamed El Mesbahi (MAR). Round 2 KO
Catchweight 88kg: Mohamad Osseili (LEB) beat Samir Zaidi (COM). Unanimous decision
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The biog
Age: 46
Number of Children: Four
Hobby: Reading history books
Loves: Sports
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Gifts exchanged
- King Charles - replica of President Eisenhower Sword
- Queen Camilla - Tiffany & Co vintage 18-carat gold, diamond and ruby flower brooch
- Donald Trump - hand-bound leather book with Declaration of Independence
- Melania Trump - personalised Anya Hindmarch handbag
Company profile
Date started: December 24, 2018
Founders: Omer Gurel, chief executive and co-founder and Edebali Sener, co-founder and chief technology officer
Based: Dubai Media City
Number of employees: 42 (34 in Dubai and a tech team of eight in Ankara, Turkey)
Sector: ConsumerTech and FinTech
Cashflow: Almost $1 million a year
Funding: Series A funding of $2.5m with Series B plans for May 2020
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
THE SPECS
BMW X7 xDrive 50i
Engine: 4.4-litre V8
Transmission: Eight-speed Steptronic transmission
Power: 462hp
Torque: 650Nm
Price: Dh600,000
Company%20profile
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Dengue%20fever%20symptoms
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Teri%20Baaton%20Mein%20Aisa%20Uljha%20Jiya
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UAE Rugby finals day
Games being played at The Sevens, Dubai
2pm, UAE Conference final
Dubai Tigers v Al Ain Amblers
4pm, UAE Premiership final
Abu Dhabi Harlequins v Jebel Ali Dragons
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km
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."
The Pope's itinerary
Sunday, February 3, 2019 - Rome to Abu Dhabi
1pm: departure by plane from Rome / Fiumicino to Abu Dhabi
10pm: arrival at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
Monday, February 4
12pm: welcome ceremony at the main entrance of the Presidential Palace
12.20pm: visit Abu Dhabi Crown Prince at Presidential Palace
5pm: private meeting with Muslim Council of Elders at Sheikh Zayed Grand Mosque
6.10pm: Inter-religious in the Founder's Memorial
Tuesday, February 5 - Abu Dhabi to Rome
9.15am: private visit to undisclosed cathedral
10.30am: public mass at Zayed Sports City – with a homily by Pope Francis
12.40pm: farewell at Abu Dhabi Presidential Airport
1pm: departure by plane to Rome
5pm: arrival at the Rome / Ciampino International Airport
Women%E2%80%99s%20T20%20World%20Cup%20Qualifier
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