Iran-made Shahed-136 is the ‘loitering munition’ of choice Houthis use to attack merchant ships
The Shahed-136 , which has been extensively used by Russian forces in Ukraine, can be fired from truck-mounted containers at a slightly upward angle. A small rocket booster helps propel the drone into the air before being jettisoned. Its main piston engine then takes over to power the flight.
How Houthi militants in Yemen attack ships in one of world’s busiest maritime trade routes
Houthi attacks have targeted ships in the southern Red Sea and the neighbouring Gulf of Aden, which are joined by the Bab al-Mandab strait, a chokepoint between the Horn of Africa and the Middle East.
US hits 85 military targets in Iraq and Syria as America starts retaliation against Iran proxies
Syrian state media said on Friday that an “American aggression” on sites in its desert areas and at the Syrian-Iraqi border resulted in a number of casualties and injuries. The Iraqi military said the strikes were in the Iraqi border area and warned they could ignite instability in the region.
Trudeau condemns mosque attack, says Islamophobia ‘has no place’ in Canada
In November, authorities in Toronto said the number of antisemitic and anti-Muslim hate crimes, opens new tab in Canada’s largest city had spiked significantly since the start of the Gaza conflict.
Hamas considering ceasefire as Israel turns focus of Gaza attack to Rafah as death toll tops 27,000
There was brief elation in Gaza on Thursday after remarks by a Qatari spokesman at Johns Hopkins University in Washington sparked ceasefire hopes – and a drop in the price of crude oil. But Qatari officials in the capital Doha and Taher Al-Nono, media adviser to Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh, said the group had not responded yet.
Israel accuses 190 UN workers, among them teachers and doctors, of being ‘hardened’ militants
The agency employs 13,000 people in Gaza. More than 10 countries, including major donors the United States and Germany, have halted their funding to the agency.
Gaza war gives Iran’s Axis of Resistance reason to hit US interests in widened Middle East conflict
Some Iranian attacks were in retaliation for attacks on its interests. Last month an Israeli air strike in Syria killed a senior Iranian Revolutionary Guard commander. Its attack on Pakistan might have been more of a message from Tehran to all separatists not to take advantage of the wider war to attack Iran.
Somali pirates are suspected of hijacking a Sri Lankan fishing boat and abducting its six crew
The hijacking of the Sri Lankan vessel occurred in international waters about 840 nautical miles (1,555 kilometres) east of Somalia, 1,100 nautical miles (2,040 kilometres) from Sri Lanka and north of the Seychelles, according to Sri Lankan navy spokesman Capt Gayan Wickramasuriya.
Political pressure builds on Biden to strike Iran after US deaths, but experts warn of risk of all-out war
Biden said the United States would respond, without giving any more details. Republicans accused Biden of letting American forces become sitting ducks, waiting for the day when a drone or missile would evade base defences.
Attacks on ships in the Red Sea are disrupting global trade, impact predicted to last many months
The threat grows considerably the longer the war in Gaza drags on. Disruption to Red Sea trade lasting a year could surge goods inflation by up to 2%, Petersen says, piling on pain while the world already struggles with higher prices for groceries, rent and more. That also could mean even higher interest rates, which have weakened economies.
