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The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Gunfire hits ship off Yemen: UK maritime agency
A ship has come under attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen by armed men firing guns and launching rocket-propelled grenades, a group overseen by the UK military says. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as tensions remain high in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and after the Iran-Israel air war and air strikes by the United States targeting Iranian nuclear sites. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said that an armed security team on the ship had returned fire and that the "situation is ongoing". It described the attack as happening 100km southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country's Houthi rebels. "Authorities are investigating," it said. Ambrey, a maritime security firm, issued a warning saying that a merchant ship had been "attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea". It said it believed the attack was ongoing. The US navy's Middle East-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military's Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically has $US1 trillion ($A1.5 trillion) worth of goods move through it annually. The Houthi rebels paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel although they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. On Sunday, the group claimed launching a missile at Israel which the Israeli military said it intercepted. Pirates from Somalia also have operated in the region although typically they have sought to capture vessels either to rob or ransom their crews. A ship has come under attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen by armed men firing guns and launching rocket-propelled grenades, a group overseen by the UK military says. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as tensions remain high in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and after the Iran-Israel air war and air strikes by the United States targeting Iranian nuclear sites. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said that an armed security team on the ship had returned fire and that the "situation is ongoing". It described the attack as happening 100km southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country's Houthi rebels. "Authorities are investigating," it said. Ambrey, a maritime security firm, issued a warning saying that a merchant ship had been "attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea". It said it believed the attack was ongoing. The US navy's Middle East-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military's Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically has $US1 trillion ($A1.5 trillion) worth of goods move through it annually. The Houthi rebels paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel although they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. On Sunday, the group claimed launching a missile at Israel which the Israeli military said it intercepted. Pirates from Somalia also have operated in the region although typically they have sought to capture vessels either to rob or ransom their crews. A ship has come under attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen by armed men firing guns and launching rocket-propelled grenades, a group overseen by the UK military says. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as tensions remain high in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and after the Iran-Israel air war and air strikes by the United States targeting Iranian nuclear sites. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said that an armed security team on the ship had returned fire and that the "situation is ongoing". It described the attack as happening 100km southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country's Houthi rebels. "Authorities are investigating," it said. Ambrey, a maritime security firm, issued a warning saying that a merchant ship had been "attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea". It said it believed the attack was ongoing. The US navy's Middle East-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military's Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically has $US1 trillion ($A1.5 trillion) worth of goods move through it annually. The Houthi rebels paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel although they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. On Sunday, the group claimed launching a missile at Israel which the Israeli military said it intercepted. Pirates from Somalia also have operated in the region although typically they have sought to capture vessels either to rob or ransom their crews. A ship has come under attack in the Red Sea off the coast of Yemen by armed men firing guns and launching rocket-propelled grenades, a group overseen by the UK military says. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, which comes as tensions remain high in the Middle East over the Israel-Hamas war and after the Iran-Israel air war and air strikes by the United States targeting Iranian nuclear sites. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations centre said that an armed security team on the ship had returned fire and that the "situation is ongoing". It described the attack as happening 100km southwest of Hodeida, Yemen, which is held by the country's Houthi rebels. "Authorities are investigating," it said. Ambrey, a maritime security firm, issued a warning saying that a merchant ship had been "attacked by eight skiffs while transiting northbound in the Red Sea". It said it believed the attack was ongoing. The US navy's Middle East-based 5th Fleet referred questions to the military's Central Command, which did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The Houthi rebels have been launching missile and drone attacks against commercial and military ships in the region in what the group's leadership has described as an effort to end Israel's offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The group's al-Masirah satellite news channel acknowledged the attack occurred but offered no other comment on it as it aired a speech by its secretive leader Abdul Malik al-Houthi. Between November 2023 and January 2025, the Houthis targeted more than 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two of them and killing four sailors. That has greatly reduced the flow of trade through the Red Sea corridor, which typically has $US1 trillion ($A1.5 trillion) worth of goods move through it annually. The Houthi rebels paused attacks in a self-imposed ceasefire until the US launched a broad assault against the rebels in mid-March. That ended weeks later and the Houthis have not attacked a vessel although they have continued occasional missile attacks targeting Israel. On Sunday, the group claimed launching a missile at Israel which the Israeli military said it intercepted. Pirates from Somalia also have operated in the region although typically they have sought to capture vessels either to rob or ransom their crews.
The Advertiser
3 hours ago
- The Advertiser
Israeli air strikes kill 38 Palestinians in Gaza
Israeli air strikes have killed at least 38 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say, as Israel's military says it has struck more than 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day. The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts. Separately, an Israeli official said the Israeli security Cabinet on Saturday night approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from acute food shortages. The official, who declined to offer more details, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the decision. In Yemen, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebel group announced on Sunday in a prerecorded message that the group had launched ballistic missiles targeting Ben Gurion airport overnight. The Israeli military said these had been intercepted. President Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether. Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital. Two families were among the dead, according to the hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry's figures the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday, adding that Hamas was seeking "unacceptable" changes to the proposal. The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear whether a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's meeting at the White House. Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas' demands for guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction. Israeli air strikes have killed at least 38 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say, as Israel's military says it has struck more than 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day. The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts. Separately, an Israeli official said the Israeli security Cabinet on Saturday night approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from acute food shortages. The official, who declined to offer more details, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the decision. In Yemen, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebel group announced on Sunday in a prerecorded message that the group had launched ballistic missiles targeting Ben Gurion airport overnight. The Israeli military said these had been intercepted. President Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether. Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital. Two families were among the dead, according to the hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry's figures the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday, adding that Hamas was seeking "unacceptable" changes to the proposal. The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear whether a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's meeting at the White House. Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas' demands for guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction. Israeli air strikes have killed at least 38 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say, as Israel's military says it has struck more than 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day. The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts. Separately, an Israeli official said the Israeli security Cabinet on Saturday night approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from acute food shortages. The official, who declined to offer more details, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the decision. In Yemen, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebel group announced on Sunday in a prerecorded message that the group had launched ballistic missiles targeting Ben Gurion airport overnight. The Israeli military said these had been intercepted. President Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether. Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital. Two families were among the dead, according to the hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry's figures the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday, adding that Hamas was seeking "unacceptable" changes to the proposal. The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear whether a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's meeting at the White House. Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas' demands for guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction. Israeli air strikes have killed at least 38 Palestinians in Gaza, hospital officials say, as Israel's military says it has struck more than 100 targets in the embattled enclave in the past day. The strikes came as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was preparing to fly to Washington for talks at the White House aimed at pushing forward ceasefire efforts. Separately, an Israeli official said the Israeli security Cabinet on Saturday night approved sending aid into the northern part of Gaza, where civilians are suffering from acute food shortages. The official, who declined to offer more details, spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to discuss the decision. In Yemen, a spokesperson for the Houthi rebel group announced on Sunday in a prerecorded message that the group had launched ballistic missiles targeting Ben Gurion airport overnight. The Israeli military said these had been intercepted. President Donald Trump has floated a plan for an initial 60-day ceasefire that would include a partial release of hostages held by Hamas in exchange for an increase in humanitarian supplies allowed into Gaza. The proposed truce calls for talks on ending the 21-month war altogether. Twenty people were killed and 25 wounded after Israeli strikes hit two houses in Gaza City, according to Mohammed Abu Selmia, the director of Shifa Hospital. Two families were among the dead, according to the hospital. The Israeli military had no immediate comment on the individual strikes, but said it struck 130 targets across the Gaza Strip in 24 hours. It said the strikes targeted Hamas command and control structures, storage facilities, weapons and launchers, and that they killed a number of militants in northern Gaza. The war began when Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, killing some 1200 people and taking 251 others hostage. Israel responded with an offensive that has killed more than 57,000 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. The ministry, which is under Gaza's Hamas government, does not differentiate between civilians and combatants. The United Nations and other international organisations consider the ministry's figures the most reliable statistics on war casualties. The strikes occurred as efforts to reach a ceasefire deal appeared to gain momentum. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said his government would send a negotiating team to talks in Qatar on Sunday, adding that Hamas was seeking "unacceptable" changes to the proposal. The planned talks in Qatar come ahead of Netanyahu's planned visit to Washington on Monday to meet US President Donald Trump to discuss the deal. It is unclear whether a deal will be reached ahead of Netanyahu's meeting at the White House. Hamas has sought guarantees that the initial truce would lead to a total end to the war and withdrawal of Israeli troops from Gaza. Previous negotiations have stalled over Hamas' demands for guarantees that further negotiations would lead to the war's end, while Netanyahu has insisted Israel would resume fighting to ensure the militant group's destruction.
News.com.au
5 hours ago
- News.com.au
BRICS gather in Rio as Trump tariff wars loom
BRICS leaders descended on sunny Rio de Janeiro Sunday, ready to issue a dark warning that US President Donald Trump's "indiscriminate" import tariffs risk hurting the global economy. The 11 emerging nations -- including Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa -- represent about half the world's population and 40 percent of global economic output. The bloc is divided about much, but has found common cause when it comes to the mercurial US leader and his stop-start tariff wars. The BRICS are set to voice "serious concerns about the rise of unilateral tariff and non-tariff measures," warning they are illegal and arbitrary, according to a draft summit statement obtained by AFP. In April, Trump threatened allies and rivals alike with a slew of punitive duties, but abruptly offered a reprieve in the face of a fierce market sell-off. Trump and his Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, have warned they will again impose unilateral levies on partners unless they reach "deals" by August 1. The BRICS will warn that such moves break world trade rules, "threaten to further reduce global trade" and are "affecting the prospects for global economic development." The draft summit declaration does not mention the United States or its president by name, but it is a clear political volley directed at the occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Peterson Institute for International Economics, a Washington think tank, estimates Trump's tariffs could trim about two points off US GDP and hit economies from Mexico to the oil-rich Arabian Gulf. - No show - Conceived two decades ago as a forum for fast-growing economies, the BRICS have come to be seen as a Chinese-driven counterbalance to Western power. But as the group has expanded to include Iran, Indonesia and others, it has struggled to reach meaningful consensus on issues ranging from the Gaza war to reforming international institutions. The political punch of this year's summit has been depleted by the absence of China's Xi Jinping, who is skipping the meeting for the first time in his 12 years as president. The Chinese leader will not be the only notable absentee. War crime-indicted Russian President Vladimir Putin is also opting to stay away, but participated via video link. He told counterparts that the influence of BRICS "continues to grow" and said the bloc had become a key player in global governance. Still, Xi's no-show is a blow to BRICS and to host President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who wants Brazil to play a bigger role on the world stage. On Sunday he welcomed leaders to Rio's stunning Guanabara Bay, telling them that multilateralism was under attack, while hitting out at NATO and Israel, among others. He accused the trans-Atlantic defense organization of fueling an international arms race through a pledge by members to spend five percent of GDP on defense. "It is always easier to invest in war than in peace," he said, while accusing Israel of carrying out a "genocide" in Gaza. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose nation is still reeling from a 12-day conflict with Israel, is also skipping the meeting, but he was represented by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. A source familiar with summit negotiations said Iran had sought a tougher condemnation of Israel and the United States over their recent bombing of Iranian military, nuclear and other sites. But one diplomatic source said the text would give the "same message" that BRICS delivered last month. Then Tehran's allies expressed "grave concern" about strikes against Iran, but did not explicitly mention Israel or the United States.
