Britain, the United States and eight allies said the strikes aimed to "de-escalate tensions". But Iran and other governments condemned the Western action or warned that unrest could worsen. The UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting on the strikes on Friday, days after adopting a resolution...

DUBAI, UAE - Yemen's Houthi rebels, who vowed to retaliate against US and British strikes early on Friday against key military sites, have built up a significant arsenal, including cruise missiles and drones. Since the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, the Iran-backed Houthis have carried out a spate of...

Oil prices surged four percent after US and UK forces launched strikes against Iran-backed Houthi rebels after attacks on ships in the Red Sea, fueling worries about a wider conflict. Tokyo and European stock markets ended the week with gains as traders brushed off data showing US inflation rose more...

"First of all, they are not proportional. All of these constitute disproportionate use of force," Erdogan told journalists after Friday prayers in Istanbul. Oman, a mediator in attempts to end Yemen's long-running civil war, expressed its "worry" at the strikes on Houthi rebel military targets that, according to the Houthis,...

Beijing, China--China called Friday for all sides to prevent the Yemen conflict from expanding, after strikes by the United States and United Kingdom on Houthi rebel targets. Heavy US and British air strikes pounded targets in rebel-held Yemen early on Friday after weeks of disruptive attacks on Red Sea shipping by...

US President Joe Biden termed the the US and British strikes a "defensive action" after the Red Sea attacks, and said he "will not hesitate" to order further military action if needed. The strikes involved fighter jets and Tomahawk missiles, several US media outlets said. US officials did not immediately...

The announcement came hours after a British-navy maritime security agency said armed men boarded the Greek-owned, Marshall Islands-flagged St Nikolas off Oman and changed course towards Bandar-e-Jask in Iran. Four or five "unauthorized boarders are reported to be wearing military-style black uniforms with black masks", the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations...

Berlin has loosened its stance on weapons exports to the kingdom recently, with the government praising Saudi Arabia's "constructive approach" in the Israel-Hamas war. Saudi Arabia had not renounced plans to normalize relations with Israel since the beginning of its war with Hamas, Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock noted Sunday.

On his fourth regional trip since the war began, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Saudi Arabia after talks in Abu Dhabi. Blinken "emphasized the importance of preventing further spread of the conflict", during talks with United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, a US...

The Houthis say they are targeting Israel and Israeli-linked vessels to push for a stop to the offensive in Gaza. The attacks are endangering a transit route that carries up to 12% of global trade, prompting the US to set up a multinational naval task force to protect Red Sea...

According to the navy, it "responded swiftly to a maritime incident in Arabian Sea involving a hijacking attempt" of a Liberian-flagged bulk carrier ship. The incident comes at a time when many vessels have been rerouted from the Red Sea, where Yemen's Houthi rebels have carried out drone and missile...

The Pentagon said in a social media post that there was no damage to ships. Some 12 drones, three anti-ship ballistic missiles and two land-attack missiles were fired by Houthis. Earlier, the rebels claimed responsibility for a missile strike on a vessel in the Red Sea and a drone attack...

The Houthis welcomed Spain's stance, with deputy foreign minister Hussein al-Ezzi saying "we highly appreciate Spain's refusal to be drawn into American and British lies on the issue of maritime navigation". The Iran-backed Houthis have carried out several strikes on Red Sea shipping in what they say is in support...

UN special envoy Hans Grundberg's announcement marks the latest step to end the nine-year war that has killed hundreds of thousands of people and triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. It follows recent meetings by Grundberg with head of Yemen's Saudi-backed presidential council and the chief negotiator of...

Oil prices shot up three percent as more companies suspended shipping through the Red Sea following attacks on vessels by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels. US stocks sought to continue last week's rally on expectations the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates next year, though it appears to have lost steam...

Dubai, UAE - A "possible explosion" struck a key shipping lane off Yemen on Monday, two maritime agencies said, the latest incident in the vital waterway threatened by Houthi rebel attacks. The British military’s United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations issued a warning of a potential explosion striking near a vessel passing through...

The operation took place as Pentagon chief Lloyd Austin headed to the Middle East, where he would meet with Bahrain on "US efforts to convene multilateral coalitions to respond to aggression at sea that threatens shipping. Houthis have threatened to attack any vessels heading to Israeli ports unless food and...

A US official earlier said "we have indications that a missile was fired at the Maersk Gibraltar from a Houthi-controlled area of Yemen, and that it hit the water and missed the ship". The official was speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to make the statement...

US warships patrolling the Red Sea have shot down Houthi missiles and drones several times since the militants began the attacks in a show of support for Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The Houthis captured a commercial car carrier, the Galaxy Leader, on November 19 and forced it to the...

Beijing, China - The US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and China's Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Wednesday spoke over the phone to discuss the war in Gaza. "The Secretary discussed his recent travel in the Middle East and U.S. diplomatic efforts in the region," the US State Department statement said....

A US defence official told a media outlet that an unknown number of "unidentified armed individuals" seized the M/V Central Park in the Gulf of Aden. Ambrey, the maritime security firm, said that "US naval forces are engaged in the situation" after the incident involving the Central Park, which is...

An Israeli-owned cargo ship was damaged in a suspected drone attack by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in the Indian Ocean, a US defense official said. "We are aware of reports that there was a suspected IRGC-initiated Shahed-136 UAV (that) struck a civilian motor vessel in the Indian Ocean," the...

The Iran-backed rebels in Yemen seized the Galaxy Leader on Sunday, days after they threatened to target Israeli vessels in the waterway over Israel's war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the ship "was hijacked with Iran guidance by the Yemenite...

The Huthis -- who seized Yemen's capital Sanaa in 2014 and control large swathes of the country -- claimed the shootdown earlier in the day. "Our air defenses were able to down an American MQ-9 while it was carrying out hostile surveillance and espionage activities in Yemeni territorial waters as...

Dubai, UAE - The Houthi movement, which is part of the "Axis of Resistance" supported by Iran, has expressed its support for the Palestinians since the start of the conflic on October 7, and even launched missiles towards Israel despite being 1,000 miles away. Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Saree announced...

Yemenia operates near-daily commercial flights to the Jordanian capital Amman -- its only direct international destination from Sanaa's Houthi-controlled airport which reopened last year following a six-year hiatus.

Manama, Bahrain - A fourth Bahraini soldier has died after an attack this week on his country's contingent in the Saudi-led coalition battling Yemen's Houthi rebels, the Gulf archipelago's army said. Bahrain had previously announced the deaths of three of its soldiers in Monday's attack near the Saudi border with Yemen....

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia--Saudi Arabia on Tuesday condemned an attack on its territory that killed two Bahraini military personnel near the border with war-torn Yemen. Bahrain's military said late Monday that one officer and one enlisted soldier had been killed in what it described as a drone attack perpetrated by Yemen's Houthi...

Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi rebels put a positive spin on the inconclusive talks in Riyadh as diplomatic efforts increased to end Yemen's war. The five days of talks were "positive", Saudi officials and a senior Houthi said, after the rebel delegation ended the first public visit to the Saudi...

The Riyadh trip, five months after the rebels hosted a Saudi team in Sanaa, is the latest hopeful sign for a war that has created one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. The Houthis also met with Saudi defense minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, brother of de facto ruler Crown...

Dubai, UAE--The Doctors Without Borders (MSF) charity has "lost contact" with two of its foreign staff in Yemen, the group told AFP on Monday. The employees, a German and a Burmese, had been in the northern province of Marib, the aid group said without giving further details. International organizations and...

A government security official said that "an arms dealer was killed along with his wife and five of his children and another eighth person inside the family's home while dismantling a projectile left over from the war". Another security official confirmed the death toll of the incident, which took place...

DUBAI, UAE - Authorities in Yemen have identified a suspect in the killing of a World Food Program official in the southern Taez province, a security official has told AFP. Moayad Hameidi, the head of the UN food agency's office in Taez, was killed in a shooting on Friday in the...

DUBAI, UAE -  Yemen's government and Iran-backed Houthi rebels are locked in talks in Jordan to set the ground for a possible prisoner exchange, a Red Cross official told AFP on Sunday. Yemen's conflict began in 2014 when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the...

A day after a major prisoner exchange, more than 100 prisoners of war were flown from Saudi Arabia to Yemen on Monday, raising hopes for peace in the future. Two ICRC planes carrying 48 prisoners each flew to Sanaa, Yemen's rebel-held capital, while a third with eight captives took off...

The first flight of the day took off from the southern Saudi city of Abha before 9:00 am (0600 GMT), headed for Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa with 120 Houthi rebel prisoners, ICRC public affairs and media adviser Jessica Moussan said. It was followed by a flight from Sanaa to Riyadh...

The Saudi ambassador's visit seeks to support the prisoner exchange and also to explore venues of dialogue to reach "a sustainable, comprehensive political solution."

The UN has confirmed that Yemen's Houthi rebels and its internationally recognized government have reached an agreement to exchange more than 880 prisoners. This comes in the wake of the China-brokered deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran to restore diplomatic ties between the two countries. The two regional powers back...

Negotiations overseen in Switzerland by the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross will see Yemen's warring parties holding talks in Geneva starting Saturday to discuss a prisoner exchange, according to rebels and government officials. Hostilities have largely stopped since a UN-brokered ceasefire took effect in April last...

Washington, United States— The US government on Tuesday announced the approval of a $1 billion sale of FS-LIDS counter-drone systems and other equipment to Qatar. "The proposed sale will improve Qatar's capability to meet current and future threats by providing electronic and kinetic defeat capabilities against Unmanned Aircraft Systems," the US...

A day before the UN-mediated truce is to expire, Houthi rebels have warned that the ceasefire in Yemen is at "a dead end". The temporary ceasefire that took effect in April has allowed for some humanitarian measures as the warring sides have by and large adhered to the truce.

The United States warned Tuesday that talks on Yemen's two-month truce were in "trouble" as it pushed for an extension to help support millions at risk. Talks to extend the pause in fighting "haven't ended yet but seem to be in a bit of trouble," said Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the US...

The first commercial flight in nearly six years took off from Yemen's rebel-held capital on Monday, a major step forward in a peace process that has provided rare relief from conflict. The Yemenia plane carrying 126 passengers, including hospital patients needing treatment abroad and their relatives, took off from Sanaa...

The country will observe a 40-day state mourning with the flag flown at half-mast starting today, the ministry announced, adding that work will be suspended at all ministries, departments, and federal, local and private entities for three days, starting Saturday, May 14.

The move came after a Houthi official called this week for both sides to release 200 prisoners before the coming Eid al-Fitr celebrations.

Yemen's new leaders are "ready for war" should the latest push for peace with Houthi rebels fail, but a senior official told AFP they genuinely want the years-long conflict to end soon. "Our first option is peace, but we are ready for war," Abdullah al-Alimi said late Saturday in his...

The two-month ceasefire between Yemen's Houthi rebels and Saudi led military coalition took effect 11 days ago.

Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdulsalam dismissed the move by President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi as ‘a desperate attempt to rearrange the ranks of the mercenaries’ fighting in Yemen, and said peace would only come once foreign forces leave.

In a major shake-up in the coalition battling Houthi rebels, Yemen's president Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi has formed a new council to lead the war-wracked country.

Yemen's warring parties on Tuesday traded accusations of violating a ceasefire agreement, three days after it went into effect at the start of Ramadan.