US building support in UN for Houthi ship inspections: Envoy

US building support in UN for Houthi ship inspections: Envoy
US Special Envoy for Yemen Tim Lenderking (AFP)
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Updated 41 sec ago
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US building support in UN for Houthi ship inspections: Envoy

US building support in UN for Houthi ship inspections: Envoy
  • Existing UN mission has limited powers to inspect ships for weapons deliveries
  • Tim Lenderking: Washington also considering re-designating Yemeni militia as terrorist group

London: The US is building international support for a UN campaign to disrupt supplies heading for the Houthi militia in Yemen, Washington’s special envoy to the country has said.

Tim Lenderking added that the US is also considering re-designating the militia as a terrorist group.

Last week, he visited the UN Verification and Inspection Mission for Yemen, based in Djibouti on the opposite side of the Red Sea.

The mission’s focus is to inspect ships arriving in Houthi-controlled ports, to intercept weapons deliveries.

Though the UN Security Council has imposed an arms embargo, UNVIM, established in 2016, has limited means to interdict ships.

Lenderking said he is researching ways to make the mission more effective at preventing Houthi access to foreign weaponry.

The Houthis have said their Red Sea campaign is a stand of solidarity with Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.

The campaign will come to an end if a ceasefire is reached between Israel and Hamas, Houthi leaders have said.

“UNVIM is not equipped or given the mandate to do interdictions. We are working with partners to look at a change to the mandate,” Lenderking said.

“We all have to plug the holes, and that requires a different mindset and different sort of focus than simply escorting ships.”

The number of commercial ships transiting the Red Sea has halved in the past year due to the Houthi campaign. The US and UK militaries have staged a series of attacks on the militia’s positions in Yemen.

As a result, Houthi leaders are “much more careful how they are moving around,” said Lenderking. “They have altered their communications in light of the walkie talkie attacks on Hezbollah.”

 


Philippines launches national halal office to boost global market presence

Philippines launches national halal office to boost global market presence
Updated 44 sec ago
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Philippines launches national halal office to boost global market presence

Philippines launches national halal office to boost global market presence
  • New office will be a central coordinating body for nationwide halal development efforts
  • It will also lead ‘Halal-Friendly Philippines’ campaign to attract non-Muslims

MANILA: The Philippine government launched on Tuesday the National Halal Industry and Development Office to coordinate the country’s efforts to become a top player in the global halal market by next year.

The predominantly Catholic Philippines — where Muslims constitute about 10 percent of the almost 120 million population — has been working to tap into the global halal market, which is estimated to be worth more than $7 trillion.

The Department of Trade and Industry is establishing NHIDO “to propel the Philippines to the forefront of the global halal industry by 2025,” it said in a statement.

“This strategic move aligns with the country’s goal to boost the domestic halal market and expand the export potential of Filipino products and services.”

In the Philippines, efforts are underway to double the number of its halal-certified products and services, raise 230 billion pesos ($3.9 billion) in investments and generate around 120,000 jobs by 2028.

Manila has also been promoting its domestic halal industry at international exhibitions, including in Saudi Arabia and Malaysia, where the strength of the Filipino halal market — its agricultural products, such as coconut oil, baked goods and wellness items — were showcased.

With the establishment of the NHIDO, the office will act as a central coordinating body for all halal development efforts in the Philippines, said Dimnatang M. Radia, DTI’s halal industry and trade office program manager.

It will also lead the nationwide “Halal-Friendly Philippines” campaign, which is aimed at raising awareness of the economic potential of halal products and also attracting non-Muslims.

“The establishment of NHIDO marks a turning point for the Philippine halal industry,” Radia said.

“It will serve as a unifying force to transform our goals into reality, unlocking opportunities for businesses, creating jobs, and elevating the Philippines as a halal-friendly destination globally.”


Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow — media

Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow — media
Updated 17 December 2024
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Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow — media

Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow — media
  • Russian media said Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov had been killed on Ryazansky Prospekt
  • TASS state news agency said two killed in explosion on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt

MOSCOW: A bomb killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces and another man in Moscow on Tuesday, the RT state media group said on Tuesday, citing an unidentified law enforcement source.
Russian media said that Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, had been killed on Ryazansky Prospekt.
Russian news Telegram channels also reported that Kirillov had been killed but there was no official confirmation of the killing.
TASS state news agency said two people were killed in an explosion on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt.
A criminal investigation was opened in connection with the death of two men on Ryazansky Prospekt, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported, citing Moscow investigators.
Ryazansky Prospekt is a road that starts some 7 km (4.35 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
Investigators and forensic experts were working at the scene together with employees of other emergency services, TASS agency reported.


South Korean president’s defense team denies insurrection charges: Yonhap

South Korean president’s defense team denies insurrection charges: Yonhap
Updated 17 December 2024
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South Korean president’s defense team denies insurrection charges: Yonhap

South Korean president’s defense team denies insurrection charges: Yonhap

SEOUL: South Korea’s impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol did not commit insurrection but will cooperate with the investigation into his martial law declaration, his defense team said Tuesday, Yonhap news agency reported.
“While we do not consider the insurrection charges to be legally valid, we will comply with the investigation,” his lawyers said, according to Yonhap.


Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow, media reports say

Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow, media reports say
Updated 17 December 2024
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Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow, media reports say

Bomb kills chief of Russian nuclear protection forces in Moscow, media reports say

MOSCOW: A bomb killed a senior Russian general in charge of nuclear protection forces and another man in Moscow on Tuesday, the RT state media group said on Tuesday, citing an unidentified law enforcement source.
Russian media said the that Lt. Gen. Igor Kirillov, who is chief of Russia’s Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Protection Troops, had been killed on Ryazansky Prospekt.
Russian news Telegram channels also reported that Kirillov had been killed but there was no official confirmation of the killing.
TASS state news agency said two people were killed in an explosion on Moscow’s Ryazansky Prospekt.
A criminal investigation was opened in connection with the death of two men on Ryazansky Prospekt, Russia’s RIA state news agency reported, citing Moscow investigators.
Ryazansky Prospekt is a road that starts some 7 km (4.35 miles) southeast of the Kremlin.
Investigators and forensic experts were working at the scene together with employees of other emergency services, TASS agency reported.


US national security adviser Sullivan says Trump should like ‘burden sharing’ AUKUS deal

US national security adviser Sullivan says Trump should like ‘burden sharing’ AUKUS deal
Updated 17 December 2024
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US national security adviser Sullivan says Trump should like ‘burden sharing’ AUKUS deal

US national security adviser Sullivan says Trump should like ‘burden sharing’ AUKUS deal

SYDNEY: The AUKUS nuclear-powered submarine partnership with Australia will benefit the United States and is the kind of “burden sharing” deal that President-elect Donald Trump has talked about, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said.
In an interview with Australia’s Lowy Institute think tank published on Tuesday, Sullivan said he had confidence AUKUS would endure under the Trump presidency, as it enhances US deterrent capability in the Indo-Pacific and has Australia contributing to the US industrial base.
The trilateral AUKUS deal struck in 2021 is Australia’s biggest defense project, with a cost of A$368 billion ($245 billion) by 2055, as Australia buys several Virginia-class submarines from the United States while also building a new class of nuclear-powered submarine in Britain and Australia.
“The United States is benefiting from burden sharing — exactly the kind of thing that Mr.Trump has talked a lot about,” Sullivan said of the AUKUS agreement.
Australia has agreed to invest $3 billion in US shipyards that build the Virginia-class nuclear submarines it will be sold early next decade amid concerns that a backlog of orders could jeopardize the deal.
Australia having conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines enhances America’s deterrent capability in the Indo-Pacific, Sullivan said.
“Australia is directly contributing to the US submarine industrial base so that we can build out this submarine capability, supply Australia in the nearer term with Virginia class submarines and then in the longer term with the AUKUS class submarine,” he added.
Australia’s defense and foreign ministers, meanwhile, met their counterparts in London on Monday to discuss progress on AUKUS for the first time since a change of government in Britain, and ahead of Trump’s inauguration as US president in January.
Britain’s Defense Secretary John Healey said they discussed “the challenge of maintaining peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific, the challenge of China — increasingly active, increasingly assertive in the region — and the vital importance of maintaining both deterrence and freedom of navigation.”
Australia’s Defense Minister Richard Marles said they discussed accelerating the process of bringing Australian companies into the supply chain in Britain for building submarines.