New US-British Airstrikes Target Houthis in Yemen

An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US-led coalition from RAF Akrotiri to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia that has been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, in Cyprus, in this handout picture released on January 12, 2024. UK MOD/Handout via REUTERS
An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US-led coalition from RAF Akrotiri to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia that has been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, in Cyprus, in this handout picture released on January 12, 2024. UK MOD/Handout via REUTERS
TT

New US-British Airstrikes Target Houthis in Yemen

An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US-led coalition from RAF Akrotiri to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia that has been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, in Cyprus, in this handout picture released on January 12, 2024. UK MOD/Handout via REUTERS
An RAF Typhoon aircraft takes off to join the US-led coalition from RAF Akrotiri to conduct air strikes against military targets in Yemen, aimed at the Iran-backed Houthi militia that has been targeting international shipping in the Red Sea, in Cyprus, in this handout picture released on January 12, 2024. UK MOD/Handout via REUTERS

Two US officials said the US Central Command forces carried out new strikes on Monday against the Houthi group in Yemen, the NBC news network reported.

The officials said the strikes occurred between 12 noon and 8:00 p.m. Sanaa time, and had struck a mobile missile launcher and a drone system, according to the Arab World Press.

The two officials also noted that Houthis targeted two US ships in the Gulf of Aden on Monday. They said the militia group launched a ballistic missile on the Greek-flagged, US-owned bulk carrier Sea Champion without causing damage, adding that the Marshall Islands-flagged Navis Fortuna was hit by a Houthi drone.

Later, the Houthi-run al-Masirah satellite TV channel reported that the US-British maritime coalition launched an airstrike on the Yemeni Red Sea port city of Hodeidah on Monday.

The first strike hit the area of al-Jabanah while the second landed in the the Sardoud farm in al-Kadan area in al-Duha district, the television said, without providing further details or casualties, according to the Arab World Press.

The US and the UK have conducted rounds of strikes against the Houthis in an attempt to stop the rebel group targeting shipping in the southern Red Sea.

Houthis have been carrying out attacks on Israeli ships or those bound for Israel, in the Red Sea and Arabian Sea in retaliation for Israel's war on the Gaza Strip.



Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
TT

Iraq's Population Reaches 45.4 Million in First Census in over 30 Years

Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)
Workers prepare to collect information from the public as Iraq began its first nationwide population census in decades, in Baghdad, Iraq Wednesday, Nov. 20, 2024. (AP)

Iraq's population has risen to 45.4 million, according to preliminary results from a national census, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani said on Monday.
The census, conducted on Nov. 20, was Iraq's first nationwide survey in more than three decades, marking a crucial step for future planning and development.
Prior to the census, the planning ministry estimated the population at 43 million.
The last census, conducted in 1997, did not include the Iraqi Kurdistan region, which has been under Kurdish administration since the 1991 Gulf War.
It counted 19 million Iraqis and officials estimated there were another 3 million in the Kurdish north, according to official statistics.