US Naval Forces Rescue Crew from Greek-owned Ship Struck by Houthis

Houthi supporters chant slogans while holding up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Sanaa, Yemen, 14 June 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi supporters chant slogans while holding up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Sanaa, Yemen, 14 June 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
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US Naval Forces Rescue Crew from Greek-owned Ship Struck by Houthis

Houthi supporters chant slogans while holding up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Sanaa, Yemen, 14 June 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB
Houthi supporters chant slogans while holding up weapons during a protest against the US and Israel, and in solidarity with the Palestinian people, in Sanaa, Yemen, 14 June 2024. EPA/YAHYA ARHAB

The US Naval Forces Central Command (NAVCENT) said on Sunday that it had rescued the crew from the Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned bulk carrier M/V Tutor that was attacked by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis on June 12 in the Red Sea.

Sailors assigned to the Dwight D. Eisenhower Carrier Strike Group airlifted the crew out on Saturday, NAVCENT said, adding that one civilian sailor remained missing.

The attack, which occurred near the Yemeni port of Hodeidah, caused severe flooding and damage to the engine room and left the Tutor unable to maneuver.

On Saturday, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said the ship's crew was evacuated and that the abandoned vessel was drifting in the Red Sea.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for the small sea craft and missile attacks it used to target the ship as part of their ongoing campaign which they say is in support of the Palestinians and is focused on ships bound for Israel.



Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
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Pope Calls Situation in Gaza 'Shameful'

Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed
Palestinians carry the dead body of a child, at the site of an Israeli strike on a house, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Nuseirat, in the central Gaza Strip, January 9, 2025. REUTERS/Ramadan Abed

Pope Francis on Thursday stepped up his recent criticisms of Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian enclave "very serious and shameful.”

In a yearly address to diplomats delivered on his behalf by an aide, Francis appeared to reference deaths caused by winter cold in Gaza, where there is almost no electricity.

"We cannot in any way accept the bombing of civilians," the text said, according to Reuters.
"We cannot accept that children are freezing to death because hospitals have been destroyed or a country's energy network has been hit."

The pope, 88, was present for the address but asked an aide to read it for him as he is recovering from a cold.

The comments were part of an address to Vatican-accredited envoys from some 184 countries that is sometimes called the pope's 'state of the world' speech. The Israeli ambassador to the Holy See was among those present for the event.

Francis, leader of the 1.4-billion-member Roman Catholic Church, is usually careful about taking sides in conflicts.
But he has recently been more outspoken about Israel's military campaign against Palestinian militant group Hamas, and has suggested
the global community should study whether the offensive constitutes a genocide of the Palestinian people.
An Israeli government minister publicly denounced the pontiff in December for that suggestion.

The pope's text said he condemns anti-Semitism, and called the growth of anti-Semitic groups "a source of deep concern."
Francis also called for an end to the war between Ukraine and Russia, which has killed tens of thousands.