Houthis Plead with Putin to Stop Liberation of Hodeidah

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo
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Houthis Plead with Putin to Stop Liberation of Hodeidah

Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo
Russian President Vladimir Putin. Reuters file photo

Houthi militias have begged Russian President Vladimir Putin for support against Yemeni government forces and the Saudi-led coalition which are tightening the noose on the insurgents and their Iranian-backed plan in Yemen.

In a letter sent to Putin, head of Yemen’s Supreme Political Council Mahdi al-Mashat warned that the coalition has been aiming to take control of all strategic maritime areas to put them under US influence and lay hands on international trade, official sources said on Thursday.

According to the group, this letter aims at strengthening bilateral relations with friendly countries. Observers, however, viewed it as an attempt to legitimize the militia.

Mashat presented himself in the letter as a speaker on behalf of the Yemeni government and people.

He urged the Russian president to intervene to stop the battle of the West Coast, led by the legitimate government and Saudi-led coalition forces to liberate Hodeidah and its port and the Yemeni coast on the Red Sea.

The legitimate forces have been trying to control sea ports from where Houthis receive weapons sent by Iran and military and technical support from the Lebanese “Hezbollah.”

The letter claimed that the war waged by the legitimate government with the support of the Saudi-led coalition to end the coup is unjustified and violates UN charters, international laws and Yemen’s sovereignty, and threatens the world and the region, according to the Houthi version of Saba news agency.

Ironically, the group used terms such as UN charters, international laws, and Yemeni sovereignty while in fact it violates everything mentioned in the letter.

The group also claimed that the liberation of Hodeidah and the West Coast would transform the Red Sea into an American “lake” and would give Washington control of trade routes and power lines in Bab al-Mandab Strait and the Yemeni islands.

Mashat claimed in his letter that the group looks forward for a Russian role that would stop the legitimate government’s and the coalition’s liberation operations, and would support a comprehensive political settlement that would meet the expectations of the Houthis in ruling Yemen and keeping its weapons in service to Iran.



Security Officials: Overnight Attacks Target US Center at Baghdad Airport

This photograph shows a house that was damaged by a drone strike in the Al-Saydiya neighbourhood of Baghdad on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
This photograph shows a house that was damaged by a drone strike in the Al-Saydiya neighbourhood of Baghdad on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
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Security Officials: Overnight Attacks Target US Center at Baghdad Airport

This photograph shows a house that was damaged by a drone strike in the Al-Saydiya neighbourhood of Baghdad on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)
This photograph shows a house that was damaged by a drone strike in the Al-Saydiya neighbourhood of Baghdad on March 22, 2026. (Photo by Murtaja LATEEF / AFP)

Eight overnight attacks targeted a US diplomatic and logistics center at Baghdad's International Airport, an Iraqi security official told AFP on Sunday.

"Eight separate attacks, carried out until dawn with rockets and drones targeted the US center," a senior security official told AFP, adding that "some rockets landed near the base".

A second security official said there had been six strikes, with a police source saying a rocket launcher was discovered in a Baghdad district near the airport.


WHO: Strike on Sudan Hospital killed at Least 64 People

Women Muslim worshippers gather for the early morning prayers for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, at a stadium in Sudan's eastern Red Sea port city of Port Sudan on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim ISHAQ / AFP)
Women Muslim worshippers gather for the early morning prayers for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, at a stadium in Sudan's eastern Red Sea port city of Port Sudan on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim ISHAQ / AFP)
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WHO: Strike on Sudan Hospital killed at Least 64 People

Women Muslim worshippers gather for the early morning prayers for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, at a stadium in Sudan's eastern Red Sea port city of Port Sudan on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim ISHAQ / AFP)
Women Muslim worshippers gather for the early morning prayers for Eid al-Fitr, marking the end of the holy month of Ramadan, at a stadium in Sudan's eastern Red Sea port city of Port Sudan on March 20, 2026. (Photo by Ibrahim ISHAQ / AFP)

At least 64 people were killed, including at least 13 children, in a strike on a hospital in Sudan's western Darfur region last week, the World Health Organization said Saturday.

The strike on the Al Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur on Friday also injured at least 89 people and rendered the hospital non-functional, Tedros Ghebreyesus, the head of the WHO, said on X.

Sudan slid into chaos in April 2023 when a power struggle between the military and the rival Rapid Support Forces exploded into war throughout the country.

The RSF has blamed the military for the strike on the hospital.

The army has denied the attack, but two military officials said the strike was targeting a nearby police station, The Associated Press reported. They spoke on the condition of anonymity as they were not allowed to discuss the matter openly.

The devastating war has killed more than 40,000 people, according to UN figures, but aid groups say that is an undercount and the true number could be many times higher.

The WHO has said that over 2,000 people have been killed in attacks on medical facilities since the start of the war.

“Enough blood has been spilled. Enough suffering has been inflicted. The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan,” said Ghebreyesus.


Damaged Russian Tanker to Be Towed to Libya

A series of explosions rocked the Arctic Metagaz on March 3. Miguela XUEREB / Newsbook Malta/AFP
A series of explosions rocked the Arctic Metagaz on March 3. Miguela XUEREB / Newsbook Malta/AFP
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Damaged Russian Tanker to Be Towed to Libya

A series of explosions rocked the Arctic Metagaz on March 3. Miguela XUEREB / Newsbook Malta/AFP
A series of explosions rocked the Arctic Metagaz on March 3. Miguela XUEREB / Newsbook Malta/AFP

A damaged Russian gas tanker that was abandoned in the Mediterranean will be towed to a Libyan port, according to a state-owned oil company in the north African country.

The Arctic Metagaz was ferrying about 700 tons of fuel and a consignment of liquified natural gas (LNG) from Russia to Egypt when it was hit by a series of explosions on March 3. Russia accused Ukraine of trying to blow it up.

The 30 crew members were rescued, leaving the LNG-laden carrier to drift between Malta and Libya for nearly three weeks.

Libya's National Oil Corporation (NOC) announced on Saturday that it would collaborate with Italian group Eni to fetch the wrecked vessel.

"Managing this environmental threat is fully achievable," NOC said in a statement. "It will be towed safely to one of the Libyan ports following coordination with the relevant authorities."

The company said it had already taken action to "reduce the risk of pollution".

AFP footage taken from a plane earlier this month showed the carrier listing to one side, parts of it blackened and seriously damaged by fire, with two holes on either side in the middle of the hull.

According to Italy's Civil Protection Department, the carrier is located in international waters, but within the Libyan search and rescue zone.

It said that towing the wreck would be a "complex operation" due to the "large breach along its side".

The WWF environmental group warned that any spill could cause long-lasting pollution in the area, among the most biodiverse in the Mediterranean basin.

The ship faced US and European Union sanctions as a suspected part of Russia's "shadow fleet" of vessels carrying Russian oil and gas in contravention of international sanctions.