Yemen Threatens to Punish Shipping Companies Cooperating with Houthis

Shipping vessels in Hodeidah port (Reuters)
Shipping vessels in Hodeidah port (Reuters)
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Yemen Threatens to Punish Shipping Companies Cooperating with Houthis

Shipping vessels in Hodeidah port (Reuters)
Shipping vessels in Hodeidah port (Reuters)

The Yemeni government threatened to revoke the licenses and block any shipping company cooperating with the Houthi militia.

Ports of Aden Corporation sent a letter to two shipping companies, warning against shipping towards Hodeidah port, stressing that the two companies approval to divert their shipping routes to Hodeidah "is a clear and explicit violation of the directives of the legitimate government."

The letter warned it might cancel the permits granted to the companies, stopping their activities in the ports, noting that any navigational activity not approved by the legitimate government is a recognition of the coup militias.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Maeen Abdulmalik asserted the need to take all measures that preserve public funds and implement decisions regulating imports, consistent with the government's obligations in combating money laundering and financing terrorism.

Abdulmalik chaired the ministerial committee meeting in Aden to discuss economic developments and develop solutions to secure trade in land and sea ports.

According to the Saba news agency, the committee discussed the measures and decisions to facilitate imports.

The committee also reviewed the plans and procedures to regulate trade movement, which could facilitate and ensure ease of arrival of goods and reduce the cost of transportation and insurance in the ports of the liberated areas.

The committee stressed the need to take all procedures and measures to preserve public funds, implement government decisions regulating imports, and comply with the government's obligations in combating money laundering and terrorism financing.

It emphasized taking the necessary steps to prevent transgressions or violations of local and international laws and mechanisms, including communicating with countries and export destinations.

According to the Yemeni official media, ministers briefed the committee on implementing previous decisions and the required mechanisms and procedures.

The Ministries of Transport and Trade denied any change in the ship's movement heading to Yemeni ports, including Hodeidah port, under the Houthi control.

They confirmed the ongoing coordination with the UN and the coalition supporting legitimacy of imposing the mechanisms.

Earlier, the Houthi militia claimed a change in the navigation movement heading to Hodeidah ports against the UN mechanism used to enter ships.

The Transport Minister, Abdulsalam Hameed, confirmed that the ship's movement to the ports in liberated areas and Aden had stayed the same.

Hameed assured major merchants, importers, and shipping companies there were solutions to the difficulties facing trade activity and organizing transportation of the goods according to the regulatory frameworks.

The government is in full coordination with the UN and the coalition led by Saudi Arabia, asserted the minister, accusing the militias of spreading lies.

He vowed that the government and its competent agencies would take all legal measures against commercial ships, cargo owners, and navigational agencies that violate the law and the mechanisms.



Pope Calls for an End to West Bank Israeli Settler Violence Against Palestinians

Israeli troops arrive during a military raid in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, West Bank, 16 August 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops arrive during a military raid in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, West Bank, 16 August 2026. (EPA)
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Pope Calls for an End to West Bank Israeli Settler Violence Against Palestinians

Israeli troops arrive during a military raid in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, West Bank, 16 August 2026. (EPA)
Israeli troops arrive during a military raid in the town of Qusra, south of Nablus, West Bank, 16 August 2026. (EPA)

Pope Leo called on Sunday for an end to violence against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank, amid a surge of attacks by militant settlers and a siege in the territory's village of Qusra.

Israeli settlers encircled houses after cutting off water and electricity, in what rights groups have said is a concerted effort to seize more land, ‌and further ‌eat into territory where Palestinians aim ‌to ⁠establish a state.

"I ⁠renew my appeal for an end to the repeated violence against the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank," the Pope said, without mentioning specific confrontations or attacks.

"I urgently ask the international community to take ⁠action so as to advance the ‌two-state solution, for ‌a fair and lasting peace," the Pope added after ‌noon prayers at his Castel Gandolfo residence ‌outside Rome.

The Vatican has long backed the idea of a future Palestinian state, which has been recognized by more than 150 of 193 ‌UN member states as encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East ⁠Jerusalem.

Israeli ⁠Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition government has overseen massive settlement construction in the West Bank that Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich says is aimed at burying the idea of such a state.

The United Nations and most governments consider the settlements to be illegal under international law related to military occupation. Israel seized the West Bank in the 1967 war, but argues the territory is disputed rather than occupied.


Egypt’s Sisi Discusses Gaza with Trump Envoy Kushner

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (dpa file)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (dpa file)
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Egypt’s Sisi Discusses Gaza with Trump Envoy Kushner

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (dpa file)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. (dpa file)

US President Donald Trump's envoy and son-in-law Jared Kushner talked with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Sunday about the implementation of the Gaza ceasefire, Sisi's spokesperson said.

The meeting in the Mediterranean city of El-Alamein "stressedthe need for all parties to fulfill their obligations under the Gaza Strip ceasefire agreement", spokesperson Mohamed El-Shennawy said in a statement.


Iraq Seizes $20 Mn, Recovers 60 Kg of Gold in ‘Deputy Oil Minister’ Case

Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.
Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.
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Iraq Seizes $20 Mn, Recovers 60 Kg of Gold in ‘Deputy Oil Minister’ Case

Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.
Image published by Iraq's Supreme Judicial Council of the seized funds.

Diaa Jaafar, the investigating judge at Iraq’s Central Anti-Corruption Criminal Court, announced on Sunday that authorities had seized $20 million and recovered 60 kilograms of gold in a corruption case involving suspended Deputy Oil Minister for Refining Affairs Adnan al-Jumaili.

In a statement released by Iraq’s Supreme Judicial Council and reported by the German Press Agency (dpa), Jaafar said that, in coordination with the Kurdistan Region, authorities had seized $20.34 million, 200 million Iraqi dinars, and seven vehicles, in addition to recovering 60 kilograms of gold.

The seizures were made as part of the case against Jumaili and other individuals allegedly involved in the corruption scheme.

He said that follow-up and investigative efforts to recover funds obtained through squandering and irregularities in projects carried out by the defendant and others involved in the case led to the seizure of the cash, gold jewelry and vehicles.

The judge said the investigation is ongoing and that authorities are pursuing other suspects before completing the necessary legal procedures against them.