Israeli military says it intercepted missile fired from Yemen; Houthis claim responsibility
Updated 22 March 2025
AFP
JERUSALEM: The Israeli military said it intercepted a missile fired from Yemen on Friday, one day after shooting down two projectiles launched by Houthi militants.
Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis claimed responsibility for the attack, saying that it fired a ballistic missile toward Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, the group’s military spokesperson, Yahya Saree, said in a televised statement in the early hours of Saturday.
Saree said the attack against Israel was the group’s third in 48 hours.
He issued a warning to airlines that the Israeli airport was “no longer safe for air travel and would continue to be so until the Israeli aggression against Gaza ends and the blockade is lifted.”
However, the airport’s website seemed to be operating normally and showed a list of scheduled flights.
The group’s military spokesman has also said without providing evidence that the Houthis had launched attacks against the US aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman in the Red Sea.
The group recently vowed to escalate attacks, including those targeting Israel, in response to US strikes
earlier this month, which amount to the biggest US military operation in the Middle East since President Donald Trump took office in January. The US attacks have killed at least 50 people.
The Houthis’ fresh attacks come under a pledge to expand their range of targets in Israel in retaliation for renewed Israeli strikes in Gaza that have killed hundreds after weeks of relative calm.
The Houthis have carried out over 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war with Hamas began in late 2023, saying they were acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians.
The attacks have disrupted global commerce and prompted the US military to launch a costly campaign to intercept missiles.
The Houthis are part of what has been dubbed the “Axis of Resistance” — an anti-Israel and anti-Western alliance of regional militias including Hamas, Lebanon’s Hezbollah and armed groups in Iraq, all backed by Iran.
Putin thanks UAE’s president for facilitating exchange of thousands of Russian, Ukrainian prisoners of war
Vladimir Putin, Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan held phone call on Monday
Sheikh Mohamed stresses UAE’s support for initiatives to resolve crisis in Ukraine
Updated 3 sec ago
Arab News
LONDON: Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the UAE’s mediation efforts — which have facilitated the exchange of thousands of war prisoners from Russia and Ukraine — during a phone call with the UAE’s President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.
The UAE’s mediation has resulted in the release of 3,233 prisoners of war from Russia and Ukraine since 2024. Last week’s exchange saw the release of 175 prisoners from each side.
Putin and Sheikh Mohamed on Monday discussed ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation and reaffirmed their strategic partnership to benefit their countries, the Emirates News Agency reported.
Putin expressed his appreciation to Sheikh Mohamed for the successful mediation efforts made by the UAE, the WAM added.
Sheikh Mohamed thanked the Russian government for its cooperation in successfully facilitating the war captives exchange initiative. He emphasized the UAE’s commitment to humanitarian efforts and support for initiatives to resolve the crisis in Ukraine and mitigate its impact.
The two leaders addressed various regional and international issues, with the UAE’s president reiterating his nation’s commitment to fostering peace globally, as well as advocating for initiatives to resolve conflicts.
Clashes displace 15,000 families in Sudan’s North Darfur: UN
The town is one of the northernmost urban centers in the vast desert between Sudan and Libya, where the RSF and an army-allied coalition of armed groups known as the Joint Forces have battled for months
Updated 18 min 6 sec ago
AFP
KHARTOUM: Fighting in Sudan’s war-torn North Darfur state displaced around “15,000 households” from the town of Al-Malha within 48 hours, the United Nations’ migration agency said Monday.
From Thursday to Friday, the clashes between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the army and its allied militias forced the families to flee “primarily to other locations” within the same area, said the International Organization for Migration.
Since April 2023, the war between the RSF and the army has killed tens of thousands of people, uprooted over 12 million and created the world’s largest hunger and displacement crises.
In North Darfur alone, nearly 1.7 million people are displaced and around two million people face extreme food insecurity, according to UN figures.
The RSF claimed on Thursday to have seized Al-Malha, which lies at the foot of a mountainous region 200 kilometers (124 miles) northeast of the North Darfur state capital El-Fasher.
At least 45 civilians were killed in the attack, according to a toll shared by activists in El-Fasher.
In their statement, the RSF said they had “encircled the enemy... leaving more than 380 dead” in Al-Malha.
The town is one of the northernmost urban centers in the vast desert between Sudan and Libya, where the RSF and an army-allied coalition of armed groups known as the Joint Forces have battled for months.
El-Fasher is the only state capital still under the control of the army, which this week recaptured the presidential palace in Khartoum, some 800 kilometers away.
Following months of army gains in central Sudan, analysts say the RSF is determined to consolidate its hold on Darfur, where the Joint Forces have intercepted key supply lines from Chad and Libya since last year.
North Darfur is facing one of Sudan’s worst mass starvation crises, with famine already declared in three displacement camps around El-Fasher.
According to UN projections, it is expected to spread to five more areas, including the state capital itself, by May.
Tunisia probes ride-hailing apps for money laundering
Tunisian authorities said they have seized about 12 million dinars ($3.8 million) from accounts linked to multiple ride-hailing apps
Updated 22 min 54 sec ago
AFP
TUNIS: Tunisia has launched an investigation into alleged money laundering and tax fraud involving ride-hailing applications, the interior ministry said on Monday.
Authorities also said they were suspending the apps.
“The financial division of the National Guard has uncovered suspicions of money laundering and tax evasion among operators of private taxi ride-hailing apps,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement did not name the apps, but a source familiar with the matter told AFP the main company under scrutiny was the Estonia-based Bolt.
The ride-hailing app, operating in more than 500 cities from over 45 countries, is widely used in Tunisia, where public transportation infrastructure is inadequate.
Tunisian authorities said they have seized about 12 million dinars ($3.8 million) from accounts linked to multiple ride-hailing apps.
They said the companies had been removed from the commercial registry and their offices shut for allegedly operating without proper licenses and using fraudulent authorizations.
They were also accused of using bank accounts to illegally funnel funds abroad.
Tunisians have increasingly relied on ride-hailing services amid a deteriorating public transportation system.
Even the capital Tunis, home to over two million people, has suffered from years of public transit underinvestment and neglect.
President Kais Saied has repeatedly denounced corruption within the public transportation sector.
Drought-hit Morocco to extend wheat import subsidies to year-end
The country has become a major wheat export outlet for the European Union and, increasingly, Russia
Updated 36 min 14 sec ago
Reuters
PARIS: Morocco will extend its current subsidy program for soft wheat imports until December 31, state grains agency ONICL said on Monday, indicating the drought-affected country will need to import throughout the year.
Citing a decision by Morocco’s finance and agriculture ministries, ONICL said in a statement on its website that the new round of subsidies for importers would run from May 1 to December 31, with details to be announced subsequently.
The authorities had previously announced a subsidy program running up to the end of April.
The continuation of the program for the whole of 2025 suggests the upcoming harvest will be insufficient to replenish supply. In the past, Morocco shut its market to imports at times during good crop years to protect domestic supply.
Morocco has imported wheat heavily in the past two years after prolonged drought led to successive poor crops. Last year, Morocco’s output of soft wheat, durum and barley was 3.1 million tons, down 43 percent compared with the previous crop.
The country has become a major wheat export outlet for the European Union and, increasingly, Russia.
ONICL also said the authorities would provide subsidies between April 1 and December 31 for importers to hold stocks of soft wheat.
Testing time for Lebanon’s foreign aid-reliant education system
Sudden suspension of USAID funding leaves thousands of students without scholarships or support
US-funded universities and agencies brace for challenges as aid review prompts program shutdowns
Updated 25 min 49 sec ago
Nadia Al-Faour
DUBAI: Thousands of students in Lebanon, where public institutions including schools and universities are heavily reliant on international assistance, have been badly hit by the new US administration’s suspension of foreign aid.
The executive order issued in January to ensure all United States Agency for International Development (USAID) projects align with US national interests has plunged students and academic institutions in Lebanon into uncertainty.
“My parents cannot afford to keep me enrolled if I lose my scholarship,” Rawaa, an 18-year-old university student attending the Lebanese American University, told Arab News. “Even if I worked day and night, I would not be able to cover a fraction of my tuition.”
According to USAID, some 16,396 students in Lebanon have previously benefited from the agency’s support as part of its higher education capacity building initiative.
Soon after the suspension was announced, students in Lebanon received official emails notifying them that their scholarships had been discontinued for 90 days. No further clarification has been sent.
Some 16,396 students in Lebanon have previously benefited from USAID’s support. (AFP/File)
“I have been obsessively refreshing my inbox and my news feed to see if there are any updates concerning the continuation of the USAID scholarship,” said Rawaa, but to little avail.
Lebanon received $219 million through USAID in 2024 alone to support nongovernmental organizations, water management and development projects in rural areas, educational and economic opportunities, and humanitarian assistance.
The US administration has said it is eliminating more than 90 percent of USAID’s foreign aid contracts and $60 billion in overall assistance around the world. An internal memo said officials were “clearing significant waste stemming from decades of institutional drift.”
More changes are planned in how USAID and the State Department deliver foreign assistance, it said, “to use taxpayer dollars wisely to advance American interests.”
Many Republican lawmakers believe USAID has been wasteful and harbors a liberal agenda. US President Donald Trump himself has promised to dramatically reduce spending and shrink the federal government.
The dismantling of USAID by the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, overseen by Tesla and X CEO Elon Musk, has seen pushback by unions, aid groups, and foreign policy analysts, who tout the agency’s “soft power” credentials.
Samantha Power, the USAID chief under former President Joe Biden, called the agency “America’s superpower” in an opinion piece for the New York Times. “We are witnessing one of the worst and most costly foreign policy blunders in US history,” she wrote.
The dismantling of USAID DOGE has seen pushback by unions, aid groups, and foreign policy analysts. (AFP/File)
“Future generations will marvel that it wasn’t China’s actions that eroded US standing and global security but rather an American president and the billionaire he unleashed to shoot first and aim later,” she added, in reference to Musk.
In 2023, Power allocated $50 million to support educational opportunities for Lebanese, Syrian, and Palestinian students in Lebanon. Some $15 million was earmarked for 140 university students, while the remainder went to thousands of younger disadvantaged students.
The 90-day suspension of USAID’s work while its programs are reviewed has resulted in thousands of Lebanese losing their jobs and as many as 500 students, who relied on American-funded scholarships, have been forced to drop out.
Teacher training programs have been cut and US-affiliated institutions such as the American University of Beirut, the Lebanese American University, and Haigazian University have also seen their budgets slashed.
USAID is an independent agency established by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. It has long been a lifeline for programs in health, disaster relief, environmental protection, development, and education across the Middle East, Eastern Europe, Africa, Asia and Latin America.
Teacher training programs have been cut and US-affiliated institutions. (AFP/File)
The decision to suspend its operations is already having an impact on the work of UN agencies in the Middle East. The World Food Programme’s cash assistance scheme in Lebanon is expected to end for 170,000 Lebanese citizens and approximately 570,000 Syrian refugees.
The UN children’s fund, UNICEF, has also been forced to suspend or scale back its assistance, with just 26 percent of its donor appeal for Lebanon funded for the year ahead.
Ettie Higgins, UNICEF’s deputy representative in Lebanon, said an initial assessment had shown the agency must “drastically reduce” many of its programmes, including those related to child nutrition.
“The assessment revealed a grim picture of children’s nutrition situation, particularly in Baalbeck and Bekaa governorates, which remained densely populated when they were repeatedly targeted by airstrikes,” Higgins said in a video statement from Beirut.
She was referring to the recent war between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia, whose strongholds in southern and eastern Lebanon came under intense bombardment during the 15-month conflict.
Higgins said approximately 80 percent of families residing in these areas are in need of support, with 31 percent lacking sufficient drinking water, putting them at risk of contracting waterborne diseases.
The combined impact of economic crisis, political paralysis, the coronavirus pandemic, the Beirut port blast, and conflict with Israel has left Lebanon’s education system a shadow of its former self. (AFP/File)
“More than half a million children and their families in Lebanon are at risk of losing critical cash support from UN agencies,” she added, highlighting how these cuts could deprive the most vulnerable of their “last lifeline” to afford basic necessities.
Meanwhile, infrastructure and energy programs in rural areas have been halted, while support for small and medium-sized enterprises has stopped, leaving many families struggling.
Civil society groups and nongovernmental organizations reliant on USAID grants have also been forced to place social programs on hold, while countless employees have lost their jobs.
Once home to some of the best academic institutions and programs in the Middle East, the combined impact of economic crisis, political paralysis, the coronavirus pandemic, the Beirut port blast, and conflict with Israel has left Lebanon’s education system a shadow of its former self.
Poverty rates have skyrocketed since the financial crisis hit in 2019, with countless children forced to abandon their studies to seek work in order to support their families.
Many Republican lawmakers believe USAID has been wasteful and harbors a liberal agenda. (AFP/File)
Furthermore, the war between Israel and Hezbollah forced many schools to postpone their academic terms, as at least 500 state institutions were converted into makeshift shelters to house displaced families.
Now another generation of young people is destined to miss out on higher education having lost access to US-funded scholarships.
“I don’t know what I will do in the case of scholarship suspension,” said Lebanese American University student Rawaa. “I had dreams of becoming an architect and now it’s been taken away from me.”
