Authorities in Yemen say four people were killed when Iran-backed Houthi rebels fired missiles on a vessel in the Bab el-Mandeb strait. The Transportation Ministry of Yemen’s internationally recognized government said Tuesday the dead included four Pakistani nationals and an Indonesian. The deadly vessel strike came amid renewed attacks on government-controlled areas in Yemen, raising concerns that the violence could reignite civil war and further threaten regional shipping routes. With the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed by Iran, there has been renewed focus on the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb Strait at Yemen’s southern tip.
WASHINGTON – President Donald Trump likes to say he started his war with Iran after 50 years of economic pressure failed to stop its nuclear weapons ambitions. But now the Republican president is betting another financial squeeze can end the war. Trump’s administration hopes months of bombing have pushed Iran’s economy to a breaking point that will force its leadership to cave to demands to end its nuclear program and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to oil and natural gas tankers. It’s part of a larger pivot by Trump to argue Iran is on the cusp of financially collapsing, even though it’s already endured decades of financial sanctions. Iran suggests the U.S. is “incapable of pursuing diplomacy.”
KYIV, Ukraine – Officials in Ukraine say Russian aerial attacks killed at least 10 civilians. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Moscow is receiving military help from North Korea, using its ballistic missiles in an attack on Zaporizhzhia that killed seven people. Three more people, including a teenager, died in the Dnipropetrovsk region. Zelenskyy claims Russia is scaling up missile production and recruitment for a new offensive. The Institute for the Study of War says Ukraine’s missile defense shortages give Russia an advantage. Meanwhile, Russia intercepted nearly 400 Ukrainian drones overnight. Ukraine says it hit an oil refinery in the city of Orsk in Russia’s Orenburg region near the border with Kazakhstan.
NEW YORK – The president’s social media company is going back to its roots. The parent of Truth Social said Monday it is abandoning several new businesses – crypto, online betting, financial services – to refocus on building up its social media platform. Part of that effort is a new paid service for Wall Street traders who want sneak peeks at the president’s market-moving posts. The service has drawn criticism from government watchdogs for basically setting itself up as a paid alternative to the White House press office. The parent company, Trump Media & Technology, detailed its new plans Monday after posting losses in the latest quarter jumped tenfold.
– The Associated Press
