Houthis claim missile launch at Israel amid renewed fighting in Gaza
Yemen-based group says hypersonic missile fired on Ben Gurion airport in second attack after Israel breaks Gaza ceasefire. The Houthis have launched a hypersonic missile at Israel’s Ben Gurion airport, days after the Israeli army broke a ceasefire in Gaza, the Yemeni group said. “The Yemeni armed forces carried out a qualitative military operation targeting Ben Gurion airport in the occupied Jaffa region with a Palestine-2 hypersonic ballistic missile,” Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said on Thursday. He said the operation “successfully achieved its objective”, without elaborating. It was the second such attack since the United States began a new campaign of air raids against the rebels earlier this week. The Israeli military said it intercepted the missile before it entered the country’s territory early on Thursday. Sirens sounded in several areas in Israel after the projectile was fired, the military said in a post on Telegram. The Israeli police said sirens were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. Israel’s ambulance service said no serious injuries were reported. The US has targeted Yemen with waves of strikes since Saturday, and the Houthis have declared they will escalate their attacks, including on Israel, in response. The US attacks have killed at least 31 people. Advertisement On Tuesday, the Houthis said they had fired a ballistic missile towards Israel and would expand their range of targets in the coming days in retaliation for Israel breaking the ceasefire in Gaza. Israel’s renewed attacks since Tuesday have killed at least 710 Palestinians and injured more than 900 others, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health. The Houthis have carried out more than 100 attacks on shipping since Israel’s war on Gaza began in late 2023, saying they are acting in solidarity with Gaza’s Palestinians. On Wednesday, US President Donald Trump renewed his call for Iran to end its support for the Houthis, pledging that the Yemeni group will be defeated by Washington. While the Houthis are allied with Iran, it is not clear how much they rely on Iranian support or whether Tehran can order them to stop their attacks. Adblock test (Why?)
All to know about the IPL 2025: Captains, schedule, prize money, venues
EXPLAINER From big-name players to key talking points, Al Jazeera’s lowdown on cricket’s most lucrative franchise T20 league. The Indian Premier League is set to return for its 18th season on Saturday as the Kolkata Knight Riders open their title defence at their home ground, the Eden Gardens. The tournament will see 10 teams vying for the chance to win the world’s most lucrative franchise Twenty20 cricket league. Here’s what you need to know about IPL 2025: What’s the schedule of IPL 2025? The two-month-long tournament will begin on March 22 in Kolkata and conclude on May 25 in the same city. Day matches will begin at 3:30pm (10:00 GMT) and night matches will get under way at 7:30pm (14:00 GMT). Round-robin phase: March 22 to May 18 First qualifier: May 20, 7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad Eliminator: May 21, 7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad Second qualifier: May 23, 7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata Final: May 25, 7:30pm (14:00 GMT) at Eden Gardens, Kolkata Mark your calendars, folks! 🥳🗓#TATAIPL 2025 kicks off on March 2️⃣2️⃣ with a clash between @KKRiders and @RCBTweets 🤜🤛 When is your favourite team’s first match? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/f2tf3YcSyY — IndianPremierLeague (@IPL) February 16, 2025 Advertisement What’s the format of IPL’s 2025 season? The tournament’s schedule has changed on a few occasions. The league started in a round-robin format, but it was changed to a group format and this season all 10 teams will play each other twice with the return of the league-style format. The top two teams at the end of the league games will play the first qualifier while the third- and fourth-placed teams will face off in the eliminator. The winner of the first qualifier will book a place in the final, while the loser will play the winner of the eliminator in the second qualifier. The winner of this match will become the second team to qualify for the final. Who are the team captains for IPL 2025? There has been some chopping and changing ahead of this season, with several new leaders taking charge. Here are the teams and their captains: Chennai Super Kings: Ruturaj Gaikwad Delhi Capitals: Axar Patel Gujarat Titans: Shubman Gill Kolkata Knight Riders: Ajinkya Rahane Lucknow Super Giants: Rishabh Pant Mumbai Indians: Hardik Pandya Punjab Kings: Shreyas Iyer Rajasthan Royals: Sanju Samson Royal Challengers Bengaluru: Rajat Patidar Sunrisers Hyderabad: Pat Cummins “𝘞𝘦’𝘷𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘵 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘵, 𝘊𝘢𝘱𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘗𝘢𝘯𝘵” 💙 pic.twitter.com/ms7Ij1vWZ5 — Lucknow Super Giants (@LucknowIPL) January 20, 2025 Who are the biggest signings of IPL 2025? Wicketkeeper-batter Pant was the most expensive signing at the IPL 2025 auction held in November. The Lucknow captain was bagged for $3.2m. The $3m threshold was first broken by Punjab, as they bought Iyer for $3.17m, but Pant topped the list by the end of the auction. Advertisement The most expensive foreign player was Jos Buttler. The former England white-ball captain was signed by Gujarat for $1.8m. What are the key talking points ahead of IPL 2025? Jasprit Bumrah’s fitness: The world’s leading pace bowler has been on the sidelines since sustaining a back injury in January, and while India managed to bag the ICC Champions Trophy without him, Mumbai Indians will sorely miss their spearhead. Bumrah is expected to return to the Mumbai side after the first few games, but his absence could deal a substantial blow to the five-time champions, who finished last in the previous season. RCB’s voodoo: The franchise that’s been home to arguably India’s biggest cricket star, Virat Kohli, has failed to pass the final hurdle in 17 years. They have come close on nine occasions and ended up with the wooden spoon twice. Can the well-balanced squad deliver a trophy for its faithful fanbase after nearly two decades? MS Dhoni’s present and future: The former India captain enjoys a legendary status amongst the Chennai fans. Despite having hung up his boots for India six years ago, Dhoni has been going strong for his franchise and has led them in all five of their IPL titles. The wicketkeeper now plays as a specialist batter and while questions may be raised about his future, Dhoni is expected to turn up in the Chennai yellow once again. The Gill-Buttler show: Shubman Gill will lead the 2022 champions for the second season in a row, and after a disappointing season in 2024 that saw Gujarat finish eighth, the world’s leading one-day international batter will rely on a power-packed opening partnership with Jos Buttler will form the base of a strong season for the Titans. The Mumbai Indians had their worst season at the IPL in 2024 as they finished 10th [File: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters] What are the venues for IPL 2025? As each team will play the other nine teams twice, the tournament will be played in a home-and-away format. In addition to the 10 home grounds, three neutral venues will also host some games. Advertisement Team home grounds: MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai – Chennai Super Kings Arun Jaitley Stadium, New Delhi – Delhi Capitals Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad – Gujarat Titans M Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru – Royal Challengers Bengaluru Eden Gardens, Kolkata – Kolkata Knight Riders BRSABV Ekana Stadium, Lucknow – Lucknow Super Giants Wankhede Stadium, Mumbai – Mumbai Indians Maharaja Yadavindra Singh International Cricket Stadium, Punjab – Punjab Kings Sawai Mansingh Stadium, Jaipur – Rajasthan Royals Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad – Sunrisers Hyderabad Neutral venues: Dr YS Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium, Visakhapatnam Barsapara Cricket Stadium, Guwahati HPCA Stadium, Dharamsala, Himachal Pradesh What’s the prize money for IPL 2025? The prize money breakdown for the knockout rounds is: Champion: $2.32m Runners-up: $1.5m Third place: $810,800 Fourth place: $752,894 Who are past IPL champions? Chennai Super Kings: 2010, 2011, 2018, 2021, 2023Mumbai Indians: 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2020Kolkata Knight Riders: 2012, 2014, 2024Rajasthan Royals: 2008Sunrisers Hyderabad: 2016Gujarat Titans: 2022Deccan Chargers: 2009 The Kolkata Knight Riders won their third IPL title in 2024 [File: Mahesh Kumar A/AP] Adblock test (Why?)
Is US support for Israel complicating efforts to reach peace in Gaza?
Emboldened by Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu is intensifying the war. There’s been widespread international condemnation of Israel’s renewed bombing of Gaza, including from the United Nations. But the United States was the only country on the 15-member UN Security Council to back Israel’s air strikes at a meeting on Tuesday. Emboldened by US President Donald Trump’s support, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says negotiations with Hamas will only continue “under fire”. After Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza, Itamar Ben-Gvir was reappointed as Israel’s national security minister – a move likely to strengthen Netanyahu’s coalition government. Where does this leave Hamas and the mediators? Presenter: James Bays Guests: Brian Finucane – Senior adviser to the US Program at the International Crisis Group Danilo Della Valle – Member of the European Parliament for Italy’s Five Star Movement Yousef Munayyer – Head of the Palestine-Israel Program and a senior fellow at the Arab Center Washington DC Adblock test (Why?)
How Trump took credit for the Gaza ceasefire – and then let it unravel
Washington, DC – Images of Palestinian children killed by Israeli bombardment are back in the news after a brief reprieve that only lasted a few weeks. Nearly two months after United States President Donald Trump took office, the ceasefire that had halted Israel’s war in Gaza has shattered, and the region is once again at war. That comes despite Trump’s own pledge to pursue peace in the Middle East and across the world. Trump took credit for the truce earlier this year, but he is now backing Israel’s renewed assaults in a conflict that he once promised to end. Analysts say Trump – a staunch Israel supporter – was more interested in generating headlines about helping to secure the ceasefire than actually ending the war. He also floated plans to ethnically cleanse Gaza, by removing its residents to make way for a riviera-style resort. “We could see evidence of Trump’s insincerity in the ceasefire almost immediately after he took office – when he started calling for the forced displacement and ethnic cleansing of all Palestinians from Gaza on a permanent basis,” said Josh Ruebner, a lecturer at Georgetown University’s Program on Justice and Peace. Advertisement “So, it’s not at all a surprise to see the Trump administration greenlight the resumption of massive Israeli violence against Palestinians in Gaza.” Early signs In the weeks leading up to the latest bombardment, there were signs that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu never intended on fully honouring the ceasefire – and that Trump was not invested in upholding the deal, either. Early in February, Trump said he has “no guarantees that the peace is going to hold” in Gaza. Even before the ceasefire went into effect in January, Netanyahu claimed that the deal was “temporary” and that both Joe Biden – who was in the final days of his presidency – and Trump have given “their full backing to Israel’s right to return to fighting”. Moreover, Israel has repeatedly violated the deal by firing at Palestinians almost daily and blocking the entry of mobile homes into the territory, where many buildings have been levelled or rendered unsafe. Then, on March 2, Israel imposed a total blockade on humanitarian aid destined for Gaza. The ceasefire agreement was supposed to include three phases. The first stage, which expired early in March, saw the release of about 30 Israeli captives and hundreds of Palestinian prisoners as the guns fell silent. But Israel did not agree to move to the second phase of the deal that would see a permanent end to the war. A third stage would have eventually focused on reconstruction in the territory. Instead, Netanyahu and the Trump administration insisted on extending the first part of the ceasefire deal. But the Palestinian group Hamas has been clear in its position: There is no need for new initiatives because there is an internationally backed pact in place that all the parties have already agreed to. Advertisement Truce ‘served its purpose’ for Trump Ruebner said Trump only wanted a temporary ceasefire to free more Israeli captives without pressuring Israel to commit to ending the war. In a joint appearance with Netanyahu in February, Trump also expressed his desire for the US to “own” Gaza and turn it into a “Riviera of the Middle East”. But since Trump’s proposal was met with overwhelming international rejection, the US president allowed Israel to “resume this frightening scale of violence” against Palestinians, Ruebner said. In the days since Israel renewed its assault on Gaza, hundreds of Palestinian civilians, including children, have been killed with the support of the US president, who had promised in his inauguration speech to leave the legacy of a “peacemaker”. Annelle Sheline, a research fellow at the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft, said she was surprised that the truce lasted for weeks even after it “served its purpose” for Trump. “Trump’s motivation in pushing for the ceasefire was to show that he could achieve what Biden could not, and he did so before even reentering the White House,” said Sheline. “At the time the ceasefire was enacted, there was a lot of scepticism that it would reach phase two, as this would involve negotiations around a more permanent cessation of hostilities, which Israel and specifically Netanyahu had no interest in agreeing to.” The Center for International Policy (CIP), a US-based think tank, also said Trump “bears considerable responsibility” for the collapse of the ceasefire. Advertisement “While Trump’s team had an early success in assisting the administration of former President Joe Biden in negotiating the hostage release and ceasefire, he has since enabled this massive failure in his own diplomacy through a series of brazen missteps,” Dylan Williams, CIP’s vice president for government affairs, said in a statement. A ‘showman’ Williams cited Trump’s “obscene proposal” to force Palestinians out of Gaza, as well as the president’s backing of Netanyahu’s push to re-write the ceasefire deal, as decisions that make him a “full partner in this bloodshed”. Despite the civilian death toll, the Trump administration has voiced unqualified support for Israel and its military campaign in Gaza. YL Al-Sheikh, a Palestinian American writer and organiser for the Democratic Socialists of America, described Trump as a “showman” who wanted a “big thing” to brag about. But Al-Sheikh underscored that the US president has failed to get Netanyahu to permanently end the war and to get Hamas to release the remaining captives. “So he just wants to pummel on somebody,” Al-Sheikh said. Palestinians, he added, are “the natural target”. So, what happens next? Analysts fear that the Israeli offensive will intensify, leading to more death and destruction, in a campaign that leading rights groups and United Nations experts have already described as a genocide. “Trump and Netanyahu are aligned in their desire to remove Palestinians from Gaza, either by killing them or through ethnic cleansing and forced removal,” said Sheline. Advertisement Al-Sheikh also predicts that the violence will persist: “We’re going to go in this merry-go-round until either Netanyahu fails to keep
Advocates decry Trump administration effort to deport immigration activist
United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has confirmed it detained and plans to deport Jeanette Vizguerra, a prominent immigration activist who has drawn attention to the plight of undocumented people in the country. Immigration advocates, lawmakers and human rights groups have decried the move, pointing to the mother of four’s deep ties to the Colorado community where she has lived for 30 years. The arrest appears to be the first time US authorities have targeted a prominent immigration activist for deportation during President Donald Trump’s second term. Supporters say Vizguerra’s detention is aimed at silencing dissent. It comes amid a wider deportation push by the Trump administration, which has rolled back enforcement protections and invoked an 18th-century law in an effort to eject undocumented people from the US. In a social media post on Wednesday, ICE’s bureau in Denver, Colorado, justified Vizguerra’s arrest by pointing to her past convictions. She has a 2009 misdemeanour for using a forged Social Security number to find work, as well as a second misdemeanour from 2013 when she briefly returned home to Mexico to visit her dying mother. She was convicted at the time of illegal entry. Advertisement “She will remain in ICE custody until her removal from the United States,” ICE said in the post. However, Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, questions whether Vizguerra’s meagre arrest record warrants such treatment. He acknowledged that she “has a few low-level offenses as a result of her being undocumented”. “But she’s no dangerous radical. That’s just ridiculous,” he wrote on the social media platform X. Instead, he pointed out that she was named one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2017. “She is a well-respected advocate in Colorado and nationwide,” Reichlin-Melnick said. “The literal president of the United States has a more serious criminal record.” Jeanette Vizguerra speaks after leaving a church’s sanctuary on May 12, 2017 [David Zalubowski/AP Photo] Who is Jeanette Vizguerra? Vizguerra initially came to the US from Mexico City in the 1990s with her husband, who had faced several kidnappings in Mexico. She settled in Colorado, where she began working as a janitor and became involved in labour organising. Her first brush with US law enforcement came during a traffic stop in 2009, when she was found to be carrying a document with the fake Social Security number. Her conviction kicked off a years-long battle against her deportation – and propelled her to take on more immigration advocacy work, as she endeavoured to protect other undocumented people in Colorado. She became associated with groups like Colorado’s Rights for All People and the Colorado Immigrant Rights Coalition, and she founded the Colorado branch of the organisation Dreamer’s Mothers in Action. Advertisement But in 2017, President Trump took office for the first time, with pledges to implement a sweeping immigration crackdown. Fearing imminent deportation, Vizguerra sought refuge in two Denver-area churches, an act that catapulted her into the national spotlight. A longstanding government policy forbade immigration raids at sensitive locations like churches at the time. “I decided not to hide my battle against deportation but to fight publicly to draw attention to the unfairness of the system,” Vizguerra wrote in a 2017 op-ed published by The New York Times. “I wanted to inspire my community to step out of the shadows and raise its voices.” In May 2017, she received a temporary stay of deportation that allowed her to leave the church’s sanctuary. But she felt forced to return again in 2019 after her visa application was reportedly denied. She eventually moved out of the church in 2020. The administration of US President Joe Biden later granted her a temporary “stay of deportation”. In Time Magazine’s 2017 profile of Vizguerra, actress America Ferrera praised the activist for making the “bold and risky” decision to go public with her struggle. “The current Administration has scapegoated immigrants, scaring Americans into believing that undocumented people like Jeanette are criminals,” Ferrera wrote. “She shed blood, sweat and tears to become a business owner, striving to give her children more opportunities than she had. This is not a crime. This is the American Dream.” Vizguerra was arrested on Monday in the car park of the Target where she worked. Aura Hernandez, centre, holds her one-year-old daughter Camila Sanchez and laughs with Jeanette Vizguerra on March 29, 2018 [Seth Wenig/AP Photo] Deportation push Vizguerra’s arrest comes amid a mass deportation push under Trump, who campaigned on promises to stop undocumented migration and surge the number of removals. Advertisement Since taking office, Trump has swiftly moved away from Biden administration policies that de-prioritised immigration actions against low-level and nonviolent offenders. Recent ICE enforcement sweeps have seen the arrests of thousands of individuals with no criminal record, despite Trump’s claim he would focus on those considered threats to public safety and national security. In January, the Trump administration also rolled back a longstanding policy that prohibited immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, including churches, schools and medical facilities. Earlier this month, it began invoking the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to increase expulsions, although a federal judge has temporarily paused its use. That act has only been used three times prior, and only in cases of war. Critics have also accused the Trump administration of targeting foreign nationals – including legal permanent residents – for their political views. That includes the attempt to deport Mahmoud Khalil, a green-card holder who led pro-Palestine protests at Columbia University, as well as the expulsion of Brown University professor Rasha Alawieh, who was teaching in the US on a work visa. Jeanette Vizguerra speaks outside the Denver church where she has sought sanctuary on June 19, 2019 [Jim Anderson/AP Photo] What has the response been? Some of the most strident condemnations of Vizguerra’s arrest have come from local elected officials. In a widely shared video statement on Tuesday, Denver Mayor Mike Johnston said her detention was not “intended to keep our country safe”. Advertisement “This is Putin-style persecution
Pakistan’s ‘war on terror’ approach is dangerous
OPINIONOPINION, Refusing to see the roots of insurgencies, using ‘terrorism’ labels, and scapegoating neighbours are not winning strategies. On March 11, fighters from the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) hijacked a Jaffar Express train travelling from Quetta to Peshawar. After a 36-hour standoff, the Pakistani security forces were able to kill the BLA operatives and release hundreds of hostages. According to the government, at least eight civilians lost their lives during the operation. Pakistani officials were quick to blame Afghanistan and India for what they called a “terrorist incident”. This is the latest example of how the Pakistani authorities increasingly deflect responsibility and frame Pakistan’s relationship with Afghanistan in the language of “war on terror”. Almost three months before the train hijacking, Pakistani fighter jets bombarded Afghanistan’s Khost and Paktika provinces, killing at least 46 people, including women and children. Many of the casualties were displaced people from Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa region. Pakistan justified its violation of Afghan sovereignty and international law by claiming that it is targeting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) fighters hiding on Afghan territory. Over the past two years, Islamabad has been accusing Kabul of harbouring “terrorists” who have carried out attacks on Pakistani territory. Advertisement This is the same logic the United States employed to conduct air raids, kidnappings, targeted killings, etc throughout the Muslim world during its so-called “war on terror”. In doing so, the US trampled over all the conventions the world had endorsed affirming state sovereignty, the distinction between civilians and combatants, proportionate response and the rights of prisoners of war. The US army and intelligence saw civilians as active combatants or “collateral damage” that was inevitable when a “high-value target” was pursued. Whole countries and civilian populations paid the price for “terrorist” strikes conducted by armed groups – and they still do. That is because the US may have withdrawn from Afghanistan and Iraq, but the legacy of its practices remains and is readily embraced by governments in the region. Pakistan’s government is one of them. Throughout the 20-year US occupation of Afghanistan, Pakistan refused to see the Afghan Taliban as “terrorists” and continued sheltering and supporting the group. Yet today, the Pakistani authorities label the TTP and BLA as “terrorist” groups and the Afghan Taliban government as sponsors of “terrorism”. They refuse to see these local insurgencies as politically motivated rational actors who could be reasoned with or whose grievances should be heard. How Pakistan chooses to deal with these groups is an internal matter, but there are a few lessons from the recent American adventurism that ought to be heeded. The US cast a wide definition of “terrorism” in which Muslims at home and abroad became suspect. In Afghanistan, it lumped its enemy al-Qaeda with the Taliban and at times Afghan civilians. Advertisement The imprisonment and torture of alleged Taliban members only fed the fervour of Taliban fighters and led to an escalation in violence. Indiscriminate drone strikes on civilian communities in Afghanistan and Pakistan not only violated sovereignty, but also encouraged young men to join the Afghan Taliban and TTP. Several attempts by the Taliban to negotiate with the US did not bear fruit until 2021, when, exhausted by a two-decade occupation and war, Washington decided to withdraw, basically accepting defeat. It is easy to dismiss movements as “terrorist” and refuse to see any path of reconciliation. But as the American example shows, this approach does not end well. Instead of trying to drag the US into another war on “terror” – as US media outlet Drop Site has reported – the Pakistani authorities should learn from the American experience. They cannot feign ignorance about groups like TTP and BLA; they are dealing with their own citizens, who have clear grievances. The Pakistani government has to hear the demands of these groups and find a way to negotiate with them. It has to recognise the suffering of the civilian populations in the regions where BLA and TTP operate. It also needs to put an end to violating Afghanistan’s sovereignty and scapegoating the Taliban government for their own security failures under the guise of “war on terror”. If the Pakistani military decides not to learn from recent history and follows in the footsteps of the United States, it is quite likely it is to meet its fate. Advertisement The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera’s editorial stance. Adblock test (Why?)
Trump warns Yemen’s Houthis will be ‘completely annihilated’
The US president renews his call for Iran to end support for the Yemeni group that has been targeting Israel over its war in Gaza. Washington, DC – Donald Trump has renewed his call for Iran to end its support for the Houthis, pledging that the Yemeni group will be defeated by the United States. The US president’s comments on Wednesday came a day after the Houthis claimed attacks targeting American warships in the Red Sea area, as well as a missile launch against Israel. Overnight, the US also continued strikes on Houthi strongholds in Yemen, including the capital, Sanaa. “Tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians, and watch how it will get progressively worse — It’s not even a fair fight, and never will be,” Trump wrote in a social media post. “They will be completely annihilated!” This month, the US has launched several waves of attacks against the Houthis, who control Sanaa and present themselves as the country’s official armed forces. Since 2023, the Houthis have been targeting ships in and around the Red Sea and launching missiles at Israel in an effort, they say, to pressure the Israeli government to end the war on Gaza. Advertisement The group paused its Red Sea attacks during the Gaza truce but restarted them earlier this month, in response to Israel’s blockade on humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territory. The Houthis also resumed their direct military operations against Israel after the Israeli military broke a two-month ceasefire, killing hundreds of Palestinians this week. The administration of former US President Joe Biden also bombed Houthi positions in Yemen, but Washington’s campaign failed to stop the group’s attacks. In his social media post on Wednesday, Trump cited “reports” claiming that Iran is decreasing its support for the Houthis but is still “sending large levels of Supplies”. “Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY,” he wrote. “Let the Houthis fight it out themselves. Either way they lose, but this way they lose quickly.” Trump previously threatened Iran with retaliation if it does not rein in the Houthis. While the Houthis — known formally as Ansar Allah — are allied with Iran, it is not clear how much they rely on Iranian support or whether Tehran can order them to stop their attacks. But Trump has portrayed the Houthis as an arm of the Iranian government. “Every shot fired by the Houthis will be looked upon, from this point forward, as being a shot fired from the weapons and leadership of IRAN, and IRAN will be held responsible, and suffer the consequences, and those consequences will be dire,” Trump wrote on social media on Saturday. For their part, the Houthis have dismissed the US threats and bombing campaign, vowing to continue their attacks until Israel ends its assault on Gaza. Advertisement “The Yemeni Armed Forces affirm that the US aggression will not deter the steadfast and struggling Yemen from fulfilling its religious, moral, and humanitarian duties toward the Palestinian people,” the group said in a statement on Tuesday. “They affirm that they will escalate their military operations against the Zionist enemy unless the brutal aggression on Gaza stops and the blockade is lifted.” Trump blacklisted the Houthis as a “foreign terrorist organisation” in the early days of his presidency this year. The Biden administration had labelled the group as “specially designated global terrorists” — a slightly lower designation that involves fewer restrictions. Adblock test (Why?)
Protesters try to disrupt Gal Gadot’s ‘Walk of Fame’ star ceremony
[unable to retrieve full-text content] Pro-Palestinian protesters attempted to disrupt the Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony for Israeli actress Gal Gadot.
Video: Palestinians flee as Israeli attacks resume in Gaza
NewsFeed Thousands of Palestinians are once again fleeing towns in northern Gaza. They’re travelling, mostly by foot, to areas in the south like Khan Younis, after deadly Israeli strikes and evacuation warnings spread fears of further attacks. Published On 19 Mar 202519 Mar 2025 Adblock test (Why?)
‘No betrayal’: Ukraine breathes sigh of relief after Trump-Putin talks
Kyiv, Ukraine – Russia launched 145 drones and six missiles on Ukraine on Tuesday just minutes after US President Donald Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin finished their phone conversation. The attacks were launched from six locations in western Russia, and 45 drones targeted the Kyiv region alone, Ukrainian officials said. They said, however, that while the strikes damaged civilian infrastructure, they did not kill or wound anyone. The attacks were a way of rejecting Trump’s 30-day ceasefire proposal, according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. “Today, Putin virtually threw away the proposal to fully cease the fire,” he said. Ukrainian citizens were indignant. “Putin shows that Trump is nothing but his lap dog,” said Larysa Kozhedub, a 52-year-old manicurist whose nephew Oleksiy was killed near the eastern city of Pokrovsk last October. “America lost the Cold War, and Ukraine is paying for it,” she told Al Jazeera. But analysts are more calm and cautious. No “betrayal” of Ukraine’s interests resulted from the Trump-Putin conversation that lasted more than two hours, said Volodymyr Fesenko, head of the Penta think tank in Kyiv. Advertisement “Everyone here was very afraid that Putin will yet again zombify Trump,” he told Al Jazeera, referring to Trump’s susceptibility to Putin’s views on the Russia-Ukraine conundrum. Instead, Fesenko noted, Trump did not bend to Russia’s calls to halt Washington’s military aid to Kyiv or force Ukraine to cease mobilisation in return for the full ceasefire. During a draconian mobilisation campaign, Ukraine replenished its decimated front-line forces – and for the first time in more than two years managed to wrestle back several towns in eastern Ukraine. However, Ukrainian troops were kicked out of Russia’s western Kursk region, where they had occupied up to 1,000 square kilometres (385 square miles) since August 2024. After a panicked withdrawal and losses, they currently maintain their hold on several villages and farms near the Russian-Ukrainian border. “However, it’s too early to relax. Russia will continue to present its ultimatums in the next stages of talks,” Fesenko said. United States President Donald Trump (left) and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin (right) discussed Ukraine and the ‘normalisation’ of US-Russian ties by phone [File: Drew Angerer and Gavriil Grigorov/AFP] Ironically, Trump and Putin agreed to implement parts of Kyiv’s peace plan, which was presented at the March 11 talks between US and Ukrainian officials in Saudi Arabia’s Jeddah, Fesenko said. Kyiv proposed to cease air and sea attacks, as well as strikes on energy infrastructure for 30 days. Russia’s pummelling of Ukraine’s power stations has caused blackouts and further hobbled the country’s economy. Advertisement In response, Kyiv doubled down on its drone and missile attacks on Russian oil refineries, fuel depots, military targets and civilian sites. Kyiv is ready to suspend its strikes on the energy infrastructure, Zelenskyy said. “Our side will support it,” Zelenskyy told a news conference held after the Trump-Putin talks. The Trump-Putin conversation may herald the pace of upcoming peace talks and a step-by-step ceasefire that would take weeks if not months to implement, Fesenko said. The next step – a suspension of air attacks – would be beneficial to Ukraine since Russia launches thousands of drones and dozens of ballistic and cruise missiles across the country every month. The effect, however, would be more psychological than practical. Millions of Ukrainians lie awake at night to the howling of air raid sirens and the boom of air defence systems shooting down the drones, while actual casualties and destruction remain minimal. ‘Global security’ talks amid Middle East tensions The Kremlin said that apart from Ukraine, Trump and Putin discussed the situation in the Middle East, the Red Sea region and “interaction in the matters of nuclear non-proliferation and global security”. This way, Putin offered Trump help with Iran’s nuclear programme and Yemen’s Houthis, Kyiv-based analyst Igar Tyshkevych said. Washington started bombing the Houthis on Saturday even though they stopped attacks on ships in the Red Sea after the ceasefire began in Gaza. “Yes, Putin wants to help Trump to kill two birds with one stone,” Tyshkevych told Al Jazeera. However, Putin may be bluffing because Tehran uses its clout among Houthis to up the ante in its own dealings with Washington and does not necessarily want Putin as a middleman, he said. Advertisement But if Russia could indeed help Trump with Iran and Yemen, Putin will ask for concessions in Ukraine, he said. Trump is in a political pickle as he needs a fast peace settlement ahead of his talks with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Putin’s main international backer. “It’s one thing when you come [to negotiations] with a ready algorithm that began to work, and another thing when you start working from scratch,” Tyshkevych said. ‘Ukraine’s biggest loss in the past year’ Meanwhile, Russia is “fragmenting” the Ukrainian problem by offering preconditions such as separate discussions of warfare in the Black Sea, Tyshkevych said. In the past two years, Kyiv succeeded in destroying Russian warships in annexed Crimea. The attacks forced Russia’s entire Black Sea fleet to relocate from its main base in Crimea’s Sevastopol to the Russian port of Novorossiysk. Ukraine’s agreement to stop strikes in the Black Sea will manifest Zelenskyy’s “political and military defeat”, predicted Nikolay Mitrokhin, a researcher with Germany’s University of Bremen. Kyiv already failed to use its dominance in the western part of the Black Sea to retake Ukrainian islands and spits west of annexed Crimea, and lost several islands in the Dnieper delta, he said. “This is Ukraine’s biggest loss in the past year” besides the retreat from around the eastern Ukrainian town of Pokrovsk, Mitrokhin told Al Jazeera. Meanwhile, Putin wants to use a pause in Trump’s push for the peace settlement to occupy more Ukrainian areas with the troops that pushed Ukrainians out of Kursk, said Mitrokhin. Advertisement As a result, there could be more “meat marches”, or devastating frontal assaults on Ukrainian positions in Donetsk, he said. But Ukraine’s attacks on border areas of Russia’s Belgorod region that lie