Israel Financial News

Houthi rebels. The Yemen authorities have now vowed vendetta, saying “America and Britain will have to prepare to pay a heavy price". The attack by the US and UK on Yemen comes weeks after the Houthi rebels allegedly unleashed disruptive attacks on Red Sea hurting commercial shipping on the trade route.

India in defending freedom of navigation in the Red Sea as the two countries discussed «shared concerns» over the reckless Houthi attacks in the region. External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken spoke Thursday and «discussed the United States and India's shared concerns over the reckless Houthi attacks in the southern Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, which threaten the free flow of commerce, endanger innocent mariners, and violate international law». State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement that Blinken emphasised the Red Sea is a major commercial corridor that facilitates international trade and «welcomed increased cooperation with India in defending freedom of navigation in the region».

By Sudarshan Varadhan

Houthi movement in Yemen, four U.S. officials told Reuters on Thursday, the first strikes against the Iran-backed group since it started targeting international shipping in the Red Sea late last year. A Houthi official confirmed «raids» across the country, including in the capital Sanaa along with the cities of Saada and Dhamar as well as in Hodeidah governate, calling them «American-Zionist-British aggression.»

Houthi rebels in Yemen amid growing crisis in oil-rich West Asia, thereby escalating a conflict in response to a string of attacks that have disrupted commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Notably, the spill over from the war between Benjamin Netanyahu's Israel and Hamas fighters in Gaza had been flagged repeatedly by US when Tel Aviv began a relentless airstrike campaign in the densely populated Gaza Strip.

By Victoria Waldersee

Iran’s navy has seized an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman that once was at the center of a major crisis between Tehran and Washington, a seizure that further escalates tensions in the Mideast waterways

ALSO READ: How the term “genocide" is misused in the Israel-Hamas war “Israel’s response to the October 7 attack has crossed this line and given rise to the breaches of the convention," he added. Responding to this, Israel has dismissed the case as 'atrocious' and 'preposterous'. It has now vowed to set out a robust defense on Friday.

By David Lawder

Dubai: An oil tanker once at the center of a crisis between Iran and the United States was boarded in the Gulf of Oman by “unauthorized" men in military uniforms early on Thursday morning, an advisory group run by the British military and a private security firm warned. Details remained unclear in what was apparently the latest seizure of a vessel in the tense Middle East waterways.

Yemen's Houthi rebels on merchant and commercial vessels in the Red Sea area. The resolution, sponsored by the United States and Japan, says at least two dozen Houthi attacks are impeding global commerce «and undermine navigational rights and freedoms as well as regional peace and security.»

Israeli military said Wednesday it has found evidence that hostages were present in an underground tunnel in the Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, which has become the focus of Israel's ground offensive. The military showed the tunnel to journalists who were escorted into a neighborhood near the ruins of destroyed homes and streets. A corrugated tin hut covered the tunnel's entrance in a residential yard.

Gaza, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly rebuffed for the first time calls by some right-wing ministers to permanently occupy the enclave. As Israel's war in Gaza continued to rage, the International Court of Justice in The Hague, also known as the World Court, was to hold hearings on Thursday and Friday in a case brought by South Africa in December claiming Israel's war against Hamas militants in Gaza violates the 1948 Genocide Convention.

McDonald's is reportedly introducing the Double Big Mac at participating restaurants across the US for a limited time starting January 24. This sandwich boasts an increased quantity of all-beef patties, totaling four, complemented by an extra serving of Big Mac sauce, along with pickles, lettuce, and chopped onions – although the cheese remains the same, with one slice positioned beneath the lower pair of patties, as per a USA Today report. Details regarding pricing and specific markets receiving the sandwich were not promptly addressed by McDonald's in response to inquiries.

Selena Gomez, renowned singer and actor, is in the headlines for her announcement about stepping away from social media once again. She has very recently stirred speculations due to her presence at the Golden Globes awards.

By Steven Scheer

By Luc Cohen

The relationship between India and the Maldives is facing challenges after officials in the tiny island nation made derogatory remarks against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s posts that promoted the pristine beaches of India’s Lakshadweep archipelago

Indian Navy on Wednesday received its first locally made medium altitude long endurance drones, which were contracted using emergency financial powers last year, marking the first major weapons delivery by the Adani Group. The drones will enhance surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in the Arabian Sea, said Navy chief Admiral R Hari Kumar. The drones — Drishti 10 Starliner unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), also known as Elbit Hermes 900 — have been manufactured at Hyderabad facility of Adani Defence and Aerospace which is being expanded to a manufacturing hub for missiles and UAVs.

Antony Blinken spoke to President Mahmoud Abbas on Wednesday about reforming the Palestinian self-rule government, as part of US efforts to rally the region behind postwar plans for Gaza that also include concrete steps toward a Palestinian state. Blinken says he has secured commitments from multiple countries in the region to assist with rebuilding and governing Gaza after Israel's war against Hamas, and that wider Israeli-Arab normalization is still possible, but only if there is «a pathway to a Palestinian state.»

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted a series of photos on social media last week showing him snorkeling, strolling on a white-sand beach and lounging in a chair next to turquoise waters in Lakshadweep, an island chain in the Indian Ocean. It was an “exhilarating experience," he wrote on X, formerly Twitter, as he peppered with praise the pristine lesser-known and remote Indian archipelago his government believes has untapped potential for tourism. The images were met with awe by Indians on social media, particularly Modi’s supporters.