Trump threatens Houthi rebels that they’ll be ‘completely annihilated’ as airstrikes pound Yemen
Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that 'tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians'
On Wednesday, US strikes hit Yemen’s rebel-held capital Sanaa
Updated 19 March 2025
AP
DUBAI: US President Donald Trump threatened Yemen’s Houthi rebels on Wednesday that they’ll be “completely annihilated” as American airstrikes pounded locations under their control, while further pressuring the group’s main benefactor Iran.
Strikes hit Sanaa, Yemen’s rebel-held capital, as well as their stronghold of Saada in the country’s northwest on Wednesday night, the Houthi’s Al-Maisrah satellite news channel reported.
It also said strikes happened overnight Tuesday, though the US military has not offered a breakdown of places targeted since the airstrikes campaign began. The first strikes this weekend killed at least 53 people, including children, and wounded others.
As the strikes hit, Trump wrote on his Truth Social website that “tremendous damage has been inflicted upon the Houthi barbarians.”
“Watch how it will get progressively worse — It’s not even a fair fight, and never will be,” Trump added. “They will be completely annihilated!”
Meanwhile, Trump again warned Iran not to arm the Houthis, claiming without offering evidence that Tehran “has lessened its intensity on Military Equipment and General Support to the Houthis.”
“Iran must stop the sending of these Supplies IMMEDIATELY,” he wrote.
Iran had no immediate response to Trump’s post.
The Islamic Republic has long armed the Houthis, who are members of Islam’s minority Shiite Zaydi sect that ruled Yemen for 1,000 years until 1962.
Tehran routinely denies arming the rebels, despite physical evidence, numerous seizures and experts tying the weapons back to Iran. That’s likely because Tehran wants to avoid sanctions for violating a United Nations arms embargo on the Houthis.
The Houthi rebels attacked over 100 merchant vessels with missiles and drones, sinking two vessels and killing four sailors, from November 2023 until January this year when a ceasefire began in Gaza.
The campaign also greatly raised the Houthis’ profile in the wider Arab world and tamped down on public criticism against their human rights abuses and crackdowns on dissent and aid workers.
How Modi’s landmark visit to Jeddah added ‘further momentum’ to historic Saudi-India ties
Modi’s visit to Jeddah was the first by an Indian premier in over four decades, underlining a deepening partnership
The PM’s itinerary included the second India-Saudi SPC meeting to enhance defense cooperation
Updated 10 min 21 sec ago
Arab News
JEDDAH: Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was escorted by Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jets ahead of his touchdown in Jeddah on Tuesday, where he was greeted by a 21-gun salute in a ceremonial welcome that highlighted the growing defense ties between the two countries.
The visit marked Modi’s first to the Red Sea port city and the first by an Indian premier in more than 40 years. It was also his third visit to Saudi Arabia in a decade, highlighting deepening diplomatic, economic, and military cooperation between Riyadh and New Delhi.
“This visit will strengthen the friendship between India and Saudi Arabia,” Modi posted on the social media platform X ahead of his arrival, expressing his eagerness to advance bilateral agreements and programs.
Randhir Jaiswal, spokesperson for India’s Ministry of External Affairs, wrote on X that the visit would “give further momentum” to “longstanding and historic ties” between Saudi Arabia and India.
Referring to the Royal Saudi Air Force escort, Jaiswal posted: “India-Saudi Arabia friendship flying high!”
Modi was escorted by Royal Saudi Air Force F-15 fighter jets ahead of his touchdown in Jeddah on Tuesday. (Social Media)
Modi’s arrival was met with vibrant celebrations among the Indian diaspora — the Kingdom’s largest expatriate group. Traditional dances were performed in his honor, and Saudi singer Hashim Abbas paid tribute by singing the Hindi patriotic anthem “Ae Watan.”
Members of the Indian diaspora gathered at a hotel in Jeddah and sang “Saare Jahan Se Achha” as they awaited Modi’s arrival. One of the members of the Indian diaspora told ANI: “I am very excited to see PM Modi here. We are so grateful that we got this opportunity.”
A key part of the visit was the second meeting of the India-Saudi Strategic Partnership Council, co-chaired by Modi and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Established in 2019, the SPC has become a vital platform for cooperation in politics, security, trade and culture.
Modi’s arrival was met with vibrant celebrations among the Indian diaspora. Traditional dances were performed in his honor, and Saudi singer Hashim Abbas paid tribute by singing the Hindi patriotic anthem “Ae Watan.” (Supplied)
In an interview ahead of the visit with Noor Nugali, deputy editor-in-chief of Arab News, Modi emphasized that the bond between India and Saudi Arabia “is not new.” Rather, “it is rooted in civilizational exchanges that go back to centuries.
“From ideas to trade, there has been a constant flow between our two great nations,” he said. “Our relations have been on an upward trajectory since 2014.”
One of the most significant areas of growing cooperation has been defense. In recent years, India and Saudi Arabia have held joint military exercises, finalized India’s first artillery shell exports to the Kingdom and signed advanced weapons systems deals.
Officials said this week’s discussions would include expanding naval exercises and strengthening security partnerships — particularly in maritime and cybersecurity domains.
“This visit will strengthen the friendship between India and Saudi Arabia,” Modi posted on the social media platform X ahead of his arrival, expressing his eagerness to advance bilateral agreements and programs. (SPA)
The visit came at a time when both countries are pursuing bold domestic agendas. As Saudi Arabia advances its Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy and India rises as a global economic force, the leaders are keen to transform longstanding cultural and economic ties into a comprehensive 21st-century partnership.
“There is much to celebrate in the remarkable transformation of bilateral ties,” journalist and foreign policy analyst C. Raja Mohan said in a recent op-ed for The Indian Express.
“The PM’s visit to Jeddah is not only about expanding bilateral relations; it also reflects Saudi Arabia’s emergence as a significant geopolitical actor under its crown prince and prime minister, Mohammed bin Salman.”
He added: “(Riyadh’s) interest-driven, rather than ideologically rigid, approach marks a fundamental shift in the evolution of the Saudi Kingdom — one that echoes the pragmatism of India’s own Middle East policy under Modi.”
As Saudi Arabia advances its Vision 2030 plan to diversify its economy and India rises as a global economic force, the leaders are keen to transform longstanding cultural and economic ties into a comprehensive 21st-century partnership. (SPA)
Bilateral trade has continued to grow despite global economic turbulence, with energy, agriculture and fertilizers remaining key pillars. Both sides are now eying new areas of cooperation, including green hydrogen, emerging technologies and infrastructure.
Indeed, trade between the two countries surged to $52 billion in 2023-24, and officials said several memorandums of understanding would be signed during the visit to bolster both economic and political collaboration.
India’s economy is seen as being relatively less vulnerable to global headwinds, and calibrated policy support could help the country turn current volatility into an opportunity, the Reserve Bank of India said in its April bulletin released on Tuesday.
“Although the dampening global economic outlook could impact India’s economic growth through weaker external demand, the domestic growth engines ... consumption and investment, are relatively less susceptible to external headwinds,” the RBI said in its article, titled “State of the Economy.”
Saudi Arabia has long been a key energy supplier to India, with the Kingdom ranked as the country’s third largest source of petroleum, according to India’s Ministry of External Affairs. As one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, India relies heavily on crude and refined oil imports to meet its expanding energy demands.
In an interview ahead of the visit with Noor Nugali, deputy editor-in-chief of Arab News, Modi emphasized that the bond between India and Saudi Arabia “is not new.” Rather, “it is rooted in civilizational exchanges that go back to centuries. (SPA)
That partnership is also evolving in response to global energy transitions, as both countries recognize the urgency of moving toward cleaner, more sustainable sources of energy.
India announced its aim of achieving 500 GW renewable energy by 2030 at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow, outlining its intention to meet half of its energy requirements from non-fossil fuel sources by 2030. The target marked a significant step beyond the country’s earlier Paris Agreement commitments and highlighted its growing role in global climate leadership.
Modi’s itinerary had included a visit to a facility employing Indian workers and a meeting with members of the Indian community. Saudi Arabia is home to 2.7 million Indian residents and workers.
The Indian leader, who in 2016 was awarded the King Abdulaziz Sash, Saudi Arabia’s highest civilian honor, has made Gulf partnerships a cornerstone of his foreign policy.
Analysts said the visit reflected India’s broader strategy to cement alliances across West Asia, a region vital to its energy security and home to more than 9 million Indian expatriates.
Sultan of Oman, Russian president mark 40th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties
Putin announced plans to stage summit with Arab League group of states later this year
Putin and Sultan Haitham welcomed establishment of Joint Economic Committee and the mutual exemption of entry visas
Updated 39 min 6 sec ago
Arab News
LONDON: Sultan Haitham bin Tariq became the first Omani head of state to visit Russia this week, discussing various regional and international topics with President Vladimir Putin.
During a meeting with Sultan Haitham at the Grand Hall of the Kremlin Palace on Tuesday, Putin announced plans to stage a summit with the Arab League group of states later this year.
"We plan to hold a summit between Russia and Arab countries this year," Putin told Sultan Haitham, who concluded late on Tuesday on a two-day visit to Russia.
"Many of our friends in the Arab world support this idea," he added, inviting Sultan Haitham to the summit without specifying the date and location.
Russia and Oman are marking the 40th anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties.
Putin noted that Sultan Haitham was among the signatories of the agreement establishing diplomatic relations between Moscow and Muscat in 1985, according to the Oman News Agency.
The two leaders emphasized the importance of enhancing joint investment opportunities and improving communication between their countries, the ONA added.
Putin and Sultan Haitham welcomed the signing of several memoranda of understanding, the establishment of a Joint Economic Committee, and the mutual exemption of entry visas for citizens of both countries.
During their meeting, they stressed the need to create an independent Palestinian state. They affirmed their support for international efforts to achieve an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and called for a complete Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and all other occupied Palestinian territories.
Indonesia food plan risks ‘world’s largest’ deforestation
Keen to end its reliance on rice imports, Indonesia wants to plant vast tracts of the crop, along with sugar cane for biofuel, in the restive eastern region
Environmentalists warn it could become the world’s largest deforestation project, threatening endangered species and Jakarta’s climate commitments
Updated 55 min 6 sec ago
AFP
JAKARTA: An Indonesian soldier gives a thumbs up as he crosses a rice field on a combine harvester in remote Papua, where a government food security megaproject has raised fears of mass deforestation.
Keen to end its reliance on rice imports, Indonesia wants to plant vast tracts of the crop, along with sugar cane for biofuel, in the restive eastern region.
But environmentalists warn it could become the world’s largest deforestation project, threatening endangered species and Jakarta’s climate commitments.
And activists fear the scheme will fuel rights violations in a region long plagued by alleged military abuses as a separatist insurgency rumbles on.
The project’s true scale is hard to ascertain; even government statements vary.
At a minimum, however, it aims to plant several million hectares of rice and sugar cane across South Papua province’s Merauke. One million hectares is around the size of Lebanon.
Deforestation linked to the plan is already under way.
By late last year, more than 11,000 hectares had been cleared — an area larger than Paris — according to Franky Samperante of environmental and Indigenous rights NGO Yayasan Pusaka Bentala Rakyat.
That figure has only increased, according to analysis by campaign group Mighty Earth and conservation start-up The TreeMap.
Their work shows areas cleared include primary and secondary natural dryland and swamp forest, as well as secondary mangrove forest, savanna and bush.
“Usually, deforestation is a product of government not doing its job,” said Mighty Earth chief executive Glenn Hurowitz.
“But in this case, it’s actually the state saying we want to clear some of our last remaining forests, carbon-rich peatlands, habitat for rare animals,” he told AFP.
Indonesia’s government says the land targeted is degraded, already cultivated or in need of “optimization,” dismissing some areas as little more than swamps.
Environmentalists argue that misunderstands the local ecosystem.
“In South Papua, the landscape and the ecosystem is lowland forest,” said Samperante.
“There are often misconceptions or even belittling” of these ecosystems, he added.
Mapping done by Mighty Earth shows the project threatens a broader ecosystem range — including peatlands and forests the group says should be protected by a government moratorium on clearing.
“The tragedy in this project,” said Hurowitz, “is that Indonesia has made so much progress in breaking the link between agricultural expansion and deforestation.”
“Unfortunately, this single project threatens to undermine all progress.”
Indonesia has some of the world’s highest deforestation rates and Papua retains some of the largest remaining untouched tracts.
Indonesian think tank CELIOS says cutting down so much forest could derail Jakarta’s plan to reach net-zero by 2050.
For President Prabowo Subianto’s government, criticism of the project ignores Indonesia’s agricultural and economic realities.
He has made the scheme a priority, visiting soon after taking office.
In January, he said the country was on track to end rice imports by late 2025, and reiterated its energy independence needs.
For Iraqi Christians, pope’s visit was a rare moment of hope
His 2021 visit to Iraq, the first ever by a pope, came after years of conflict and displacement
Updated 22 April 2025
AP
BAGHDAD: The death of Pope Francis has sent shockwaves through Iraq’s Christian community, where his presence once brought hope after one of the darkest chapters in the country’s recent history.
His 2021 visit to Iraq, the first ever by a pope, came after years of conflict and displacement. Just a few years before that, many Iraqi Christians had fled their homes as Daesh militants swept across the country.
Christian communities in Iraq, once numbering over a million, had already been reduced to a fraction of their former number by decades of conflict and mass emigration.
In Mosul, the site of some of the fiercest battles between Iraqi security forces and Daesh, Chaldean Archbishop Najeeb Moussa Michaeel recalled the pope’s visit to the battle-scarred city at a time when many visitors were still afraid to come as a moment of joy, “like a wedding for the people of Mosul.”
“He broke this barrier and stood firm in the devastated city of Mosul, proclaiming a message of love, brotherhood, and peaceful coexistence,” Michaeel said.
As Francis delivered a speech in the city’s Al-Midan area, which had been almost completely reduced to rubble, the archbishop said, he saw tears falling from the pope’s eyes.
Sa’dullah Rassam, who was among the Christians who fled from Mosul in 2014 in the face of the Daesh offensive, was also crying as he watched the pope leave the church in Midan that day.
Rassam had spent years displaced in Irbil, the seat of northern Iraq’s semiautonomous Kurdish region, but was among the first Christians to return to Mosul, where he lives in a small house next to the church that Francis had visited.
As the pope’s convoy was leaving the church, Rassam stood outside watching.
NEOM SC promoted to SPL after beating Al-Arabi 3-0 in Saudi 1st Division
A brace by Ahmad Abdo, and a goal by Saeed Bin Rahma were enough to promote the Tabuk-based club to first-tier SPL
Updated 22 April 2025
Arab News
RIYADH: NEOM Sports Club were promoted to the Roshn Saudi Pro League on Tuesday after defeating Al-Arabi Club 3-0 in the Saudi First Division.
A brace by Ahmad Abdo, and a goal by Saeed Bin Rahma were enough to promote the Tabuk-based club from the second tier of Saudi football to the first-tier SPL.
Celebrating their promotion after their win, NEOM said on X: “With the determination of heroes, we made history. Officially, Neom Sports Club is promoted to the Roshn League.”
