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Here are the five things you need to know today:
YEMEN. SAUDI ARABIA. The Bab-el-Mandeb heats up again.
ISRAEL. BRITAIN. A dispute goes far beyond the West Bank.
GREENLAND. Amid US bullying, Nuuk scores an EU deal.
CANADA. As new tariffs take effect, so do new threats.
THE PHILIPPINES. The war between the ruling dynasts escalates.
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YEMEN. SAUDI ARABIA. Question and Ansar
The Bab-el-Mandeb heats up again.
Yemen’s Houthi rebels hit Saudi Aramco’s refinery at Jizan again after the Iran-backed militia blamed Riyadh for a strike on a prison, killing seven. Yemen’s Saudi-backed government said it would retake Sana’a as the Houthis moved south.
INTELLIGENCE. With Tehran distracted and the ink still wet on a security pact with Ankara and Islamabad, Riyadh may see the time as ripe for it and its proxy in Aden to push back on the Houthis, who have menaced Red Sea shipping for years. Yet as Hormuz remains largely closed and US diesel prices approach a $6 per gallon average, the risks are high. And the Houthis’ move to conquer more of the southwest, closer to Bab-el-Mandeb, could boost their leverage.
FOR BUSINESS. Unlike (arguably) Iran for Hormuz, the Houthis don’t actually control the Bab-el-Mandeb strait – the Red Sea’s southern chokepoint. But if they can move south from their port of Hodeidah, and split government forces in two, they may be able to get more from the Saudis, ranging from higher protection fees (as paid before the current outbreak of fighting) to diplomatic recognition, risking a further split with the UAE, a silent partner in the conflict.
ISRAEL. BRITAIN. From the river to the Scotia Sea
A dispute goes far beyond the West Bank.
The UK was expected to ban goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank Tuesday, provoking Israel’s finance minister to call for the British ambassador’s expulsion and the security minister to call for sanctions on the Falklands.
INTELLIGENCE. A strong bilateral response was expected, and it will be of no