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Sanaa, Jan 22 (IANS) Yemen's Houthi group on Wednesday said it had released the crew of Galaxy Leader vessel to support the Gaza ceasefire agreement reached between Hamas and Israel, Houthi-run al-Masirah TV reported.

"Based on the directives of leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi, the crew of the vessel, Galaxy Leader, was released today (Wednesday) in coordination with the Hamas movement and the mediation of the Sultanate of Oman," said the Houthi television.

"The crew of the Galaxy Leader vessel was handed over to our brothers in the Sultanate of Oman in coordination with Hamas as part of the ceasefire arrangements," it added.

The Houthi Supreme Political Council said in a statement that the seizure of the vessel on November 19, 2023, and the arrest of its crew were "part of the battle to support Hamas in its fighting against Israel in Gaza."

Neither the Houthi statement nor the Houthi television mentioned when the commercial vessel would be freed.

On November 19, 2023, the Houthi fighters, flying on a military helicopter, landed on the deck of the Galaxy Leader while it was sailing in the international waters off Yemen's Houthi-held Red Sea port city of Hodeidah.

The Houthi fighters broke the doors of the vessel's control room, took the vessel's 25 crew members hostages, and forced the vessel to Hodeidah.

The Houthi rebel group has been controlling much of northern Yemen, including Hodeidah, since late 2014 after the civil war broke out in Yemen, forcing the internationally-recognized Yemeni government out of the capital Sanaa.

Since mid-November 2023, the Houthi group has been launching rocket and drone attacks against Israel and disrupting "Israeli-linked" shipping in the Red Sea to show solidarity with Palestinians amid their war with Israel in Gaza.

The Houthi group stopped its attacks against Israeli cities on January 19, when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire agreement went into effect, Xinhua news agency reported.

However, the Houthi group reportedly said in an email to shipping companies on Jan. 19 that it "will continue to launch rocket attacks" against any ship linked to Israel, carrying goods to Israel, or raising the flag of Israel, in the Red Sea.

In the message, the Houthi group also threatened the Western shipping companies that any air strike by the United States, Britain, or any European countries against the group in northern Yemen, would be responded to by targeting that country's commercial ships in the Red Sea.

According to a recent televised report by the group's al-Masirah TV, the Houthi group has launched attacks against more than 100 commercial ships in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden since November 2023, including two vessels sunk in the Red Sea, off Hodeidah.

The Houthi attacks forced international shipping companies to change routes to the southern tip of Africa to escape rocket and drone strikes, leading to significant drop in revenues for the Egypt-run Suez Canal.

--IANS

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Cairo, Jan 22 (IANS) A total of 1,114 trucks of humanitarian aid have so far been sent to the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing since the border was reopened Sunday, Egypt's Al-Qahera News TV channel reported on Wednesday.

A convoy of 174 trucks of humanitarian aid, including 14 trucks carrying fuel, was sent on Wednesday, the fourth day of a truce between Israel and Hamas, into the Gaza Strip via the Rafah crossing, the report added.

The Rafah crossing is a vital entry point for international aid destined for Gaza. Israel has controlled the Palestinian side of the crossing since May 2024 and reopened it under the terms of the ceasefire.

Meanwhile, an Egyptian security source and another one with the Egyptian Red Crescent told Xinhua news agency that Egypt has sent dozens of heavy machines to rehabilitate the roads around the crossing, as well as those leading to Palestinian cities nearby, to facilitate the delivery of aid trucks and the reception of wounded Palestinians from Gaza.

On Sunday, a long line of trucks, laden with humanitarian aid, snaked its way towards the heavily-guarded Rafah crossing, hours after the ceasefire agreement came into effect.

The trucks, carrying food, clothes, medical equipment, tents, mobile toilets, and other relief materials, had been parked in several cities in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate, mainly Arish, Sheikh Zuweid, and Rafah, some of which had been waiting for months to reach Palestinians in need.

"I have brought in a lot of aid to the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war in October 2023, until the entry of aid to the Strip became almost non-existent due to the harsh Israeli policies," said 65-year-old truck driver Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed.

"Today, I feel happy not only because I will be able to bring in this aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, but also because the people of Gaza will be able to sleep without fear for the first time in more than a year after the ceasefire came into effect this morning," he told Xinhua.

Ibrahim said his truck was carrying clothes and blankets, noting that "the residents of the Strip need them greatly due to the bitter winter cold they suffer from while living in tents."

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, with its first stage spanning 42 days, was reached on Wednesday through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. It began taking effect on Sunday.

--IANS

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Mogadishu, Jan 22 (IANS) An estimated 71,000 people may have died between January 2022 and June 2024 due to the devastating drought that affected large parts of Somalia in 2022, according to a report released Wednesday in Somalia's capital, Mogadishu.

The report, launched by Somalia's Ministry of Health, the World Health Organization (WHO), and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), revealed that about 40 per cent of these "excess" deaths were children under the age of five.

The study, titled "From Insight to Action: An Update on Mortality Patterns in Somalia," noted that most of the excess deaths occurred in the south-central regions of the country, while the northeast regions experienced relatively low mortality despite high food insecurity.

This report offers a comprehensive analysis of the impact of droughts on population mortality over a 30-month period, which includes the 2022 drought that affected 7.9 million people, nearly half of Somalia's population, and brought the nation to the brink of famine.

UNICEF Representative in Somalia Wafaa Saeed Abdelatef emphasised the severe and lasting impact of climate change on vulnerable Somali families.

"Given the recurring nature of climate-induced crises, we must also scale up investments in community resilience to future shocks, anticipatory action, and prevention of disease outbreaks," Saeed said.

She said as resources to address humanitarian needs have become more limited, both the government and its partners must continue to explore innovative ways to expand access to life-saving services such as health, nutrition, water, and sanitation, Xinhua news agency reported.

Minister of Health and Human Services of Somalia Ali Hadji Adam Abubakar said that the ministry focuses on building a robust health system as the foundation for a healthy and thriving Somali society. "At the heart of this approach is delivering health and nutrition services in an integrated manner, at the lowest unit of the health delivery chain, and in a way that gives priority to vulnerable children and women," Adam said.

WHO Representative in Somalia Reinhilde Van de Weerdt said the deaths of more than 70,000 people, mostly children, are a stark reminder of the urgent need for continued support and resilience-building efforts.

"This also underlines the critical importance of strengthening Somalia's health emergency prevention, preparedness, readiness, and resilience system to effectively respond to emergencies and provide sustained care for people in need," she said.

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Jerusalem, Jan 22 (IANS) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied on Wednesday media reports claiming that Israel has allowed the Palestinian Authority (PA) to manage the Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt.

The Rafah crossing serves as a critical gateway for humanitarian aid and allows Gazans to travel abroad for essential medical treatment.

Earlier reports from Israeli and Palestinian media indicated that officials from the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the European Union discussed preparations for the PA to take control of the Palestinian side of the crossing, following the ceasefire agreement that went into effect on Sunday after 15 months of Israeli onslaught that devastated the enclave.

"The report is incorrect," Netanyahu's office said in a statement, accusing the PA of attempting "to create a false picture to the effect that it controls the crossing."

The statement notes that the Israeli military forces are currently deployed at the crossing point and "nobody passes through it without supervision and approval from the military and Shin Bet security agency."

The technical management at the crossing is handled by "Gazans unaffiliated with Hamas," who, according to Netanyahu's office, "have been managing civilian services in the enclave, such as electricity, water and sewage, since the start of the war." The European Union Border Assistance Mission is designed to support Palestinian efforts at monitoring and securing the crossing.

However, the office acknowledged that although the PA is not directly involved in managing the crossing, it is responsible for stamping passports. This action is essential, as international agreements stipulate that Palestinians can leave the Gaza Strip only with the PA's stamp.

"This arrangement is valid for the first phase of the agreement and will be reviewed later," the office said, Xinhua news agency reported.

Gaza has been under a blockade imposed by Israel since 2007. At the onset of the war in October 2023, Israel cut all water, food, electricity, and fuel supplies to Gaza, while allowing some aid to enter via trucks.

--IANS

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Washington, Jan 22 (IANS) US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Tuesday said in his first remarks after taking office that he wants the department to be "relevant" and at the "centre" of how America engages the world and not be relegated to a secondary position.

Rubio has taken over as the 72nd Secretary of State after being confirmed unanimously by the US Senate on Monday. He was administered the oath of office on Tuesday morning by Vice President J.D. Vance, erstwhile colleagues from their days in the Senate.

Rubio told the employees of the State Department in remarks that were streamed live to embassies and missions abroad, that he wants the department "to be relevant" and the centerpiece of US diplomacy.

"I don't mean that it's irrelevant now, but I want it to be where it belongs," he said.

"I want the Department of State to be at the centre of how America and Great gage the world, not just how we execute on it, but how we formulate it."

To that end, he explained that he wants to ensure that the Department has an environment here that's conducive to creativity, boldness, and new ideas, to recognise the dynamic world in which we live, one that is changing faster than it has ever changed before, and we need to be ahead of it.

"When the time comes for the principals to gather or even deputies," Rubio said referring to a meeting of key Cabinet members or their deputies, "I want the Department of State to have the best ideas and the best options available for the President, and then I want us to be able to execute them better than any agency in our government. That will also be a task of mine."

As a member of the US Senate and member of a committee interacting with the State Department, he said he has "watched from the Congressional side from time to time, administrations in both parties, in which sometimes the Department of State has been sort of relegated to a secondary role because some other agency can move faster or seems to be bolder or more creative".

Rubio did not name the agencies that have competed with the State Department without intending to. Such as the National Security Council which works out of the White House and has the advantage of physical proximity and familiarity with the President.

The National Security Council, headed by a National Security Adviser to the President, has emerged as a competing centre of US foreign policy.

He added: "We're going to change that. We want to be at the centerpiece. We want to be at the core of how we formulate foreign policy because we're going to have the best ideas of any agency and because we're going to execute it better and faster and more effectively than any other agency in our government, and I know we have the right team to do it. There's no other agency in our government that I'd rather lead because of the talent that's collected here in this room and those watching around the world, that will be our mission, and I hope you'll be able to do it together."

The new Secretary of State reminded the employees that the Department will be implementing President Donald Trump's vision of foreign policy, which he "defined through his campaign, as anything that makes us stronger or safer or more prosperous, and that will be our mission, that will be our job across the world, is to ensure that we have a foreign policy that advances the national interest of the US".

--IANS

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Washington, Jan 21 (IANS) In a sign perhaps of the second Trump administration's priorities, Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s first foreign engagement will be a meeting of the Quad foreign ministers later on Tuesday followed by bilateral meetings with each of them, starting with External Affairs Minister (EAM) S Jaishankar.

Rubio became the first of President Donald Trump's cabinet picks to be confirmed by the US Senate. He was approved unanimously by all Democrats voting with the Republicans who control the chamber. He was sworn in Tuesday morning by Vice-President J D Vance.

Rubio, who is a former Senator from Florida, will address the employees of the US State Department, according to a schedule released earlier. His first foreign engagement will be a meeting with "Indo-Pacific Quad Foreign Ministers" at the State Department — India's Jaishankar, Australia's Penny Wong and Japan's Iwaya Takeshi. This meeting will be followed by a separate one-on-one meeting between Rubio and the foreign ministers; Jaishankar first, the schedule mentioned.

It was President Donald Trump's first administration that resurrected the Quad, which was formed after the 2004 Tsunami and had fallen apart in 2008, with a meeting of officials on the sidelines of the 2017 meeting of ASEAN in Manila. From that first meeting, the group rapidly progressed to the level of foreign ministers, who first met on the margins of the UN General Assembly meetings in 2019 in New York. They met for the second time in October 2020.

President Joe Biden elevated the group to the level of leaders with a virtual summit in March 2021, just two months after taking office. The first in-person summit was held in September the same year and the leaders have met once every year since. The last Quad summit was hosted by President Biden at his home and school in Wilmington in his home state of Delaware.

The next summit is scheduled to be hosted by India, later this year.

--IANS

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Beirut, Jan 21 (IANS) Lebanese President Joseph Aoun called for Israel's immediate withdrawal from disputed territories during a meeting on Tuesday with Spanish Defence Minister Margarita Robles.

The talks come amid rising tensions along the border, exacerbated by violations of a recent ceasefire agreement.

Aoun warned that Israel's potential failure to meet the deadlines set in the November 27 ceasefire accord would destabilise the region further and hinder reconstruction efforts in the border areas. Under the agreement, Israeli forces are required to withdraw by January 26.

The meeting, held at Baabda Palace, coincided with reports of Israeli military activity near the southern town of Bint Jbeil. According to Lebanon's National News Agency, Israeli forces were demolishing property gates and firing in the area. Artillery fire also targeted the Sedana Heights near Shebaa earlier on Tuesday.

Robles reiterated Spain's support for Lebanon and stressed the importance of Israel adhering to the agreed withdrawal timeline. She also reaffirmed Spain's commitment to the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), where Spanish troops serve under UNIFIL Commander Aroldo Lazaro Saenz, Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate discussion, Lebanese Defence Minister Maurice Slim expressed gratitude for Spain's military support, while condemning what he described as Israeli violations of Lebanese sovereignty and UN Resolution 1701.

On Monday, residents of the southern Lebanese border town of Bint Jbeil and the nearby village of Ainata returned home following the completion of Lebanese Army deployments in the two areas, which the five-member committee -- comprising the US, France, Lebanon, Israel, and the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) -- overseeing the ceasefire agreement has declared safe.

The agreement between Israel and Hezbollah, took effect on November 27, 2024, ending nearly 14 months of fighting between the two sides. The agreement mandates Israel's withdrawal from Lebanese territory within 60 days, with the Lebanese Army assuming security control along the Lebanese-Israeli border and in the southern region, ensuring the area south of the Litani River remains free of weapons and militants.

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Gaza, Jan 21 (IANS) All sectors in the Gaza Strip require full support following the ceasefire between Hamas and Israel that took effect on Sunday, a UN official said on Tuesday.

"The role of the private sector in Gaza must be strengthened, and shelters in the Strip must be supported," Muhannad Hadi, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, told a press conference in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.

Hadi also stressed the need to bolster the work of UN agencies in partnership with local community organizations, noting that sectors such as health, education, nutrition, and psychological support are in dire need of assistance.

He called for "providing the necessary assistance to the people of Gaza in the reconstruction process to return families to their homes," Xinhua news agency reported.

The ceasefire put a pause to 15 months of fighting that caused immense human loss and destruction in the besieged enclave.

According to the UN, as of December 2024, approximately 69 per cent of the Gaza Strip, or 170,812 buildings, had been damaged or destroyed.

On Sunday, a long line of trucks, laden with humanitarian aid, snaked its way towards the heavily-guarded Rafah crossing, hours after a ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas came into effect.

The trucks, carrying food, clothes, medical equipment, tents, mobile toilets, and other relief materials, had been parked in several cities in Egypt's North Sinai Governorate, mainly Arish, Sheikh Zuweid, and Rafah, some of which had been waiting for months to reach Palestinians in need.

"I have brought in a lot of aid to the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war in October 2023, until the entry of aid to the Strip became almost non-existent due to the harsh Israeli policies," said 65-year-old truck driver Ahmed Ibrahim Ahmed.

"Today, I feel happy not only because I will be able to bring in this aid to the residents of the Gaza Strip, but also because the people of Gaza will be able to sleep without fear for the first time in more than a year after the ceasefire came into effect this morning," he told Xinhua.

Ibrahim said his truck was carrying clothes and blankets, noting that "the residents of the Strip need them greatly due to the bitter winter cold they suffer from while living in tents."

The ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, with its first stage spanning 42 days, was reached on Wednesday through the mediation of Egypt, Qatar, and the United States. It began taking effect on Sunday.

--IANS

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Jakarta, Jan 21 (IANS) The death toll from landslides that struck Pekalongan region in Indonesia's Central Java province on Tuesday has risen to 18, according to the provincial disaster mitigation agency.

Bergas Catursasi Penanggungan, head of the Central Java disaster mitigation agency, said that over nine people are still missing following the landslides that occurred in Petungkriyono village.

The landslides also critically injured 10 individuals, partially damaged two houses, and swept away several vehicles.

He said the floods and landslides in Pekalongan are believed to have been caused by heavy rain that fell in the area on Monday.

"The search for victims is still going on," he said, adding that heavy equipment was deployed to help search for other victims.

Penanggungan said humanitarian assistance, including food and temporary shelter, is being prepared for the affected families, Xinhua news agency reported.

Landslides have become frequent in Indonesia during the rainy season.

On Monday, five construction workers died when a landslide hit a village on the island of Bali following days of torrential rain.

According to the preliminary report, the disaster took place in their accommodations in Ubung Kaja Village in Bali's provincial capital of Denpasar. Three others, also workers, reportedly managed to survive the disaster and are now at the nearby hospital.

Rescuers deployed an excavator in a bid to evacuate the victims as the accommodations were buried at a depth of 50 metres, according to Nyoman Sidakarya, head of Bali's search and rescue agency.

The deceased were taken to nearby hospitals for identification.

Sidakarya said that the main cause of the landslide remained unknown, however, the region was poured by torrential rain on Sunday. He called on the public to stay vigilant amid the rainy season.

Indonesia frequently experiences hydrometeorological disasters during the season.

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Washington, Jan 21 (IANS) President Donald Trump has announced to establish the External Revenue Service to "tariff and tax foreign countries" instead of taxing US citizens and vowed to "overhaul" the trade system "to protect American workers and families".

"I will immediately begin the overhaul of our trade system to protect American workers and families, instead of taxing our citizens we will tariff and tax foreign countries to enrich our citizens. For this purpose, we are establishing the External Revenue

Service to collect all tariffs, duties, and revenues," Trump said at his inaugural address on Monday.

Trump added that this will bring in "massive amounts of money" to the country's treasury "coming from foreign sources".

Listing his executive orders, Trump also announced reinstating any service member who was unjustly expelled from the US military for objecting to the Covid-19 vaccine.

"I will reinstate any service members who were unjustly expelled from our military for objecting to the Covid vaccine mandate with full back pay, and I will sign an order to stop our warriors from being subjected to radical political theories and social experiments while on duty... Our armed forces will be freed to focus on their sole mission, defeating America's enemies," Trump said.

The US President also said that he would declare a "national energy emergency" to help to bring down prices.

"We will drill, baby, drill," Trump said during his inaugural address.

"The inflation crisis is caused by overspending and massive and escalating energy prices that is why I also declare a national energy emergency. America will be a manufacturing nation again and we will have something that no other manufacturing nation will ever have, the largest amount of oil and gas that any country on earth has and we are going to use it," Trump said.

The President emphasised that he would "bring law and order back" to the US and announced that the US would officially recognise only two genders, male and female.

"We are going to bring law and order back to our cities. As of today, it will henceforth be the official policy of the United States government that there are only two genders, male and female. This week, I will also end the government policy of trying to socially engineer race and gender into every aspect of public and private light. We will forge a society that is colourblind and merit-based," Trump said.

--IANS

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