Yemen Houthis hijack Israeli ship ‘Galaxy Leader’ in red sea: Reports
Tel-Aviv: As the Israel-Hamas war enters its 44th day, reports of an Israeli ship named ‘Galaxy Leader’ being hijacked by Yemeni Houthi in the Red Sea have started emerging.
Reports further add that around 22 people were on board the ship.
Citing Israeli sources, news agency Alarabiya wrote that the Houthis seized a vessel owned partially by Israel in the Red Sea, but no Israeli nationals were on the ship.
In the meantime, on Sunday, Yahya Sarea, a spokesman of the Iran-backed Houthis on its Telegram channel, asserted that the group would aim to capture all ships bearing the Israeli flag, owned or operated by Israeli companies.
Sarea further requested all countries to withdraw their citizens working onboard any such ships.
Similarly, on Tuesday, Houthis leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi had cautioned that his forces would further launch attacks on Israel and that they would specifically target Israeli ships in the red sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
Abdulmalik in a broadcast speech, stated, “ Our eyes are open to constantly keeping a check, searching for any Israeli ship in the Red Sea, especially in Bab al-Mandab, and near Yemeni regional waters.”
The organization has earlier this month launched several missile and drone attacks against Israel, stressing on the risk of the ongoing Israel-Hamas war of sprawling to the wider Middle east.
The Houthis, which has been at war against an Arab-led coalition since 2015, now with thousands of fighters and huge amounts of ammunition, ballistic missiles and drones has emerged as a major force within the Arabian Peninsula. The group predominantly controls northern yemen and its Red Sea coasts.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
