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[ad_1] The container ship, Safeen Pride, with a destination of 'HODEIDAH (ARMED GUARDS)' seen at sea on January 17, 2024 in Djibouti, Djibouti.  Luke Dray | Getty Images Commanders from Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) and Lebanon's Hezbollah group are on the ground in Yemen helping to direct and oversee Houthi attacks on Red Sea shipping, four regional and two Iranian sources told Reuters. Iran — which has armed, trained and funded the Houthis — stepped up its weapons supplies to the militia in the wake of the war in Gaza, which erupted after Iranian-backed militants Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, the four regional sources said. Tehran has provided advanced drones, anti-ship cruise missiles, precision-strike ballistic missiles and medium-range missiles to the Houthis, who started targeting commercial vessels in November in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza, the sources said. IRGC commanders and advisers are also providing know-how, data and in

[ad_1] Eric Adams, mayor of New York, speaks during the U.S. Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, Jan. 20, 2022. Eric Lee | Bloomberg | Getty Images New York City banned TikTok on government-owned devices Wednesday, pointing to security concerns that have made the app a target of bipartisan scrutiny across the country. Congress already voted to ban TikTok on federal devices last year and several states have taken similar steps. The concern generally stems from TikTok's ownership by China-based tech company ByteDance, since many policymakers fear that structure could make U.S. users' information vulnerable to being accessed by the Chinese government, if forced to hand over information to comply with Chinese law . An NYC City Hall Spokesperson told WNBC in a statement that the ban was a result of the city's Cyber Command's conclusion that TikTok "posed a security threat to the city's technical networks." City agencies h

[ad_1] Next phase of Israeli campaign could be 'something different' from ground incursion: IDF The Israel Defense Forces is advancing its campaign to eliminate the military abilities of Palestinian militant group Hamas, a spokesperson said, but the next step may not be a long-anticipated ground incursion. "We are preparing for the next stages of war. We haven't said what they will be. Everybody's talking about the ground offensive. It might be something different," the IDF's Lt Colonel Richard Hecht told reporters, according to Reuters. Expectations have mounted that Israel will launch a ground offensive into the besieged Gaza Strip, which it has sealed off from its electricity, fuel, food and water supplies. Israeli troops have amassed at the border, with the IDF on Friday last week instructing the residents of Gaza City to evacuate south of the Wadi Gaza wetlands. But there has been no ground offensive as yet amid widespread warnings from human rig

[ad_1] African leaders push Putin on grain deal resolution, peace plan A bakery along an alley in Cairo on July 27, 2023. Khaled Desouki | AFP | Getty Images African leaders gathered in St. Petersburg for a Russia-Africa summit urged President Vladimir Putin to move ahead with their peace plan for the conflict in Ukraine and provide guarantees for the safe passage of grain to their countries. "The African (peace) initiative deserves the closest attention, it mustn't be underestimated," Congo Republic President Denis Sassou Nguesso told Putin and African heads of state, according to a Reuters translation. "We once again urgently call for the restoration of peace in Europe," he added. Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi also called on Russia to restore the Black Sea Grain Initiative, which Moscow exited last week. Prior to the withdrawal, it had allowed for the safe, global export of grain from Ukraine. Putin says Russia withdrew from the pact because

[ad_1] Military vehicles queue to launch U.S.-made TOW A2 missiles during a live firing exercise in Pingtung county on July 2023. Sam Yeh | Afp | Getty Images The United States unveiled a Taiwan weapons aid package worth up to $345 million on Friday, a move likely to anger China even as the Biden administration declined to publicly provide details on the arms in the package. Congress authorized up to $1 billion worth of Presidential Drawdown Authority weapons aid for Taiwan, which strongly rejects Chinese sovereignty claims, in the 2023 budget. Beijing has repeatedly demanded the United States, Taiwan's most important arms supplier, halt the sale of weapons to the island. In recent weeks, four sources told Reuters the package was expected to include four unarmed MQ-9A reconnaissance drones, but noted their inclusion could fall through as officials work through details on removing some of the advanced equipment from the drones that only the U.S. Air Force is allowed access to.

[ad_1] Ukrainian parliament member gives thanks after UK defense minister urges more gratitude from Kyiv Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko on Twitter thanked British Defense Minister Ben Wallace, a day after the U.K. politician urged Kyiv to show more gratitude to invite further donations from Western politicians. "I want to say that we are really grateful to @BWallaceMP for everything he has done for Ukraine. The United Kingdom has always supported us, they are one of our most important allies. They helped us with weapons (a lot of weapons) and provided humanitarian aid. Unfortunately, such words were said yesterday. But Ben Wallace did a lot for our country," Goncharenko said. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace. Ian Forsyth | Getty Images News | Getty Images The U.K. has been a steadfast supporter and aid supplier for Kyiv since Russia's full-fledged invasion of Ukraine last year. "Whether we like it or not, people want to see gratitude,&quo