Biden, the reluctant escalationist, seeks calm after Yemen strikes

US President Joe Biden visits Nowhere Coffee shop in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, on January 12, 2024. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 13 January 2024
Follow

Biden, the reluctant escalationist, seeks calm after Yemen strikes

  • The Houthis, by contrast, have defied US warnings by persistently firing on international ships in avowed solidarity with the Palestinians, disrupting global commerce in the Red Sea and forcing lengthy detours around Africa

WASHINGTON: President Joe Biden took office vowing to negotiate an end to a bloody war in Yemen and to remove US troops from harm’s way.
He enters his reelection year by launching strikes on the country instead, but his administration hopes calm can return.
Experts say the Biden administration and Yemen’s Houthi insurgents, as well as the group’s backers in Iran, have tacitly entered a delicate and dangerous understanding — they both feel the need to use force, while presuming the other side does not want to escalate.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken, on four tours of the Middle East since Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, unleashing massive retaliation on Gaza, has put a priority on containing the conflict.
US officials privately believe that Lebanon’s Hezbollah, also backed by Iran’s clerical state, has heard the message.
The Houthis, by contrast, have defied US warnings by persistently firing on international ships in avowed solidarity with the Palestinians, disrupting global commerce in the Red Sea and forcing lengthy detours around Africa.
Blinken on his latest tour briefed regional partners on Friday’s US and British strikes against the Houthis — which took place as he was on his plane back to Washington — and made clear that the United States saw the strikes as defensive, and not a new salvo in a regional war.
“I don’t think the conflict is escalating. There are lots of danger points; we’re trying to deal with each of them,” Blinken told reporters Thursday in Cairo, his last stop.
Biden, in a statement announcing the strikes, notably did not mention Iran — despite earlier accusations by the United States that Tehran provided the capacity for the Houthi attacks. The omission likely signals that the regional power is not in direct US crosshairs.
The Biden administration also insisted it was retaliating, not escalating, after strikes on Iranian-linked Shiite militias in Iraq, following more than 100 attacks on US forces there and in neighboring Syria since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war.

After extensive US and UN diplomacy, a truce has held since April 2022 in Yemen between the Houthis and the Saudi-backed, internationally recognized government, ending a decade of civil war that caused one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.
Michael Knights, a fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy who has studied the Houthis, said that the insurgents were keenly aware that the United States did not want to destroy the uneasy peace in Yemen, the Arabian peninsula’s poorest country.
The Houthis have a “very high pain tolerance” after years of fighting, and the strikes on their missile capacity are unlikely to change their hold on power in Yemen, Knights said.
“The Houthis kind of understand that they’re bulletproof at the moment,” he said.
“They have a lot of license to do what they’re going to do and thumb their nose at the world’s largest power, and they are kind of high on this moment — they are intoxicated by it.”
He expected the Houthis to phase down the confrontation in tandem with the Gaza war, although Israel has vowed no let-up in its campaign to eradicate Hamas.
“What the US is trying to do is make the Houthis back down before the Gaza conflict ends, and that is probably impossible,” he said.

Sarhang Hamasaeed, director of Middle East programs at the US Institute of Peace, said the Houthis saw the confrontation as a “manageable” way to boost their profile in the region.
“But it is very possible the loss of life on any side could push one side to escalate more, and that could continue the chain reaction and a more regional confrontation,” Hamasaeed said.
“I think the key actors do not want it, but that does not mean it’s inevitable,” he said.
Jon Alterman, senior vice president at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, wrote in an analysis that Iran likely was “delighted” by the Houthi attacks on international ships, from which Tehran can “enjoy the benefits without paying the costs.”
But he said it was a mistake to believe that Iran was directing the attacks and, despite the risks and economic damage, Alterman doubted the Houthi attacks in themselves would bring a wider Middle East war.
“Neither side is looking to have an all-out war, and they are badly mismatched,” he said.
 

 


China says top military official Miao Hua suspended, under investigation

Updated 59 min 8 sec ago
Follow

China says top military official Miao Hua suspended, under investigation

  • Latest senior apparatchik to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country’s armed force
  • Unconfirmed reports say defense minister Dong Jun was also placed under investigation for corruption

BEIJING: China said Thursday that top military official Miao Hua had been removed from office and was suspected of “serious violations of discipline,” the latest senior apparatchik to fall in a sweeping crackdown on graft in the country’s armed forces.
The ruling Chinese Communist Party “has decided to suspend Miao Hua from duty pending investigation,” Wu Qian, spokesman of China’s Ministry of Defense, told a press briefing.
Wu did not provide further details about the charges against Admiral Miao, a member of Beijing’s powerful Central Military Commission.
But “serious violations of discipline” are commonly used by officials in China as a euphemism for corruption.
The announcement follows reports, unconfirmed by Beijing, that Defense Minister Dong Jun has been placed under investigation for corruption.
If confirmed, Dong would be the third Chinese defense minister in a row to be probed for graft.


India’s parliament suspended temporarily after row over allegations against Adani group

Updated 28 November 2024
Follow

India’s parliament suspended temporarily after row over allegations against Adani group

  • The problem is that India’s states are unprepared for the rapid rise in renewable generating capacity, lack adequate transmission infrastructure and storage

NEW DELHI: Both houses of Indian parliament were suspended temporarily on Thursday within minutes of opening as opposition lawmakers disrupted proceedings for the third day this week seeking a discussion on allegations against the Adani Group.

US authorities have accused Gautam Adani, his nephew Sagar Adani and managing director of Adani Green, Vneet S. Jaain, of being part of a scheme to pay bribes of $265 million to secure Indian solar power supply contracts, and misleading US investors during fund raises there.

“We want a discussion on this in parliament. It is going to be the third day that we are demanding a reply from the prime minister” on the Adani issue, Manickam Tagore, a lawmaker from the main opposition Congress party, which has been leading the protests against the business group, told news agency ANI.

Many of India’s opposition parties accuse Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of favoring Adani and blocking investigations against him in India, accusations both have denied.

Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who has been a vocal critic of Adani, said Gautam Adani, 62, should be arrested.

While the government has not made any comment on the indictment, Modi’s BJP has said it had no reason to defend Adani, adding that the party was not against industrialists and considered them partners in nation-building efforts.

“Let him defend himself,” BJP spokesperson Gopal Krishna Agarwal said on Tuesday, adding that the law would take its course.


Landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra kill at least 27, rescuers search for missing

Updated 28 November 2024
Follow

Landslides in Indonesia’s Sumatra kill at least 27, rescuers search for missing

  • Torrential rain in the province since last week had caused flash floods and landslides in four different districts
  • Extreme weather is expected in Indonesia toward the end of 2024, as the La Nina phenomenon increases rainfalls across the tropical archipelago

JAKARTA: Indonesian rescuers are searching for passengers trapped in a minibus buried in mud after flash floods and landslides hit several locations in North Sumatra province, killing at least 27, an official said on Thursday.
Torrential rain in the province since last week had caused flash floods and landslides in four different districts, Indonesia’s disaster agency has said.
A landslide in a village in Deli Serdang on Wednesday killed seven and injured 20, Hadi Wahyudi, North Sumatra police spokesperson told Reuters.
Rescuers were looking for missing people, including those trapped in a minibus and other vehicles on a hilly interprovince road hit by a mudslide, he said, adding he could not give an estimate for the number of affected people.
In other places, rescuers have found 20 dead during a search that started over the weekend. They are still searching for two missing.
“Today, we’re focusing our search to find missing people and clearing the roads affected by the landslides,” said Hadi, adding excavators were deployed.
The landslides and flash floods damaged houses, mosques, and rice fields.
Heavy rains also triggered floods in the provincial capital of Medan, forcing a delay in votes for a regional election in some polling stations.
Extreme weather is expected in Indonesia toward the end of 2024, as the La Nina phenomenon increases rainfalls across the tropical archipelago, the country’s weather agency has warned.


The Australian Senate debates the world’s first social media ban for children under 16

Updated 28 November 2024
Follow

The Australian Senate debates the world’s first social media ban for children under 16

  • The bill that would make social media platforms liable for fines of up to $33 million for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts

MELBOURNE: The Australian Senate was debating a ban on children younger than 16 years old from social media Thursday after the House of Representatives overwhelmingly supported the age restriction.
The bill that would make platforms including TikTok, Facebook, Snapchat, Reddit, X and Instagram liable for fines of up to 50 million Australian dollars ($33 million) for systemic failures to prevent young children from holding accounts.
It is likely to be passed by the Senate on Thursday, the Parliament’s final session for the year and potentially the last before elections, which are due within months.
The major parties’ support for the ban all but guarantees the legislation will become law. But many child welfare and mental health advocates are concerned about unintended consequences.
Unaligned Sen. Jacqui Lambie complained about the limited amount of time the government gave the Senate to debate the age restriction, which she described as “undercooked.”
“I thought this was a good idea. A lot of people out there thought it was a good idea until we looked at the detail and, let’s be honest, there’s no detail,” Lambie told the Senate.
Opposition Sen. Maria Kovacic said the bill was not radical but necessary.
“The core focus of this legislation is simple: It demands that social media companies take reasonable steps to identify and remove underage users from their platforms,” Kovacic told the Senate.
“This is a responsibility these companies should have been fulfilling long ago, but for too long they have shirked these responsibilities in favor of profit,” she added.
Sen. David Shoebridge, from the minor Greens party, said mental health experts agreed that the ban could dangerously isolate many children who used social media to find support.
“This policy will hurt vulnerable young people the most, especially in regional communities and especially the LGBTQI community, by cutting them off,” Shoebridge told the Senate.
The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly carried the bill 102 votes to 13.
Communications Minister Michelle Rowland urged senators to pass the bill which she said reflected the Australian community’s view.
“The ... government is on the side of supporting parents and protecting young people,” Rowland told the House.
Once the legislation becomes law, the platforms would have one year to work out how they could implement the ban before penalties are enforced.
The platforms complained that the law would be unworkable, and urged the Senate to delay the vote until at least June next year when a government-commissioned evaluation of age assurance technologies made its report on how young children could be excluded.
Critics argue the government is attempting to convince parents it is protecting their children ahead of general elections due by May. The government hopes that voters will reward it for responding to parents’ concerns about their children’s addiction to social media. Some argue the legislation could cause more harm than it prevents.
Criticisms include that the legislation was rushed through Parliament without adequate scrutiny, is ineffective, poses privacy risks for all users, and undermines parental authority to make decisions for their children.
Opponents of the bill also argue the ban would isolate children, deprive them of the positive aspects of social media, drive them to the dark web, discourage children too young for social media to report harm and reduce incentives for platforms to improve online safety.


Explosions heard in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi – media reports

Updated 28 November 2024
Follow

Explosions heard in Ukraine’s Odesa, Kropyvnytskyi – media reports

  • Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper urged residents to stay in shelter in a message on the Telegram app

Explosions were heard in the Ukrainian Black Sea port city of Odesa and the city of Kropyvnytskyi in central Ukraine on Thursday morning amid reports of a Russian cruise missile attack, Ukrainian news outlet Zerkalo Tyzhnya and other local media reported.
Odesa regional governor Oleh Kiper urged residents to stay in shelter in a message on the Telegram app.