Voice Of America: Houthi Attacks Undermine Chance For Peace In Yemen

““The Houthis’ reckless attacks in the Red Sea, and the worsening situation for the Yemeni people caused by Houthi actions, continue to be alarming and undermine the prospects for peace in Yemen,” declared Ambassador Robert Wood , U.S. Alternative Representative for Special Political Affairs at the United Nations. “In addition to the impacts on global shipping, these continued Houthi attacks also impede the delivery of humanitarian assistance to 11.2 million Yemenis and to people in dire need in other countries. . . .In carrying out these attacks, the Houthis are trying to distract attention from their many failures and human rights abuses, putting their own interests ahead of those of average Yemenis.” The Houthi’s ongoing, cruel detention of members of vulnerable religious minority communities is “unacceptable,” said Ambassador Wood”

The New York Times: Attack By Hezbollah Injures 14 Israeli Soldiers In Border Village

“The Lebanese militant group Hezbollah claimed responsibility for a cross-border drone and missile attack in northern Israel on Wednesday that the Israeli military said had injured 14 soldiers, six of them severely. It was one of the most damaging attacks in recent months by Hezbollah, Iran’s most powerful regional proxy, in its continuing clashes with Israel. The attack came a day after Israel’s targeted killing of two Hezbollah commanders as fears continue to grow of a broader conflict between Israel and Tehran, which mounted a wide aerial attack on Israel over the weekend. An internal Israeli army memo said an initial investigation found that Hezbollah had fired two anti-tank rockets at an Israeli Bedouin border village, Arab al-Aramshe, before dispatching an exploding drone. An Israeli military spokeswoman declined to comment on the memo.”

CEP Mentions

Yahoo News UK: Who Are The Houthi Rebels And What Are Their Links To Iran?

“…The Houthis are described by the Counter Extremism Project (CEP), an organisation which works to combat extremist groups and ideologies, as "an Iranian-backed, Shiite Muslim armed religious and political movement in Yemen". The Houthis are at the centre of Yemen's civil war. According to a US Department of State report, they control "one-third of the country’s territory, which contains 70% to 80% of the population". The group swept into Yemen's capital, Sanaa, in 2014 when it ousted the internationally recognised government.”

UAZMI: What Do Arab Nations Think About The Israel-Iran Tensions? - DW News.

“As Israel considers its response to Iran's attack and continues to fight its war against Hamas in Gaza, there are fears over where these regional tensions could head. The international community is observing with great interest how Arab nations in the region now react. It's a complex part of the world with many rivals, both political and religious, vying for influence. Israel's neighbor Jordan and regional heavyweight Saudi Arabia both appeared to help defend Israel from Iran's missiles - to the surprise of many. Both countries are involved in a complicated balancing act, making it difficult to predict their future actions. Interview with Hans-Jakob Schindler.”

Breaking Africa News: Rwanda: Tribert Rujugiro – Exiled Rwandan Accused Of Terrorism Financing Is Dead

“…Released by the Counter Extremism Project, titled “An Unholy Alliance: Connections between Extremism and Illicit Trade in East Africa”, the report highlighted the growing threat to regional stability posed by illicit markets and trade driven by corruption. The Counter Extremism Project (CEP) is an international policy organization led by a distinguished group of former world leaders and diplomats based in Germany, New York, and London.”

Conservative Home: Ian Acheson: Britain’s High-Security Prison System Is Rotting From The Head. Chalk Must Take The Fight To The Mandarins.

“The high-security prison system – the specialist jails where hundreds of the worst offenders in the system such as predatory rapists, child murderers, organised crime bosses, and terrorists end up – is in trouble. Out of more than a hundred jails, there are six main establishments. They are not overcrowded. Most have modern facilities. All have considerably more staff and security infrastructure than lower-security prisons. They hold all of our national security risk, and are designed around the principle that the people held within those walls are so dangerous escape must be made impossible.”

Syria

Associated Press: Human Rights Group Alleges Widespread Torture, Abuse Of Detainees Accused Of IS Affiliation In Syria

“Amnesty International said Wednesday it has documented widespread abuses, including torture and deprivation of medical care, in detention facilities holding thousands of suspected Islamic State members and their relatives in northeast Syria. The centers and camps hold about 56,000 people — the majority of them children and teens — and are run by local authorities affiliated with the U.S.-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces. The SDF and its allies, including U.S.-led coalition forces, defeated the Islamic State group in Syria in 2019, ending its self-proclaimed Islamic “caliphate” that had ruled over a large swath of territory straddling Iraq and Syria. What to do with the suspected IS fighters and their families has become an intractable issue. Many countries whose citizens traveled to Syria to join IS have been reluctant to repatriate them, as have local communities in Syria.”

Iran

Bloomberg: Iran Ship Linked To Houthi Attacks Goes Home Amid Tensions

“An Iranian ship that’s been linked to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea is returning home, removing one of Iran’s prominent assets in the area as the country braces for a potential Israeli attack. Behshad, which Iran calls an “intelligence and logistics” ship, left its position near the coast of Yemen on April 4 then stopped broadcasting its location until it reappeared near the Strait of Hormuz early on April 18, according to tracking data compiled by Bloomberg. It’s signaling it will arrive at Iran’s Bandar Abbas port later Thursday. The vessel, whose official mission is to combat piracy, was hit by a US cyberattack earlier this year for its alleged role in supporting the Houthis with intelligence to help them target commercial shipping in the region. Behshad’s redeployment came days after a suspected Israeli air strike on Iran’s consulate in Damascus on April 1. Tehran responded last weekend with an unprecedented missile and drone attack on the Jewish state, and is now bracing for an Israeli response. The US is calling for restraint to avoid further escalation.”

The New York Times: Miscalculation Led To Escalation In Clash Between Israel And Iran

“Israel was mere moments away from an airstrike on April 1 that killed several senior Iranian commanders at Iran’s embassy complex in Syria when it told the United States what was about to happen. Israel’s closest ally had just been caught off guard. Aides quickly alerted Jake Sullivan, President Biden’s national security adviser; Jon Finer, the deputy national security adviser; Brett McGurk, Mr. Biden’s Middle East coordinator; and others, who saw that the strike could have serious consequences, a U.S. official said. Publicly, U.S. officials voiced support for Israel, but privately, they expressed anger that it would take such aggressive action against Iran without consulting Washington. The Israelis had badly miscalculated, thinking that Iran would not react strongly, according to multiple American officials who were involved in high-level discussions after the attack, a view shared by a senior Israeli official. On Saturday, Iran launched a retaliatory barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles at Israel, an unexpectedly large-scale response, if one that did minimal damage.”

Afghanistan

Voice Of America: Journalist Jailed As Taliban Continue Media Crackdown

“Free-press advocates are calling on de facto Taliban authorities in Afghanistan to release a local reporter jailed on unspecified charges. Habib Rahman Taseer, a former Pashto-language reporter for Azadi Radio — a Prague-based affiliate of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, VOA’s parent organization — was detained by the Taliban intelligence agency in Ghazni province this month. According to the Afghanistan Journalists Center, or AFJC, he was subsequently transferred to a provincial prison on Wednesday. “We demand his immediate and unconditional release,” AFJC said in a statement. The Taliban have banned VOA and Azadi Radio broadcasts in Afghanistan, accusing the U.S.-funded organizations of airing anti-Taliban content. Both media entities firmly deny the accusation, instead saying that the Islamist regime stifles free press. Officials at the Afghan Ministry of Information and Culture, which houses a commission that regulates media, did not respond to requests for comment regarding Taseer's detention.”

Modern Diplomacy: The Taliban Can Contribute To The Fight Against IS-K

“The terrorist organisation known as “The Islamic State – Khorasan Province (IS-K)” has the potential to become one of the deadliest factions on the continent if it doesn’t face serious resistance. With a relatively small number of bases located in hidden and difficult-to-reach locations in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the IS-K organisation has aggressive plans that could pose a threat to the security of several countries in the West and East. Both the Taliban and the unrecognised Afghan government can become a serious force that will be able to suppress this branch of the Islamic State. In March of this year, a devastating terrorist attack took place in Russia, which was later claimed by a group known as IS-K. This situation has forced us to take another look at this organization. Despite the presence of serious and professional security measures, the terrorist organization was able to carry out a major terrorist attack, resulting in the death of more than 140 innocent civilians. The investigation of this crime is still ongoing and not all of the organizers have yet been fully identified. However, it is widely acknowledged by experts that IS-K terrorists were involved in the attack.”

Russia

The Telegraph: ‘Russian Spies’ Arrested In Germany Attempting To Attack Weapons Deliveries To Ukraine

“German police have arrested two suspected Russian agents who were allegedly planning sabotage attacks on US military bases and attacks on weapons deliveries to Ukraine. The two Russian-German spies were arrested by police commandos on Wednesday morning in the town of Bayreuth, prosecutors disclosed on Thursday morning. It is the latest in a string of espionage scandals to shock Germany – a German intelligence officer is currently on trial in a separate case for allegedly passing intelligence to Moscow.”

Pakistan

Associated Press: Pakistani Security Forces Kill 7 Militants Trying To Sneak Into The Country From Afghanistan

“Pakistani security forces killed seven militants in a remote northwestern border area on Wednesday when they tried to sneak into the country from Afghanistan, the military said. The military’s statement said the insurgents had been detected near Ghulam Khan, a border town in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The statement said Pakistan has long urged Afghanistan to ensure effective border management. Pakistan often accuses Kabul of turning a blind eye to militants operating near the frontier, which the Afghan authorities deny. Pakistan has witnessed a surge in violence, mostly blamed on the Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan. It is a separate group but allied with the Afghan Taliban, who seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Many TTP leaders and fighters have found sanctuary in Afghanistan since then.”

Lebanon

Reuters: Hezbollah Launches Missiles And Drones At Northern Israel, Wounding 14 Israeli Soldiers

“Lebanon's Hezbollah said on Wednesday it launched missiles and drones at a military facility in northern Israel in retaliation for Israeli strikes that killed Hezbollah members, an incident that the Israeli military said left 14 soldiers wounded. The military said six of the soldiers were in serious condition. It said it "struck the sources of fire" after identifying several anti-tank missile and drone launches from Lebanon towards the Bedouin village of Arab al-Aramshe. The Israeli Ynet news site said the soldiers were in a community centre in the village. On Tuesday, Israeli strikes in southern Lebanon killed three people, including a Hezbollah field commander, Lebanese security sources said. Israeli forces and Lebanon's armed group Hezbollah have been exchanging fire for over six months in parallel to the Gaza war, in the most serious hostilities since they fought a major war in 2006.”

Qatar

Reuters: Qatar Re-Evaluating Its Role As Mediator In Gaza Ceasefire Talks

“Qatar is re-evaluating its role as mediator in ceasefire talks between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, citing concerns that its efforts are being undermined by politicians seeking to score points, its prime minister said on Wednesday. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who is also foreign minister, said there was a "misuse of this mediation for narrow political interests, and this necessitated Qatar to undertake a full evaluation of this role". Sheikh Mohammed did not identify any politicians by name. Qatar's embassy in Washington on Tuesday criticised comments made by U.S. Democratic congressman Steny Hoyer, in which he called on the U.S. to "reevaluate" its relationship with Qatar. Hoyer said on Monday that Qatar must threaten Hamas with "repercussions" if the militant Palestinian group "continues to block progress towards releasing the hostages and establishing a temporary ceasefire".”

Middle East

Associated Press: The Latest | Netanyahu Says Israel Will Decide How To Respond As Iran Warns Against Retaliation

“Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israel would decide whether and how to respond to Iran’s major air assault earlier this week, brushing off calls for restraint from close allies. Israel has vowed to respond to Iran’s unprecedented attack, leaving the region bracing for further escalation after months of fighting in Gaza. Israel’s allies have been urging Israel to hold back on any response to the attack that could spiral. The diplomatic pressure came as Iran’s president warned that even the “tiniest” invasion of its territory would bring a “massive and harsh” response. Over the weekend, Iran launched hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel after an apparent Israeli strike killed two Iranian generals. Israel and Iran have waged a long shadow war, but the strike was Iran’s first direct military attack on Israel. Israel says it and its partners intercepted nearly all the missiles and drones.”

Associated Press: UN Agency Helping Palestinians In Gaza Seeks Support Against Israel’s Demands For Its Dissolution

“The head of the U.N. agency that has helped millions of Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank for decades urged the Security Council on Wednesday to ensure its survival as Israel again demanded its dissolution, accusing the agency of becoming part of Hamas’ “terror war machine.” Philippe Lazzarini told the council that dismantling the agency known as UNRWA would deepen Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and speed up the onset of famine. International experts have warned of imminent famine in northern Gaza and said half the territory’s 2.3 million people could be pushed to the brink of starvation if the six-month Israeli-Hamas war intensifies. Lazzarini said ending the agency’s operations also would have other “lasting repercussions” on Gaza, leaving a half million children without education and “fueling anger, resentment and endless cycles of violence.” In addition, it would jeopardize the transition when the war ends by depriving Gaza’s population of essential services, including health care, food and other humanitarian aid, he said.”

Reuters: Jordan Says Israeli Retaliation For Iran Strikes Risks Wider Regional War

“Jordan's Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said on Wednesday an Israeli retaliation against Iranian strikes could bring a real risk of dragging the whole region into a devastating war. In an interview released by state media, Safadi said his country was lobbying major powers against an escalation that would have far-reaching consequences for regional stability and security. "The risks are enormous. That could drag the whole region into war, which would be devastating to us in the region and we’ll have very, very serious implications for the rest of the world including the U.S," Safadi said. "The situation is too dangerous. The chances of regional explosion are real, and that has got to stop. We’ve got to make sure there’s no further escalation," he added. Staunch U.S. ally Jordan, with the help of American air defences and support from the UK and France, shot down most of the Iranian drones and missiles that were flying over the country towards Jerusalem and a wide range of targets in Israel.”

Somalia

Garowe Online: Somalia Publishes List Of 9 Al-Shabaab Associates

“In line with the enforcement of various strategic measures geared towards curbing violent extremism, Somalia has published nine names of individuals collaborating with Al-Shabaab by either coordinating attacks or overseeing extortion across the country. The National Anti-money Laundering and Counter-Terrorism Financing Committee (NAMLC) issued the list of individuals suspected of financing Al-Shabaab, citing credible evidence about activities perpetuated by the individuals. The suspects, the NAMLC added, have mainly been extorting innocent civilians and, or directly financing the Al-Shabaab across the country, causing havoc in the process. The individuals have been placed on the blacklist as authorities pursue them. Among those placed on the list are Abdullahi Tahleel Hire, Hassan Ali Afgio, Abdulkarim Ahmed Jugjuge, Feisal Abdullahi Yusuf, Noah Isse Lugole, and Sayed Ali Shirwa. They come mainly from southern parts of the country where Al-Shabaab militants are dominant.”

Europe

Associated Press: Switzerland’s Lower House Moves To Ban Use Of Nazi And Extremist Symbols That Could Stir Violence

“The lower house of Swiss parliament on Wednesday followed in the footsteps of the Senate, or upper house, in approving a measure that would ban the use of, public wearing or display of Nazi and racist symbols that could foment extremist hate or violence. The proposal — years in the making — goes beyond a simple ban on Nazi memorabilia, which had failed in the past in parliament, to include other forms of extremist symbols that could stir hatred or violence. The National Council in the capital, Bern, in a 133-38 vote with 17 abstentions, passed Most political groups backed the measure and overcame opposition from the right-wing Swiss People’s Party, which has the most seats in the two chambers. The vote puts Switzerland on track to join other European countries that have enacted similar bans. Efforts to push for tougher legislation have accelerated in recent months in the wake of a surge of antisemitic attacks across Europe and beyond that accompanied the start of the latest Israel-Hamas war in Gaza more than six months ago.”

Australia

Associated Press: Sydney Teen Accused Of Stabbing 2 Clerics Showed No Signs Of Radicalization, Muslim Leader Says

“A 16-year-old boy accused of stabbing two Christian clerics during a Sydney church service might have “anger management and behavioral issues” and a “short fuse” but had shown no signs of being radicalized, a community leader said on Thursday, after authorities declared the stabbing a terrorist attack. The teen spoke in Arabic about the Prophet Muhammad being insulted after he stabbed Bishop Mar Mari Emmanuel and the Rev. Isaac Royel during Monday night’s Assyrian Orthodox service, which was being streamed online. The bishop released an audio statement on Thursday saying he was “doing fine, recovering very quickly” and that he forgave his attacker. Jamal Rifi, a Sydney doctor and Muslim community leader, said the boy had apologized when his family visited him in the hospital on Tuesday and Wednesday.”

Southeast Asia

The New York Times: An ISIS Terror Group Draws Half Its Recruits From Tiny Tajikistan

“The mother of one of the suspects in the bloody attack on a concert hall near Moscow last month wept as she talked about her son. How, she wondered, did he go from the bumpy, dirt roads of their village in Tajikistan, in Central Asia, to sitting, bruised and battered, in a Russian courtroom accused of terrorism?  Even though he spent five years in Tajik prisons as a teenager, she said he never exhibited signs of violent extremism. “We need to understand — who is recruiting young Tajiks, why do they want to highlight us as a nation of terrorists?” said the mother, Muyassar Zargarova. Many governments and terrorism experts are asking the same question.”