Associated Press: US Destroyer Shoots Down Missile And Drones Launched By Yemen’s Houthi Rebels

“A U.S. destroyer shot down drones and a missile launched by Yemen’s Houthi rebels toward it in the Red Sea, officials said Wednesday, as the Indian navy released images of it fighting a fire aboard a container ship earlier targeted by the Houthis. The assault Tuesday apparently targeted the USS Carney, an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer that has been involved in the American campaign against the rebels, who have launched attacks over Israel’s war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Another suspected Houthi attack on shipping was reported Wednesday. Meanwhile, Iran announced Wednesday it would confiscate a $50 million cargo of Kuwaiti crude oil for American energy firm Chevron Corp. aboard a tanker it seized nearly a year earlier. It marks the latest twist in a yearslong shadow war playing out in the Mideast’s waterways even before the Houthi attacks began. The Houthi attack on the Carney on Tuesday involved bomb-carrying drones and one anti-ship ballistic missile, the U.S. military’s Central Command said. The U.S. later launched an airstrike destroying three anti-ship missiles and three bomb-carrying drone boats, the Central Command said.”

Associated Press: Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Fail To Achieve A Breakthrough With Ramadan Just Days Away, Egypt Says

“Three days of negotiations with Hamas over a cease-fire in Gaza and the release of Israeli hostages failed to achieve a breakthrough Tuesday, Egyptian officials said, less than a week before the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, the informal deadline for a deal. The nearly five months of fighting left much of Gaza in ruins and created a worsening humanitarian catastrophe, with many, especially in the devastated northern region, scrambling for food to survive.”

CEP Mentions

The Week: What Is The New Definition Of Extremism?

“... This might be a "necessary step", Hans-Jakob Schindler, director of the Counter Extremism Project, told The National. But there is concern that it could inadvertently penalise mainstream Muslim groups, as well as organisations campaigning against gay marriage, transgender rights, environmental groups and even supporters of Scottish independence, said Scottish newspaper The National. Officials have drawn up a list of organisations likely to be deemed extremist by the new definition, which include the Muslim Council of Britain, Palestine Action and Muslim Engagement and Development. In response, the Muslim Council of Britain – whose charitable arm received more than three-quarters of its funding last year from Kickstart, a government scheme to get young people into work – asked whether the new definition "would also cover large swathes of the Conservative Party leadership who have directed divisive and hateful rhetoric against Muslims". Senior government figures have warned the new definition will also "provoke tensions" with gender critical groups and other religious groups who campaign against issues such as abortion or gay marriage.”

Middle East

Reuters: Israeli Defence Minister Says Hezbollah Aggression Bringing Critical Point Nearer

“Israeli defence minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday the continuing tension with Iran-backed Hezbollah at the border with Lebanon was moving the situation nearer to a military escalation. Israel and Hezbollah have been trading fire since the Palestinian group Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, fuelling concern about the danger of all-out war between the heavily armed adversaries. "We are committed to the diplomatic process, however Hezbollah's aggression is bringing us closer to a critical point in the decision-making regarding our military activities in Lebanon," Gallant said in a statement after meeting U.S. envoy Amos Hochstein, who is seeking a mediated end to that conflict. Hezbollah has indicated it will cease fire if Israel's offensive in the Gaza Strip stops, describing its campaign as aimed at supporting Palestinians under fire in Gaza. But visiting Beirut on Monday, Hochstein warned that a truce in Gaza would not necessarily bring an automatic end to hostilities across Lebanon's southern border. He said a temporary ceasefire was not enough and a limited war was not containable.”

Washington Post: Blinken Meets With Israel’s Gantz, As Cease-Fire Negotiations Continue

“With talks underway this week in Cairo pursuing a deal for a temporary cease-fire, Hamas said it has presented its stance and “the ball is now in the enemy’s court,” referring to Israel. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met in Washington with Benny Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet and a political rival of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Blinken also met with Qatar’s prime minister Tuesday to discuss negotiations.”

Africa

Bloomberg: Burkina Faso Accounted For One In Four Terrorism Deaths In 2023

“Burkina Faso, which has been ruled by a military junta led by Captain Ibrahim Traore for the past 18 months, accounted for almost a quarter of people killed in terrorist attacks globally last year. Fatalities rose to 1,907 in 2023, from 1,135 a year earlier, despite a decline in the number of attacks, according to the Sydney-based Institute for Economics & Peace’s Global Terrorism Index. Deaths from terrorism in the country have increased successively each year since 2014, when none were recorded, it said in a report published March 1. The West African nation has been battling a decade-long Islamist insurgency in the Sahel, a semi-arid northern Africa region that’s faced a spate of military coups over the past three years, including two in Burkina Faso in 2022. Its military rulers last year agreed with juntas in neighboring Mali and Niger to form an alliance of nations that will support each other in the fight against militants. Deaths from terrorist attacks fell to 753 in Mali from 806 the year before, while in Niger they more than doubled to 468 from 193, according to the institute.”

United Kingdom

BBC: NI Terrorism Threat Level Reduced To Substantial

“It means an attack is likely, as opposed to highly likely, with the decision to change the threat level taken by MI5. NI Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris announced the decision and said it was a "comprehensive and rigorous process". He said it was based on the "very latest intelligence and analysis of factors which drive the threat". "The fact that the threat level is being lowered is testament to the tremendous efforts of the Police Service of Northern Ireland and MI5 to tackle Northern Ireland related terrorism," he added. "This positive step reflects the commitment of communities from across Northern Ireland to build a safer place to live and work. "As ever, the public should remain vigilant and report any concerns they may have to the police. "There remains a small group of people determined to destabilise the political settlement in Northern Ireland through acts of terrorism." MI5, rather than the PSNI or the government, is responsible for setting the Northern Ireland terrorism threat level, which it has been publishing since 2010. MI5, the UK's Security Service, is believed to review the threat level every six months.”

Germany

CNN: Tesla’s Berlin Plant Shut After Arson Attack On Electricity Pylon. Far-Left Group Claims Responsibility

“A group of far-left activists has claimed it was behind an arson attack on a high-voltage electricity pylon Tuesday that cut off the power supply to Tesla’s factory in Germany. The activists, calling themselves the “Volcano Group,” claimed responsibility for the fire in a letter published on the alternative German media website Kontrapolis. Police in the German state of Brandenburg told CNN Wednesday that they “believe that the letter is authentic.”

Europe

Jerusalem Post: Zurich Teen Who Stabbed Jewish Man Had Pledged Loyalty To ISIS

“The Swiss teenager who stabbed an orthodox Jewish man on Saturday had pledged loyalty to the Islamic State and described himself as a soldier of the caliphate, Government Councillor Mario Fehr said in a press briefing on Monday. Fehr confirmed the validity of a video posted by the 15-year-old Swiss-born assailant of Tunisian descent, who also shouted in Arabic about Jihad during the attack.”