Dozens killed in Saudi push to take Yemeni port

News selected on topics and regions – oil and gas, business, politics, IT, the South Caucasus, the Caspian Sea region, Central Asia Ranking of the Azerbaijani banking sector Nearly three dozen people have been killed after Houthi fighters and militias loyal to resigned president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi clashed for the control of a strategic coastal city in Ta’izz province, Press TV reported. The clashes took place in the Red Sea port city of Mokha on Wednesday in which at least eight Saudi mercenaries were killed, medical sources said.

Video shows man being kidnapped from busy bar

Police have released shocking surveillance video showing the moment a man is kidnapped by a group of men from a bar in Bristol, England. The 22-year-old victim was dragged out of the bar on December 15, 2016, before being assaulted and thrown into a car.

Russia’s Caspian Flotilla, Azerbaijani Navy mull organisation of “Sea Cup-2017”

Commander of the Caspian flotilla, Rear Admiral Sergey Pinchuk held a working meeting with the delegation of Azerbaijani Naval Forces. The sides exchanged views on the issues of the organization and conduct of the “Sea Cup-2017” contests for naval training among the crews of surface ships, at the meeting, which took place in the base for the stationing of warships in Makhachkala, Azertac reported.

Russia’s Caspian Flotilla, Azerbaijani Navy mull organisation of “Sea Cup-2017”

Commander of the Caspian flotilla, Rear Admiral Sergey Pinchuk held a working meeting with the delegation of Azerbaijani Naval Forces. The sides exchanged views on the issues of the organization and conduct of the “Sea Cup-2017” contests for naval training among the crews of surface ships, at the meeting, which took place in the base for the stationing of warships in Makhachkala, Azertac reported.

.com | Somalia’s presidential election heads into second round

Somalia’s groundbreaking presidential election moved into a second round on Wednesday as the number of candidates dropped from 21 to three, while a security lockdown closed the capital’s international airport and cleared major streets. Incumbent President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud held a slight lead over former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo, 88 votes to 72. With at least one of the remaining candidates having dual citizenship, Somalia could end up with a president who also holds a US passport, Farmajo.

Yemen: No US ground missions without approval

Yemen’s government has “requested” the United States stop ground operations in the country unless they have the government’s full approval after an anti-terror raid authorized by President Donald Trump killed civilians, two senior Yemeni defense officials told CNN on Wednesday. The Yemeni officials said the government had sent a firm message to the US administration condemning the January 29 operation that left one US Navy Seal dead along with Yemeni women and children, complaining of a lack of coordination with its officials.

Somalia elects first new president in decades

Somalia elects first new president in decades Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo is a former prime minister with dual Somali-.U.S. citizenship. Check out this story on USATODAY.com: http://usat.ly/2k4IB7w Newly elected president of Somalia and former prime minister Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo gestures as he makes an address on Feb. 8, 2017, in Mogadishu.

Graft, threats as Somalia faces historic presidential vote

Somali soldiers prepare to secure the capital on the eve of presidential elections, at a police academy in Mogadishu, Somalia Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2017. Graft – vote-buying, fraud, intimidation – is the top concern in a nation that Transparency International now rates as the most corrupt in the world and Mogadishu is in lockdown because of the threat of violence by homegrown Islamic extremist group al-Shabab.

White House Publishes List of 78 Terror Attacks It Says Media Ignored

The White House on Monday released a list of terror attacks around the world that it says the U.S. media “ignored.” While the list of 78 incidents does include major attacks that were covered, such as in Nice and Paris, France; San Bernardino, California; and Orlando, Florida; it also highlights killings in Dhaka, Bangladesh; Parramatta, Australia; and Zvornik, Bosnia that got little attention.

The Latest: Trump press need for tougher immigration checks

President Donald Trump is pressing the need for more stringent screening while his immigration order is on hold by the courts. Trump says in remarks at the U.S. Central Command at the MacDill Air Force base in Florida that, “We need strong programs” so that “people that love us and want to love our country and will end up loving our country are allowed in” and those who “want to destroy us and destroy our country” are kept out.

Why Trump Should Sanction China

As Trump’s Secretary of Defense James Mattis tours Asia to pledge support to our allies, the best form of reassurance would be action against China’s provocative moves in the region. Secretary of Defense James Mattis is now ending his “Mission Reassurance,” the first foreign trip by a Trump administration official.

Al-Qaida says Trump has ignited – the flame of jihad’ with Yemen raid

President Trump is “foolish” and has ignited the “flame of jihad” with a raid in Yemen in which civilians were killed, al-Qaeda said Friday in its first official comments on the new U.S. administration. That the raid came only days after Trump’s vow to eradicate Islamist terrorism in his inauguration speech makes it “clear for us that the threat was not directed to the Islamic militants only, but to all the Muslims, men, women and even children,” al-Qaida’s al-Nafeer bulletin said, accusing the Trump administration of intentionally killing women and children.

Iraqi interpreter says he’s ‘blessed’ to be in U.S. after ban

Hassan Alaskry, the son of Munther Alaskry, surveys the arrival area as his sister Dima, and mother Hiba Alaskry arrive at New York’s JFK International Airport. NEW YORK – Munther Alaskry and his family were just hours away from their dream as they boarded the final leg of a flight to the United States after waiting seven years for visas.

UK Royal Air Force Added to the Military Space Situational Awareness Presentation Line-Up

In the run-up to the event, SMi Group adds a new expert presenter to Military Space Situational Awareness 2017: Air Commodore Alan Gillespie, Battlespace Management Force Commander of the UK Royal Air Force. London, United Kingdom, February 03, 2017 — — Taking place in London, United Kingdom, the event will give attendees the chance to discuss key topics that affect space situational awareness; from space-borne sensors to effective information management system with leaders from around the world.

Yemen Aftermath: Trump’s First Military Raid Continues To Raise Questions

The tribal delegation visiting Sheikh Abdelraouf al-Dhahab was still talking in the very early hours of the morning last Sunday when his nephew, Abdullah, noticed strangers approaching on foot across the rocky, inhospitable terrain of central Yemen. According to accounts by locals, this was the way the battle began with U.S. special operations forces and some of their allies, which would unfold over several hours on the ground – and end with an aerial bombardment.

Today in History Wednesday, Feb. 01, 2017

On Jan. 30, 1948, Indian political and spiritual leader Mohandas K. Gandhi, 78, was shot and killed in New Delhi by Nathuram Godse , a Hindu extremist. In 1815, the U.S. House of Representatives joined the Senate in agreeing to purchase the personal book collection of former President Thomas Jefferson to replace volumes lost when the British burned the U.S. Capitol and its congressional library during the War of 1812.

How Trump’s first counter-terror operation in Yemen turned into chaos

Greek special forces and US Navy Seals clear a stairwell during Sarisa 16, an annual Greek exercise, near Thessaloniki, Greece, last year. Photo / US Army Their aim was to detain Yemeni tribal leaders collaborating with al-Qaeda and gather intelligence that could plug a critical gap in US understanding of one of the world’s most dangerous militant groups.

US, Polish Troops Hold First Joint Training in Poland

The first joint training exercises in Poland for freshly deployed U.S. troops and their Polish counterparts are underway. A U.S. armored brigade of 3,500 troops from Fort Carson, Colorado arrived this month in Zagan, southwestern Poland, as a deterrence force on NATO’s eastern flank.

Kent Police said both men have been bailed to appear at Margate Magistrates’ Court on March 2

Two men have been charged in connection with the alleged removal of items from a sunken Royal Navy warship in the English Channel. John Blight and Nigel Ingram are accused of failing to declare items to the Receiver of Wreck from HMS Hermes, a protected cruiser built in the late 19th century and converted into an aircraft ferry and depot ship ready for the outbreak of the First World War.

Kent Police said both men have been bailed to appear at Margate Magistrates’ Court on March 2

Two men have been charged in connection with the alleged removal of items from a sunken Royal Navy warship in the English Channel. John Blight and Nigel Ingram are accused of failing to declare items to the Receiver of Wreck from HMS Hermes, a protected cruiser built in the late 19th century and converted into an aircraft ferry and depot ship ready for the outbreak of the First World War.

Officials tell conference US will remain a Pacific power

The United States will stay committed to remaining a Pacific power despite potential policy changes under President Donald Trump’s new administration, officials told a conference Monday on U.S. alliances with Australia and Japan. The U.S. Embassy to Australia’s political counselor John Hennessey-Niland said U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region can be reassured that the Pacific will remain key to U.S. interests under the new administration.

Exercise Cutlass Express to Begin

Maritime forces from East Africa, West Indian Ocean nations, Europe and the United States, as well as several international organizations, will begin the sixth iteration of the annual multinational maritime exercise Cutlass Express, Jan. 31. Cutlass Express 2017, sponsored by U.S. Africa Command and conducted by U.S. Naval Forces Africa , is designed to assess and improve combined maritime law enforcement capacity and promote national and regional security in East Africa, inform planning and operations. Cutlass Express 2017 will test participating nations’ ability to respond to illicit trafficking, piracy, illegal fishing, and search and rescue situations.

Abengoa Abengoa restarts activities in Spain after being awarded…

Abengoa , the international company that applies innovative technology solutions for sustainability in the energy and environment sectors, has been awarded three new electricity transmission and distribution projects in Spain. The first of these projects will be undertaken for the Department of the United States Air Force in Moron de la Frontera , while the other two will be performed in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria and Lugo for the Spanish Energy Grid .

Trump’s Vainglorious Affront to the C.I.A.

The death of Robert Ames, who was America’s top intelligence officer for the Middle East, is commemorated among the hundred and seventeen stars on the white marble Memorial Wall at C.I.A. headquarters, in Langley, Virginia. He served long years in the region’s hellholes-Beirut; Tehran; Sanaa, Yemen; Kuwait City; and Cairo-often in the midst of war or turmoil.

‘On that stage’

US Navy Petty Officer Josua Waqa, 23, was among the 15 ceremonial guardsmen who took part in yesterday’s historic event at the White House in Washington DC in the US. Picture: US MILITARY Her son, US Navy Petty Officer Josua Waqa, 23, was among the 15 ceremonial guardsmen who took part at yesterday’s historic event at the White House in Washington DC in the US.

Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile warning satellite

The rocket thundered from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday night, powered by a Russian main engine generating 860,000 pounds of thrust. Atlas V rocket blasts off with missile warning satellite The rocket thundered from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Friday night, powered by a Russian main engine generating 860,000 pounds of thrust.