Saudis threaten UN-brokered truce in strike near Yemeni port city

The Saudi-led military coalition launched an air strike north of the Yemeni port city of Hodeidah early on Friday morning, amidst heightened tensions following a weekend strike against Saudi oil installations. The coalition said it had struck only “legitimate military targets,” and had succeeded in destroying four sites used to assemble maritime drones and sea mines by Houthi fighters. “These sites are used to carry out attacks and terrorist operations that threaten shipping lines and international trade in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the southern Red Sea,” said coalition spokesman Colonel Turki al-Malki in a statement. Houthi forces who control the area were quick to brand the strike a “dangerous escalation”, saying it violated a UN ceasefire agreement reached last year in Sweden. While the strike took place north of the city, it was within Hodeidah governate and as such violates the terms of the agreement. “The coalition will bear the responsibility of this escalation which is also a test to the United Nations,” said Houthi spokesman Mohammed Abdul-Salam on Twitter. But some argue this is only the latest in a series of violations on both sides. “There has been so much escalation in and around the city, but often when the Houthis break ceasefires they are labelled skirmishes,” said Fatima Alsarar of the Middle East Institute. “The focus has been so much on the Saudi-led coalition because it’s a partner to the United States and you expect them to behave responsibly, but the Houthis are expected to behave like a militia so the bar is so much lower.” “There’s also pressure to see Hodeidah agreement work, and this is unfortunate because the UN always says the ceasefire has been successful otherwise. But people have died. This is just an effort to make the agreement look more successful than it has been.” Yemen displaced Hodeidah is a vital port city on the Red Sea, not only for humanitarian access but because it is used by the Houthis to smuggle in missile parts and small weapons from their backers in Iran. As a result, the city has been at the centre of conflict for the majority of the five-year war. The Saudi-led coalition, which receives Western backing, have been engaged in Yemen's civil war since 2015 after Houthi forces, backed by Iran, ousted the internationally recognised government in the capital Sana'a in late 2014. Some suspect Friday’s strikes were a retaliation for attacks on Saudi oil installations on Saturday, which were later claimed by the Houthi movement. But experts have ruled out Houthi responsibility, arguing forensic evidence shows the attacks came from Iran, the Houthis’ principal ally in the region. “This attack seems symbolic and packaged for a domestic audience,” said Peter Salisbury, Senior Analyst at Crisis Group. “The Saudis likely felt the need to demonstrate their willingness to respond to Houthi cross-border attacks. They’ve struck this site before which raises questions about the utility of such a strike expect for show.” “Yemen, in the eyes of some in the Riyadh and elsewhere, represents the low-hanging fruit in terms of demonstrating a willingness to retaliate against Iran,” he added. The Houthis, for their part, are happy to be used as a scapegoat in Yemen for Iran in order to reach their ultimate objective, according to Ms Alasrar: “Iran thrives on creating confusion, it aims to deflect and say: look at the Houthis, look at the Saudis, we’re not doing anything. They’re sending a message to the US that they need to respect their authority while also denying involvement.”

Justin Trudeau blackface: Third incident of Canadian PM wearing racist makeup emerges

A video of Justin Trudeau wearing blackface has been released. The clip is the third instance of the Canadian prime minister wearing racist make-up to emerge in the last 24 hours.The video was first obtained by Global News.

2 dead as Imelda strands drivers, floods homes in Texas

The slow-churning remnants of Tropical Storm Imelda flooded parts of Texas on Thursday, leaving at least two people dead and rescue crews with boats scrambling to reach stranded drivers and families trapped in their homes during a relentless downpour that drew comparisons to Hurricane Harvey two years ago. Law enforcement officers planned to work well into the night to clear freeways of vehicles stalled and abandoned because of flooding, Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo said. Officials in Harris County, which includes Houston, said there had been a combination of at least 1,700 high-water rescues and evacuations to get people to shelter as the longevity and intensity of the rain quickly came to surprise even those who had been bracing for floods.

Hong Kong police warn officers 'might have to kill someone' as violence escalates

Hong Kong police warned on Friday that violence in the territory had escalated to a point where officers feared “they might have to kill someone”, as anti-government protests entered their sixteenth consecutive weekend.  Violence has risen steadily since the mass demonstrations kicked off in early June. Protests now regularly descend into chaos with activists throwing bricks and petrol bombs at police officers who fire water cannon and tear gas. Conflicts have also erupted between protesters and pro-Beijing supporters, affecting tourists and bystanders. Concern is increasing significantly among the city’s police force – once dubbed Asia’s finest – that officers will need to use lethal force to defend themselves or others.  Violence has gotten “to such a level, [the officers’] greatest fear is that they might have to kill someone or that they might be killed themselves – it is really that critical,” a top police commander told a group of foreign media on condition of anonymity. “We have been so restrained in the face of such violence; this pressure has become extremely dangerous.“ “I haven’t seen this kind of widespread lawlessness in the whole of my career,” the commander said. “We are getting more and more worried about the possibility of death.” Hong Kong protests | Read more In recent weeks, police officers have pulled their guns and fired warning shots into the air during chaotic clashes with protesters. Senior police officers have said that their threshold to draw a weapon is if an officer feels his or her life is in danger. Protests first broke out over an extradition bill that would have sent suspects to face trial in mainland China, where Communist Party control of the courts leads to a 99.9 per cent conviction rate.  Hong Kong chief executive Carrie Lam pledged a few weeks ago to formally withdraw the proposal, though activist demands have widened in nearly four months of unrest to include direct leadership elections, and an independent investigation into police handling of the protests. Ms Lam hasn’t agreed to further concessions, but will begin a series of public meetings next week in efforts to resolve the situation. Police say that an independent inquiry now would frustrate their efforts to handle the protests.  “We are still in the middle of a crisis,” said the senior commander. “You really have to be sure that whatever measure you take now is helpful to the resolution of the situation, that you are not playing into the hands of people whose only objective is to undermine the police so this situation could get worse.” So far, police have arrested 1,474 people, aged 12 to 84, since street violence began in June. Of those, 207 people have been charged.  A number of cases are ready to go to trial, and some are starting to have their first hearings, the senior commander said, suggesting that city courts could fast track court dates and grant less bail to support broader efforts to quell the violence.  “I can’t tell you how we’re going to stop this without all the other institutions all playing their part,” he said. “We have always been relying on that deterrent sentence that comes at the very end of the process.”

Inside Saudi Arabia's response to a raid on the heart of the oil kingdom

Saudi Arabia's newly appointed energy minister was in London when he learned in the middle of the night of the largest-ever attack on the kingdom’s oil infrastructure. Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, a veteran oil official and senior member of the Al Saud ruling family, hurried back to the kingdom, flying by private jet to Aramco’s headquarters in Dhahran to assess the damage and manage the fallout from the attack on the world’s largest oil exporter, three sources close to the matter said. Officials at state-run oil company Saudi Aramco, meanwhile, gathered in what was referred to internally as the “emergency management room” at the company’s headquarters.

FDA approves oral diabetes drug from Novo Nordisk

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved an oral version of Novo Nordisk's diabetes drug semaglutide, a boost for the Danish drugmaker, which hopes to transform the market by offering patients a noninjectable treatment.

Elizabeth Warren Declares War on Lobbying, Hires Lobbyist One Day Later

Is she serious?