Yemen’s Houthis launch attacks on US, Israeli vessels as warships defendYahya Saree, the group’s military spokesman, said in a video address late on Wednesday that the Houthis hit the Maersk Yorktown cargo ship in the Gulf of Aden. The US military confirmed that the Houthis launched an antiship ballistic missile from their territory towards the vessel, which it identified as a “US-flagged, owned, and operated vessel with 18 US and four Greek crew members”.
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/25/yemens-houthis-launch-attacks-on-us-israeli-vessels-as-warships-defendhttps://archive.is/f9jbYIranians decry 'double standard' after Khamenei's favourite cleric 'insults' Prophet MuhammadIn Iran, making derogatory remarks about Prophet Muhammad would usually earn people up to five years in prison. However, when a favourite cleric of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was accused of committing the same offence early this month, it was met with a notable silence by the establishment. The lack of official rebuke did not go unnoticed by outraged Iranians who were quick to point to the double standard that has allowed influential ultra-conservative cleric Alireza Panahian to go unpunished.
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/iranians-decry-double-standard-khamenei-favourite-cleric-insults-prophet-muhammadFrench police break up pro-Palestinian university protestAccording to the police préfecture, students had set up around 10 tents. When members of law enforcement arrived, "50 students left on their own, 70 were evacuated calmly from 0.20am" and the police "left at 1.30am, with no incidents to report," the police said.
https://www.thelocal.fr/20240425/french-police-break-up-pro-palestinian-university-protesthttps://archive.is/3yLJ4 The US secretly sent long-range ATACMS to Ukraine — and Kyiv used them In March, the U.S. quietly approved the transfer of a number of Army Tactical Missile Systems with a range of nearly 200 miles, said a senior Biden administration official and two U.S. officials, allowing President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s forces to put at risk more Russian targets inside Ukrainian sovereign territory. The administration will include additional long-range ATACMS in a new $1 billion package of military aid President Joe Biden approved on Wednesday, one of the U.S. officials said.
https://www.politico.com/news/2024/04/24/us-long-range-missiles-ukraine-00154110https://archive.is/9sTvaUkraine stops issuing passports to young menUkraine has stopped issuing new passports abroad to some military-aged men, according to legislation published on Wednesday, as part of measures to push them to return home amid manpower shortages in the army.
https://www.newagebd.net/post/europe/233591/ukraine-stops-issuing-passports-to-young-menSiberian Teen Jailed 3.5 Years for Anti-War Posts, Graffiti Tenth-grader Lyubov Lizunova, 17, was detained alongside Alexander Snezhkov, 19, and Vladislav Vishnevsky, 23, in October 2022, months after Russia invaded Ukraine. Lizunova, who describes herself as an anarchist, was 15 years old at the time. They were initially accused of spray-painting the phrase “Death to the regime!” on the side of a garage and, later, of running anti-war and animal rights channels on the Telegram messaging app.
https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/04/25/russia-denies-plans-to-ban-passport-renewals-abroad-a84958https://archive.is/2tZIqUS laundering revenue of Colombia’s environmental crimes: NGO“The US unfortunately attracts dirty funds, not just from the US but other neighboring countries and around the world,” according to Yansura. The crime expert said that drug trafficking groups “are increasingly turning to environmental crime” because “it’s very lucrative, just like narcotics, but the risk of getting caught is a lot lower.”
https://colombiareports.com/us-laundering-revenue-of-colombias-environmental-crimes-ngo/Indigenous group detains 12 alleged gold miners in Amazon and hands them over to Brazilian policeThe Yanomami group filmed some of its members carrying bows and shotguns as they took the alleged miners to police. The detainees did not make comments in the video. The Associated Press could not find a spokesperson for them.
https://apnews.com/article/indigenous-miners-arrests-brazil-aec280875e2e85ecab9cc6f8f79c28e2Extreme heat scorches Southeast Asia, bringing school closures and warningsThe high temperatures were recorded just a day after the United Nations said Asia was the region that suffered the most disasters from climate and weather hazards in 2023, with floods and storms the chief causes of casualties and economic losses.
https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20240424-so-hot-you-can-t-breathe-extreme-heat-hits-the-philippineshttps://archive.is/90Kx3‘Privileged access’: pro-plastic lobbyists at UN pollution talks increase by a thirdThe 196 lobbyists registered for the talks represent a 37% increase from the 143 lobbyists registered at the last talks, in Nairobi. This in turn was a 36% increase on the previous year’s number. Increased plastic production is a major part of the fossil fuel industry’s plans for the future, and any attempts to curb production, such as those being discussed at the UN talks, are an obvious threat to their profits.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2024/apr/25/fears-grow-over-rising-number-of-oil-lobbyists-at-un-plastic-pollution-talks