Category World News

Yemen’s Houthis have said they shot down a US drone that was carrying out an attack on the northwestern Hajjah governorate whilst the Al Masriah news outlet has reported that United States air strikes targeted at least three areas across the country.

In a statement on Tuesday, Houthi spokesman Yahya Saree said the group’s “air defence shot down a hostile American MQ-9 Reaper drone while it was carrying out hostile missions in the airspace of Hajjah Governorate”.

Saree claimed that this is the seventh US drone that the group has downed so far this month, and the 22nd since Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza began 18 months ago.

Al Masirah, a Houthi-affiliated outlet, said a series of strikes on Tuesday night targeted Kamran Island in the Red Sea, two air strikes hit the Al Salif district in western Yemen, and four air strikes were reported in the Al-Saleem district in the Saada province in the north of the country.

The US has been carrying out near-daily, deadly air attacks against what it claims are Houthi targets in Yemen, killing more than 200 people – including women and children – since March.

The administration of US President Donald Trump has warned that its military campaign will continue until the Yemeni group halts all firings against vessels in the Red Sea,   a major conduit for international trade.

The Houthis have rejected the US assault, stressing that they are targeting ships in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza and will stop when Israel ends its punishing war on the enclave.

The latest attack comes just days after 12 people were killed in air strikes conducted by the US on Yemen’s capital Sanaa.

Last week, the  US launched 13 strikes  on Hodeidah’s port and airport. It was three days after its deadliest attack to date targeted the Ras Isa port, also in Hodeidah, killing at least 80 people and wounding more than 150 others.

Since November 2023, the Houthis have reportedly launched more than 100 attacks on vessels they say are linked to Israel, in response to  Israel’s war on Gaza.

The group halted attacks on shipping lanes during a two-month ceasefire in Gaza earlier this year. But they pledged to resume strikes after Israel renewed its assault on the besieged enclave last month.

Dani Olmo scored early in the second half as Barcelona defeated Mallorca 1-0 to increase their Spanish league lead.

The home win on Tuesday gave the Catalan club a seven-point lead over Real Madrid, which visits Getafe on Wednesday.

Barcelona and Madrid will meet in the Copa del Rey final on Saturday in Seville.

Olmo’s winner came a minute into the second half at the Montjuic stadium, with the playmaker finding the net from inside the area.

It was the third consecutive victory for Barcelona in the league.

Mallorca, which has only two wins from its last nine matches, stayed in seventh place.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick made several changes to his starting lineup, with forward Ansu Fati making his first league start in nearly six months. Striker Robert Lewandowski was absent because of a muscle injury.

Earlier Tuesday, Espanyol’s three-game winning streak ended with a 1-1 draw at Valencia, which has drawn two in a row after three straight victories.

The result left both teams tied on 39 points, though Espanyol has a game in hand. Valencia was in 14th place, just behind Espanyol.

Also Wednesday, Celta Vigo hosts fifth-place Villarreal, and Las Palmas visits fourth-place Athletic Bilbao. Relegation-threatened Alaves welcomes ninth-place Real Sociedad.

Opening statements are set for Wednesday in New York for disgraced former movie mogul Harvey Weinstein’s rape retrial, this time with a majority-female jury deciding the landmark #MeToo case.

Prosecutors and Weinstein’s lawyers finished choosing a sixth and final alternate on Tuesday after a selection process yielded a seven-woman, five-man jury and five alternate jurors on Monday. Alternates step in if a member of the main panel can’t see the trial through.

Weinstein was convicted at his first trial in 2020 by a jury of five women and seven men. The verdict marked a pivotal moment for the #MeToo movement against sexual misconduct, fuelled by a series of allegations against the producer of Oscar winners including Pulp Fiction and Shakespeare in Love.

In a blow to #MeToo activists, New York’s highest court last year overturned the conviction and 23-year prison sentence after it found that the original trial judge allowed women whose accusations were not part of the charges Weinstein faced to give evidence in court.

Weinstein’s rape and sexual assault retrial involves accusations from three women: an aspiring actor who said he raped her in 2013 and two women who made separate allegations of forced oral sex in 2006. One of the two wasn’t part of the original trial.

In the meantime, Weinstein is also facing a separate 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles.

Weinstein, 73, has pleaded not guilty and denies raping or sexually assaulting anyone. He has insisted that all sexual encounters he was involved in were consensual.

The 12 members of the main jury for the New York retrial include a physics researcher, a photographer, a dietitian, a therapist, an investment bank software engineer and a fire safety director. Others have experience in real estate, TV commercials, debt collection, social work and other fields.

Those chosen were questioned about their backgrounds, life experiences and various other points that could relate to their ability to be fair and impartial in the highly publicised case.

Prosecutor Shannon Lucey sought assurances that prospective jurors could put aside any position or feelings they had about #MeToo.

Bombshell allegations against Weinstein erupted in 2017 and led to a flood of allegations against other powerful men as women fought back against sexual violence in what became known as the #MeToo movement.

The Hollywood mogul underwent emergency heart surgery after being rushed from prison to a hospital in New York in September. He was later diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and received treatment in prison for chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Halliburton has reported a decline in first-quarter profit due to reduced drilling activity in North America, which weakened demand for its oilfield services and equipment.

The Houston, Texas-based oil and gas giant warned on Tuesday of a second-quarter earnings impact from tariffs and lower oilfield activity in North America as producers reckon with weak oil prices, sending shares of the oilfield service provider down about 6 percent.

The oilfield service sector worries United States President Donald Trump’s tariffs on imported steel and parts will disrupt supply chains and drive up equipment costs, such as drilling rigs and well casings. Halliburton said its first-quarter North American revenue was $2. 2bn, down 12 percent from a year earlier.

Halliburton is the first of the big three US oilfield services providers (Schlumberger and Baker Hughes are the other two) and is among the first large oil companies to report earnings as US crude prices hover under $64 a barrel. Many companies say they cannot drill profitably if oil prices fall under $65 a barrel, denting demand for equipment and services provided by companies like Halliburton.

“Many of our customers are in the midst of evaluating their activity scenarios, and plans for 2025 activity reductions could mean higher than normal white space for committed fleets and in some cases the retirement or export of fleets to international markets,” Halliburton Chief Executive Jeff Miller said about expectations in North American markets.

White spaces refer to gaps in the calendar when the company does not have work lined up for its equipment.

Shares down

Halliburton shares were down about 6 percent at $20. 62 a share after it forecast a 2-cent- to 3-cent-per-share impact in the second quarter from trade tensions. Second-quarter earnings were estimated to be 63 cents per share, according to LSEG data. Shares had fallen as much as 10 percent on Tuesday and were down 24 percent so far this year. Rival Schlumberger’s shares were down only 11 percent this year.

Halliburton’s Q1 international revenue eased 2 percent primarily due to lower drilling and project management activity in Mexico. It forecast year-over-year international revenue to be flat to slightly down.

Mexico is proposing new contract models for the oil sector while struggling to pay off billions of dollars of accumulated debt to oil service companies. In the meantime, state company Pemex’s oil output has continued falling this year to 1. 62 million barrels per day, compared with 1. 76 million barrels per day last year.

Halliburton posted a profit of $204m, or 24 cents per share, in the three months that ended on March 31, lower than the $606m, or 68 cents per share, it had posted last year.

The company also took a $107m severance cost in the first quarter. That came on the heels of a $63m severance charge in the third quarter of 2024 but the company did not provide more details.

Excluding a $356m pre-tax charge, which included the severance charge, the company posted earnings of 60 cents, in line with analysts’ estimates.

GE Aerospace CEO Larry Culp has advocated re-establishing a tariff-free regime for the aerospace industry under the 1979 Agreement on Trade in Civil Aircraft during a meeting with United States President Donald Trump.

On Tuesday, in an interview with the news agency Reuters, Culp said the company’s position was “understood” by the administration, adding that the zero-duty regime has helped the US aerospace industry to enjoy a $75bn annual trade surplus.

“I have argued that it was good and would be good for the country,” Culp told Reuters.

Trump’s trade war has created the biggest uncertainty for the aerospace industry since the COVID-19 pandemic. It has also led to a breakdown in the industry’s decades-old duty-free status, putting aircraft deliveries in limbo.

The uncertainty has left some of GE Aerospace’s customers struggling to accurately forecast their business. Meanwhile, one of the company’s prominent suppliers, Howmet Aerospace, has warned that it may halt some shipments if they are impacted by tariffs.

Culp said the company has not seen any disruption in deliveries from Howmet. The Pittsburgh-based supplier is currently working on the new high-pressure turbine blade for the Leap 1A engine, which GE Aerospace produces in a joint venture with France’s Safran SA.

“That ramp has gone very well so far here in 2025,” he said.

GE Aerospace has been grappling with supply chain challenges, leading to a drop in engine deliveries over the past year. Last week, Airbus said it was facing challenges with engine deliveries as CFM was “significantly behind the curve”.

Culp said the company is “well aligned” with the European planemaker’s needs for this year, but added the tariffs have created supply chain risks.

Tariffs’ costs

Tariffs are estimated to cost GE Aerospace more than $500m this year. The company is making greater use of foreign trade zones and available trade programmes like duty drawbacks to mitigate the impact. It is also employing cost controls and a tariff surcharge to protect its margins.

Culp’s comments come amid pressure on another aerospace giant in recent days. Last week, China asked airlines based there to cancel aircraft orders for planes made by US company Boeing amid the looming trade war.

Trade-induced economic uncertainty has taken a toll on travel demand as well. With travel spending softening, there is a growing risk that airlines could start deferring their engine orders.

Culp said other carriers would step in if any airline decides to halt its deliveries. “There are plenty of other people who will step up in line and take their place,” he said.

Kenya’s president is on a five-day state visit to China, its largest lender, while Beijing’s trade war with Washington intensifies.

How is it worsening by the day?

And what’s the impact on countries like Kenya, which does business with both economic superpowers?

Presenter: Folly Bah Thibault

Guests:

Einar Tangen – Senior fellow at the Taihe Institute

Robert Scott – Independent international economist