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Yemen conflict may flare up again, US warns

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With the truce between the Houthis and government forces expired, the country may spiral back into chaos, Washington’s envoy said

The end of a six-month ceasefire between Houthi rebels and the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen could bring about a “return to war,” Tim Lenderking, the US special envoy for Yemen, predicted on Wednesday.

Lenderking’s sentiment was to some extent echoed by the Houthis, who signaled to CBS that they “expect a return to military operations.”

Speaking at a press briefing on Wednesday, Lenderking noted that Iran-backed Houthis did not agree to the UN proposal to extend a truce, which expired on October 2. Against this backdrop, he said, all parties to the conflict now face “a stark choice.” Should they return to war, this will “bring nothing but casualties and destruction on Yemen,” he said.

Lenderking said some elements of the ceasefire agreement are still working, given that “there is still a relatively low level of violence in the country” while ships are allowed to make fuel deliveries into Hodeidah port, which had been blockaded by Saudi-led forces.

Yemen’s Houthis issue warning to oil ‘looters’

The US official pinned the blame on Houthis for failing to extend the deal, arguing that they are “imposing maximalist and impossible demands.”

Lenderking also signaled that if the Houthis demonstrate some flexibility in the talks, this would pave the way to “a much better peace option.” The main stumbling block, he said, is agreeing on paying salaries to Yemeni state employees, including teachers and nurses, many of whom have not received them for years.

Nasreddine Amer, a spokesperson for the Houthis, told CBS News that the demand to pay civil servants their money “is not an impossible” one, describing it rather as “a humanitarian request.” He accused the US of supporting the “stubborn” stance of the Saudi side and predicted fighting would continue.

“So, as the truce ended and they are still stubborn, I expect a return to military operations,” he said.

According to the UN, Yemen, which has been ravaged by war since 2015, is facing the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with more than half of its population – 14 million people – at risk of famine.

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Israeli president comments on Lebanon pager attacks

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Lebanon-based Hezbollah has “many enemies,” while Israel is only “defending itself,” President Isaac Herzog has said

Israeli President Isaac Herzog has provided ambiguous comments on the alleged involvement of West Jerusalem in the mass detonation of pagers and walkie-talkies in Lebanon last week.

Herzog made the remarks while speaking to Sky News’ Trevor Phillips on Sunday, as the host grilled the president on the apparently indiscriminate nature of the attacks that killed at least 37, including two children, and injured some 3,000.

“I reject out of hand any connection to this or that source of operation,” Herzog stated.

Asked whether Israel denies its involvement altogether or blames any other party for the attacks, the president refrained from doing so, while accusing Hezbollah of “destroying Lebanon” in the first place.

“I did not allude to anything except saying that there are many enemies of Hezbollah out there, quite a few these days. Hezbollah has been choking Lebanon, destroying Lebanon, creating havoc in Lebanon again and again and again. We are here simply to defend ourselves. That’s all we do,” he stated.

Israel planned pager attacks for 15 years – ABC News

Israeli intelligence is widely suspected as being behind the attacks, which have been roundly criticized globally. The explosives were presumably planted in the devices during manufacturing and then activated remotely.

UN human rights commissioner Volker Turk, for instance, called the incident “shocking” and said that it had unleashed profound “fear and terror.”

“Simultaneous targeting of thousands of individuals, whether civilians or members of armed groups, without knowledge as to who was in possession of the targeted devices, their location and their surroundings at the time of the attack, violates international human rights law and, to the extent applicable, international humanitarian law,” he stated.

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Ukraine won’t join NATO anytime soon – Scholz

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The German chancellor explained that Kiev doesn’t meet some of the criteria for membership in the US-led military bloc

Ukraine will most likely not be able to become a NATO member state in the foreseeable future as it does not meet a number of requirements for admission yet, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has said. Earlier this month, the head of the US-led military bloc, Jens Stoltenberg, declared that all member states had agreed to welcome Kiev, but only if and when it vanquished Moscow’s forces.

In an interview with Germany’s Die Welt published on Monday, Scholz assessed that, for the time being, Ukraine’s Western backers should focus on helping the country “defend its land.” In the future, security guarantees for Kiev will also need to be discussed.

“But we are a long way away from there,” he added.

When asked whether he would theoretically support Ukraine’s accession to NATO after its military conflict with Russia was over, the chancellor claimed that it was “clear to everyone that this doesn’t stand on the agenda anytime soon.”

Ukraine can’t join NATO now – member state’s president

One of the reasons for that, according to Scholz, is that “there is a whole range of requirements belonging to NATO’s criteria that Ukraine can’t fulfill at present.”

Earlier this month, dpa news agency, citing a YouGov poll, reported that some 54% of Germans oppose the prospect of Ukraine joining NATO, with only 27% in favor.

Meanwhile, also this month, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told the Washington Post that “all NATO allies agree that Ukraine will become a member of the alliance.” He, however, refused to offer any timeline for this.

According to the official, the US-led military bloc is currently helping Kiev “transition from Soviet-era equipment, doctrines and standards” and become “interoperable with NATO forces.”

In April, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky claimed that most Europeans would disapprove if NATO did not extend a “well-deserved invitation” to join the alliance. The Ukrainian leadership made it clear that it expected to see progress on the issue during an upcoming NATO summit in Lithuania in July.

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US to bolster weapons sales

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The State Department wants to speed up military shipments by embracing a more flexible approach encompassing entire sales regions

The US State Department is seeking to expedite arms sales to its foreign allies and partners amid a new “age of heightened strategic competition” and soaring global tensions, according to a new ten-point plan released on Thursday.

Although each year between 2019 and 2022 the US government authorized weapons sales and training to the tune of $45.8 billion on average, “the time has come to reassess and adapt security cooperation to meet new and emerging challenges,” the State Department explained, pointing to the ongoing Ukraine conflict and tensions in the Indo-Pacific.

According to a Wall Street Journal report on Thursday, the new program comes as the State Department scrambles to rectify delays in sales to foreign militaries, caused by a “risk-averse and sluggish” system.

These issues have resulted in fears that some of America’s partners could start “shopping for arms from some of America’s adversaries, such as Russia and China,” the WSJ wrote, citing unnamed US officials.

Pentagon made $3 billion ‘error’ in Ukraine aid – Reuters

As part of its plan, the department seeks in particular to “save time on the policy approval process” by anticipating the demands of Washington’s international partners based on the prior requirements of their regional neighbors. Citing the officials, the WSJ noted that the reform intends to make the system more flexible by moving away from selling American weapons on a case-by-case basis.

Another point of the plan is to change the State Department’s approach to notifying Congress, by “prioritizing consultations on critical potential arms transfers” and sharpening policies in the field of exporting US drones abroad.

Last year, as global tensions soared amid the Ukraine conflict and the ‘Taiwan’ stand-off between Beijing and Washington, US foreign military sales to other governments skyrocketed by 49%, reaching some $205 billion, according to the State Department.

The US also emerged as the main source of weapons for Ukraine amid its conflict with Russia, having committed some $37 billion in security assistance to Kiev. In recent months, however, US media have reported that Washington was running low on several types of weapons and ammunition as the military industry was struggling to keep up with demand.

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