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Search for survivors after Houthis sink second Red Sea cargo ship in a week
Six crew members have been rescued and at least three others killed after a cargo ship was attacked by Yemen’s Houthis and sank in the Red Sea, a European naval mission says.
The Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated Eternity C was carrying 25 crew when it sustained significant damage and lost all propulsion after being hit by rocket-propelled grenades fired from small boats on Monday, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) agency.
The attack continued on Tuesday and search rescue operations commenced overnight.
The Iran-backed Houthis said they attacked the Eternity C because it was heading to Israel, and that they took an unspecified number of crew to a “safe location”.
The US embassy in Yemen said the Houthis had “kidnapped many surviving crew members” and called for their immediate release.
Authorities in the Philippines said 21 of the crew were citizens. Another of them is a Russian national who was severely wounded in the attack and lost a leg.
It is the second vessel the Houthis have sunk in a week, after the group on Sunday launched missiles and drones at another Liberian-flagged, Greek-operated cargo ship, Magic Seas, which they claimed “belonged to a company that violated the entry ban to the ports of occupied Palestine”.
Video footage released by the Houthis on Tuesday showed armed men boarding the vessel and setting off a series of explosions which caused it to sink.
All 22 crew of Magic Seas were safely rescued by a passing merchant vessel.
Since November 2023, the Houthis have targeted around 70 merchant vessels with missiles, drones and small boat attacks in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.
They have now sunk four ships, seized a fifth, and killed at least seven crew members.
The group has said it is acting in support of the Palestinians in the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, and have claimed – often falsely – that they are targeting ships only linked to Israel, the US or the UK, which have carried out air strikes on Yemen in response.
On Wednesday the EU’s naval mission in the Red Sea, Operation Aspides, said it was participating in the international response to the attack on the Eternity C and that “currently six castaway crew members have been recovered from the sea”.
An Aspides official told AFP news agency that five were Filipinos and one was Indian, and that 19 others were still missing.
The Greece-based maritime security firm Diaplous released a video on Wednesday that showed the rescue of at least five seafarers who it said had spent more then 24 hours in the water, according to Reuters news agency.
“We will continue to search for the remaining crew until the last light,” Diaplous said.
Reuters also cited maritime security firms as saying that the death toll was four.
The US state department condemned the attacks on the Magic Seas and Eternity C, which it said “demonstrate the ongoing threat that Iran-backed Houthi rebels pose to freedom of navigation and to regional economic and maritime security”.
“The United States has been clear: we will continue to take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks, which must be condemned by all members of the international community.”
In May, the Houthis agreed a ceasefire deal with the US following seven weeks of intensified US strikes on Yemen in response to the attacks on international shipping.
However, they said the agreement did not include an end to attacks on Israel, which has conducted multiple rounds of retaliatory strikes on Yemen.
The secretary-general of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) called for intensified diplomatic efforts following the new wave of attacks.
“After several months of calm, the resumption of deplorable attacks in the Red Sea constitutes a renewed violation of international law and freedom of navigation,” Arsenio Dominguez said.
“Innocent seafarers and local populations are the main victims of these attacks and the pollution they cause,” he warned.
[BBC]
At 67 for 5 in the 12th over, Pakistan were under the cosh against Bqngladesh in their bronze-medal playoff at the Asian Games women’s competition. That’s when Fatima Sana walked out, slammed 45 in 30 balls, and gave Pakistan 145, which was 31 too many for Bangladesh, especially after Umm-e-Hani picked up three top- and middle-order wickets to end with 3 for 10 from her four overs.
Bangladesh’s big concern, of late and in general, has been the number of dot balls they play out in a typical T20 innings. In this game, it was a marginal improvement from the loss to India in the semi-final – they had 43 dot balls here compared to 61 in that game. But it was still fewer than the 48 they bowled to Pakistan in the first half. The difference was Sana, who scored at 150.00 to change the complexion of the contest.
Pakistan’s start had been decent, thanks to Gull Feroza, after they won the toss and opted to bat. Feroza and Shawaal Zulfiqar added 46 in 41 balls before being separated in the seventh over. The one to be dismissed was Feroza, who had scored 31 in 23 balls. Zulfiqar batted on before becoming the third batter to fall, having struggled to 17 off 27 balls. And the wickets kept falling, Shorna Akter picking up two of them to leave Pakistan in a mess with five batters gone.
Sana had a solid stand for the sixth wicket with Aliya Riyaz, who scored 25 in 22 balls and added 67 with Sana in just 43 balls. The control Bangladesh had was gone with the two hitting five sixes between them.
The target for Bangladesh, which looked like it might be in the region of 100, was suddenly closer to 150. And the chase never took off. Umm-e-Hani struck in the third over, then in the fifth over, and again in the 16th over. By then, Bangladesh were floundering: 77 for 5 with under five overs to go.
The resistance came from senior pro Sharmin Akther, who scored an unbeaten 46 in 45 balls, but there was nothing around her, and Pakistan ran out comfortable, 31-run victors.
Scores:
Pakistan women 145 for 8 in 20 overs (Shawaal Zulfiqar 17, Fatima Sana 45, Gull Feroza 31, Aliya Riyaz 25; Sanija Akter Meghla 1-28, Nahida Akter 2-21, Shorna Akter 2-16, Ritu Moni 2-27) beat Bangladesh women 114 for 7 in 20 overs (Dilara Akter 12, Nigar Sultana 25, Sharmin Akhter 46*, Nahida Akter 10*; Tasmia Rubab 1-25, Fatima Sana 1-25, Umm-e-Hani 3-10, Nashra Sandhu 1-19, Ayesha Zafar 1-10) by 31 runs
(Cricinfo)
India Women won the toss and chose to bat first in the Asian Games women’s cricket final in Nishin, Japan.
India: Smriti Mandhana, Shafali Verma, G Kamalini, Harmanpreet Kaur (capt), Richa Ghosh (wk), Bharti Fulmali, Deepti Sharma, Shreyanka Patil, Kranti Gaud, N Shree Charani, Nandani Sharma
Sri Lanka: Imesha Dulani, Chamari Athapaththu (capt), Hasini Perera, Kavisha Dilhari, Harshitha Samarawickrama, Hansima Karunaratne, Kaushini Nuthyangana (wk), Kawya Kavindi, Mithali Ayodhya, Chamudi Praboda, Sugandika Kumari
(Cricinfo)
The National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC), which is being established under the Presidential Secretariat with the aim of removing administrative and regulatory barriers that exist among government institutions in relation to investment and industry and expediting these processes, will be opened tomorrow (22).
The centre is being established on the President’s initiative with the aim of bringing about a positive transformation in the industrial sector. The centre will provide solutions to issues that arise in dealing with the government machinery when starting and operating a business, while also coordinating with the relevant government institutions to provide the necessary facilities.
The “ViYASA” National Business Facilitation Centre (NBFC) has been established at Building C-80, Hector Kobbekaduwa Mawatha, Colombo 07, and is headed by Senior Additional( Secretary to the President, Seevali Arukgoda.
The centre will be opened under the patronage of Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning Dr Anil Jayantha Fernando and Minister of Industry and Entrepreneurship Development Sunil Handunnetti, with the participation of Secretary to the President Dr Nandika Sanath Kumanayake.
The website https://nbfc.presidentsoffice.gov.lk is also scheduled to be officially launched on the occasion.
President’s Media Division)
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