Regional
Shippers mask positions, weigh options amid Red Sea attacks
A number of container ships are anchored in the Red Sea and others have turned off tracking systems as traders adjust routes and prices in response to maritime attacks by Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis on the world's main East-West trade route.
Attacks in recent days on ships in the major Red Sea shipping route have raised the specter of another bout of disruption to international commerce following the upheaval of the COVID pandemic, and prompted a U.S.-led international force to patrol waters near Yemen, Reuters reported.
The Red Sea is linked to the Mediterranean by the Suez Canal, which creates the shortest shipping route between Europe and Asia. About 12% of world shipping traffic transits the canal.
Major shippers including Hapag Lloyd (HLAG.DE), MSC and Maersk (MAERSKb.CO), oil major BP (BP.L) and oil tanker group Frontline (FRO.OL) have said they will be avoiding the Red Sea route and re-routing via southern Africa's Cape of Good Hope.
But many ships are still plying the waterway. Several ships underway have armed guards on board, LSEG data showed.
At least 11 container ships which had passed through Suez and were approaching Yemen carrying consumer goods and grains bound for countries including Singapore, Malaysia and the United Arab Emirates, are now anchored in the Red Sea between Sudan and Saudi Arabia, LSEG shiptracking data showed.
Four MSC container ships in the Red Sea have had their transponders turned off since Dec. 17, the data showed, likely to avoid detection.
Some vessels are attempting to mask their positions by pinging on other locations, as a safety precaution when entering the Yemen coastline, said Ioannis Papadimitriou, senior freight analyst at Vortexa.
Denmark's Maersk on Friday paused all container shipments through the Red Sea following a "near-miss incident" involving its vessel Maersk Gibraltar a day earlier. A number of the ships at anchor in the Red Sea are Maersk vessels, LSEG data showed.
On Tuesday it said vessels previously paused and due to sail through the southern Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden would be rerouted around Africa.
The Iran-backed Houthis, who say they are supporting Palestinians under siege by Israel in the Gaza Strip, have waded into the Israel-Hamas conflict by attacking vessels in vital shipping lanes and even firing drones and missiles at Israel, more than 1,000 miles from the Yemeni capital Sanaa.
Houthis attacked two commercial shipping vessels in the southern Red Sea on Monday.
Industry sources say the impact on global trade will depend on how long the crisis persists, but insurance premiums and longer routes would be immediate burdens.
Vortexa's Papadimitriou on Tuesday said the price of a Suezmax to carry crude from the Middle East to Europe has risen 25% in a week.
The disruption to energy flows in the Red Sea is unlikely to have large effects on crude and liquefied natural gas (LNG) prices, Goldman Sachs said on Monday, as vessels can be redirected.
"We do estimate that a hypothetical prolonged redirection of all 7 million barrels per day of gross (Northbound and Southbound) oil flows would raise spot crude prices relative to long-dated prices by $3-4/per barrel
Regional
Four killed, 32 injured in explosion in Pakistan
The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed the attack in a post on social media, while the Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the attack.
At least four people were killed and 32 others injured in an explosion in Pakistan's southwestern Balochistan province on Saturday, local media and officials said.
The incident happened in Turbat district of the province, where a convoy was attacked and a bus in it was struck during the assault, officials told Xinhua on condition of anonymity.
A senior police officer and his family members were injured in the attack and shifted to a nearby hospital, local reports said.
The banned Balochistan Liberation Army claimed the attack in a post on social media, while the Pakistani authorities have not confirmed the attack.
Regional
Syria to include all sectors in new government, foreign minister says
Syria's foreign minister has told Saudi Arabian officials that the new leadership in Damascus wants to set up a government involving all parts of Syrian society following the overthrow of Bashar Al-Assad last month.
Minister Asaad Hassan Al-Shibani was making the first foreign trip by a member of Syria's new administration as Western and regional powers seek signs on whether it will impose strict Islamic rule or show inclusivity in government, Reuters reported.
Al-Shibani and Syria's defence minister met with Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in Riyadh on Thursday.
"Through our visit, we conveyed our national vision of establishing a government based on partnership and efficiency that includes all Syrian components, and working to launch an economic development plan that opens the way for investment, establishes strategic partnerships, and improves living and service conditions," Al-Shibani said in a post on X.
Since ousting Assad on Dec. 8, Islamist rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) have sought to reassure Arab countries and the international community that they will govern on behalf of all Syrians and not export Islamist revolution.
HTS was al Qaeda’s Syrian affiliate until it broke off ties in 2016.
Saudi Arabia backed the rebels who fought Assad at the onset of the Syrian civil war.
More recently, Riyadh had embarked on a path of normalising ties with the Assad government, paving the way for Syria to return to the Arab League in 2023, in an effort to reduce Iranian influence in the country and to stem the flow of drugs including the methamphetamine captagon.
A Saudi source close to the government told Reuters the kingdom was committed to safeguarding the peace in Syria and that fostering stability was a top priority.
"At this critical juncture, our focus is on delivering essential humanitarian aid to the people of Syria, and we are exploring opportunities for expanded assistance in collaboration with regional partners," the source added.
Regional
Palestinian Authority suspends broadcast of Qatar’s Al Jazeera TV temporarily
The Palestinian Authority temporarily halted operations of Qatar's Al Jazeera television in the territory including its broadcasts, citing the network's dissemination of "inciting material," the Palestinian news agency WAFA said on Wednesday.
The culture, interior and communications ministers made the decision jointly because the channel broadcast material that was "deceiving and stirring strife," WAFA said without providing details on the subject matter, Reuters reported.
The order said the decision was temporary but did not specify an end date.
The Palestinian Authority criticised Al Jazeera last week over its coverage of the weeks-long standoff between Palestinian security forces and militant fighters in the Jenin camp in the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
Al Jazeera denounced Wednesday's decision as "an attempt to discourage it from reporting spiraling events in the occupied territories," according to a statement.
It called on the Palestinian Authority to rescind the decision and allow its journalists to report freely from the West Bank without intimidation.
The decision was not expected to be implemented in Hamas-run Gaza where the Palestinian Authority does not exercise power.
Fatah, the faction that controls the Palestinian Authority, said the broadcaster was sowing division in "our Arab homeland in general and in Palestine in particular". It encouraged Palestinians not to cooperate with the network.
The Israeli military in September raided Al Jazeera's bureau in the West Bank city of Ramallah and ordered it shut.
Israel in May issued an order barring the channel from operating and broadcasting in the country, saying it posed a threat to Israeli security. A court subsequently upheld the ban.
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