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☆ Two ships divert course away from Red Sea area after vessel seized by Houthis
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-20 | by ( Jonathan Saul | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

[1/5] The Galaxy Leader cargo ship is escorted by Houthi boats in the Red Sea in this photo released November 20, 2023. Israel on Sunday said the Houthis had seized a British-owned, Japanese-operated cargo ship in the southern Red Sea, describing the incident as an "Iranian act of terrorism" with consequences for international maritime security. The Houthis, an ally of Tehran, confirmed that they had seized a ship in that area but described it as Israeli. The Glovis Star drifted for a number of hours in the Red Sea before continuing its journey, AIS ship tracking data showed on Monday. Houthi leadership last week said their forces would make further attacks on Israel and they could target Israeli ships in the Red Sea and the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Persons: Yemen's Houthis, Ray Car, Ambrey, Hermes, Isaac Herzog, Jonathan Saul, Mark Porter, Christina Fincher Organizations: Galaxy Leader, Houthi Military, REUTERS Acquire, Sunday, Nippon, Galaxy, Ray, Ray Car Carriers, Glovis, Hermes, AIS, Galaxy Maritime Ltd, Thomson Locations: Red, Gulf, Aden, Israel, British, Tehran, Japan, Saudi, Omani, Nishtun, Yemen, Sri Lanka, Mandeb Strait . U.S, Hodeidah

☆ In Oman, Frankincense Still Tops Gift Lists
▼ + stars: | 2023-11-17 | by ( David Belcher | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

For Maryam Belhaf, her frankincense products business, called Alshoala, is about sharing her family’s connection with the resin, which dates back at least five generations. “My grandmother and other ladies used to get the frankincense from the trees when they went out with their goats, and then traded it for food from local merchants,” she said. Ms. Belhaf now has 15 employees (and several family members still help extract resin from the trees). She sells frankincense as chunks mixed with lavender, which is burned for its scent; as a perfume mixed with rose and musk; and as various scented lotions and skin toners (from eight to 25 Omani rial, or $21 to $65). It also offers silver incense burners handmade in the region (about 45 rial).

Persons: Maryam Belhaf, “, ”, Belhaf Locations: Aden, Yemen, India, Europe, ”, Salalah, Dhofar

☆ I worked as an engineer on merchant vessels and my ship was held hostage by pirates for 8 months. I still cherish my career at sea.
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-13 | by ( Hannah Towey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +14 min

Chirag Bahri worked as an engineer on merchant vessels during a nearly decade-long career at sea. In 2010, his chemical tanker was held hostage by pirates for eight months. I had just joined the crew and I really needed to be on the ship to earn money. I was in the engine room when I got the call that pirates had boarded the ship. I still cherish the time I spent working onboard ships and I would encourage people to look at seafaring as a very positive, rewarding profession.

Persons: Bahri, —, Marguerite, Farah Abdi Warsameh, I'm, Bahri's, Dharmesh Gohil, Sattish Bate, Chirag Bahri, Dierk Lindemann, there's Organizations: Service, Chirag Bahri, International, International Seafarers Welfare, Assistance, Regional, South, Maritime, Google, International Maritime Bureau, AP, Hindustan Times, Getty, Asphalt Venture, Chirag Locations: South Asia, India, Belgium, Aden, Asia, East, Europe, Somalia, English, al, Shabab, South Somalia, Salalah, Chirag

☆ How 1880s technology made it possible for 2 women to travel around the world in under 80 days
▼ + stars: | 2023-10-07 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +19 min

In 1889, journalist Nellie Bly set off on a trip around the world, trying to make it under 80 days. "You see a huge emphasis being placed on building ships that were ever faster than the previous generation of ships," Goodman said. Once aboard the train, Bly began to receive telegrams from her editors and well-wishers. "Sometimes it literally literally just says, 'Nelly Bly's train,'" Behn said. For Behn, what Bly and Bisland did remains incredible and deserve to be remembered as much as Verne's story.

Persons: Nellie Bly, Elizabeth Bisland, —, Jules Verne's, Bly, Bisland, Adrien Behn, Matthew Goodman, Elizabeth Bisland's, Victoria, Augusta Victoria, Henry Guttmann, seasickness, Behn, San Francisco —, Bettmann, Goodman, John Mix Stanley, Said, Getty Images Bly, they'd, Alfred Touchemolin's, voyaged, She'd, James Buchanan, Joseph Pulitzer's, Nelly Bly's, Jules Verne, Thomas Cook, Fogg, Nelly, she'd Organizations: Service, Cosmopolitan, Atlantic, Hulton, Western, Central Pacific, Union Pacific, Union Pacific's Overland, Rockies, Railroad, US, Ships, Suez, Getty Images, Workers, SSPL, Headquarters, Thomas Cook &, Companies Locations: London, New Jersey, New York, California, Blackwell's, of, New York Harbor, Chicago, Omaha, Utah, San, Salt, Union, Iowa, San Francisco, Midwest, Between Nebraska, Sacramento , California, Sierra Nevada, Lake Jessie , North Dakota, Washington ,, Philadelphia, Suez, Europe, Asia, Africa, Britain, India, Port Said, Egypt, Yemen, commonwealths, British, Aden, Colombo, Penang, Hong Kong, Singapore, Ceylon, Yokohama, France, Germany, America, South China, Nevada, Russian Empire, East, North America, London's, Italy, Ireland, United States, Japan, China

The remarks signal that his group might not get on board for a solution without inclusion of a separate state's creation. Earlier this year, the head of the country’s internationally recognized government brushed aside the issue. In response, the Saudi-led coalition intervened in 2015 to try to restore the internationally recognized government to power. The conflict has become enmeshed in a wider regional proxy war the Saudi kingdom faced against longtime regional rival Iran. “I am in New York and meters away from the headquarters of the United Nations, and we are only asking for what is stated, under the laws the United Nations made and on which it was founded,” he said.

Persons: Aidarous, Zubaidi, —, ”, “ Organizations: UNITED NATIONS, Yemen’s, Transitional Council, Associated Press, General Assembly, United Arab, Al, United Nations Locations: Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Aden, Sanaa, Saudi, Iran, United Arab Emirates, UAE, New York

☆ China Wants to Challenge U.S. Military Power Around the World - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Craig Singleton | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

At Cambodia’s Ream Naval Base, China is nearing completion of what U.S. officials suspect will be its first overseas military outpost in the Indo-Pacific region. Beyond facilitating Chinese military adventurism in the South China Sea, the new base could provide the People’s Liberation Army (P.L.A.) with a staging ground to monitor and influence vital maritime routes like the Malacca Strait, through which an estimated 40 percent of the world’s trade flows. But the base also shines a light on Beijing’s broader embrace of an innovative strategy to challenge American military strength that has potentially grave implications for Washington and its allies. China has plainly stated that these points are designed to “provide support for overseas military operations” and “exert political and military influence” abroad.

Organizations: Ream, Liberation Army Locations: Base, China, South China, Malacca, Washington, Aden . China, Djibouti, East Africa, Equatorial Guinea, Solomon Islands, South Pacific

☆ How a Judge’s Ruling on Torture Imperils a Guantánamo Prosecution Strategy
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-26 | by ( Carol Rosenberg | More About Carol Rosenberg | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

In late 2006, in an effort to turn the page on a legacy of state-sponsored torture, prosecutors for the George W. Bush administration began an experiment at Guantánamo Bay. They set up teams of law enforcement officers to try to obtain voluntary confessions from men who had spent years in brutal conditions in isolated C.I.A. A military judge declared that experiment a failure, at least in one case. In a wide-ranging ruling, Col. Lanny J. Acosta Jr. threw out a confession that federal agents at Guantánamo Bay obtained in 2007 from a Saudi prisoner who is accused of plotting the suicide bombing of the U.S.S. But Mr. Nashiri, who was arrested in 2002, had spent four years in secret C.I.A.

Persons: George W, Bush, Lanny J, Acosta Jr, Cole, Abd al, Rahim, Nashiri, ” Organizations: Saudi Locations: Aden, Yemen, U.S

Human Rights Watch/Handout via REUTERS Acquire Licensing RightsDUBAI/HARAR, Ethiopia, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabian border guards have killed hundreds of Ethiopian migrants, including women and children, who attempted enter the kingdom along its mountainous border with Yemen, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on Monday. In a 73-page report, the rights group said Saudi guards used explosive weapons to kill some migrants and shot at others from close range. Saudi authorities have also strongly denied allegations made by U.N. officials in 2022 that border guards systematically killed migrants last year. HRW said it based its report on witness testimony as well as 350 videos and photos of wounded and killed migrants, and satellite imagery showing the location of Saudi Arabian guard posts. A letter issued by the kingdom's U.N. mission in March 2023 rejected the allegation, saying that Saudi border security regulations "ensure humane treatment...no form of mistreatment or torture is tolerated."

Persons: U.N, Nadia Hardman, Hardman, Mustafa Sofian Mohammed, Mustafa, Sofian Mohammed Abdulla, Mustafa's, Stephane Dujarric, Andrew Mills, Emma Farge, Daphne Psaledakis, Dawit, Daniel Flynn Organizations: Human Rights, REUTERS Acquire, Rights, Rights Watch, Saudi, Ethiopian, Reuters, State Department, Al, Al Thawra Hospital, International Organization for Migration, Hallelujah, HRW, Rehabilitation, Torture, UN Human Rights, Gulf Bureau, Tiksa, Milan Pavicic, Thomson Locations: Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Rights DUBAI, HARAR, Saudi Arabian, Saudi, Addis Ababa, U.S, Tigray, Horn of Africa, Aden, Ethiopian, Harar, Al Thawra, Sanaa, Addis, New York, Gulf, Tiksa Negeri, Milan, Gdansk, Geneva, Washington

CNN —Saudi border guards killed “hundreds” of Ethiopian migrants and asylum seekers crossing the Yemen-Saudi border between March 2022 and June 2023, Human Rights Watch alleged in a report released Monday. Several videos purportedly recorded near an informal migrant camp appear to show Saudi border guard posts, and newly constructed fences next to one. “Saudi border guards have used explosive weapons indiscriminately and shot people at close range, including women and children, in a pattern that is widespread and systematic. But despite a reduction in abuses, human rights groups say violence has continued, and some migrants HRW interviewed said they had fled because of the recent conflict. Interviewees described being attacked by Saudi border guards, describing their uniforms and describing the explosive weapons being “like a bomb.”“We were fired on repeatedly.

Persons: HRW, ” HRW, ” Organizations: CNN, Human Rights Watch, HRW, Maxar Technologies CNN, Saudi, Human Rights, Reuters, United Nations Locations: Saudi, Yemen, Al Raqw, Horn of Africa, Aden, Saudi Arabia, Ethiopia’s, Tigray, Amhara, Oromia, Djibouti, Houthi, Saada, United States, Iran

☆ Modern day pirate hunters operate in the 'wild, wild West' as they track countless vessels smuggling 'arms, drugs, and people' on the open seas, former Naval admiral says
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-25 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Modern day piracy is alive and well on the open seas. A recent Navy seizure notice shed light on the litany of illegal goods being trafficked. "As long as ships go to sea, there's gonna be piracy," a retired Navy admiral told Insider. "Somewhere in the world today, there's a pirate event," Terry McKnight, a retired Rear Admiral in the US Navy, told Insider. But the moment they exit territorial waters and make for the open seas, maritime officials are ready to apprehend them, he said.

Persons: Terry McKnight, McKnight, Matthew Bash Organizations: Service, US Navy, United States Naval Forces Central Command, International Maritime Bureau, Combined, Force, Getty, U.S . Coast Guard Maritime Safety, U.S . Navy, Warfare Locations: Wall, Silicon, yesteryear, Gulf of Oman, Yemen Republic, West, Somalia, Gulf, Aden, Yemen, Africa, U.S

☆ A professor found $550,000 of 'floating gold' in the entrails of a dead sperm whale. Here's why ambergris is so expensive.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-08 | by ( Nathan Rennolds | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A professor found a lump of ambergris, or "floating gold," worth 500,000 euros in a dead whale. The stone, which was worth 500,000 euros, or around $545,000, was made of ambergris — a strange, naturally-occurring substance that's known as "floating gold." It can be judged by the color of the ambergris, with black having the least ambrein and white the most. Top perfumes are usually made with white ambergris, while substitute chemicals are used in cheaper ones. In 2021, a group of fishermen in the Gulf of Aden sold a chunk of ambergris worth around $1.5 million to a buyer in the United Arab Emirates.

Persons: Antonio Fernández, Alexis Rosenfeld, Richard Sabin Organizations: Service, of Animal Health, Food Security, Universidad, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, National Geographic, United, United Arab Emirates, BBC Locations: Wall, Silicon, La, Gulf, Aden, United Arab

☆ Nasdaq expects expanded markets to justify $10.5 bln Adenza merger price tag
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-22 | by ( John Mccrank | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

By one metric, Nasdaq paid around what Thoma Bravo spent on creating Adenza through the merger of two software firms, the sources familiar with the deal said. Nasdaq also hopes to cut overlapping costs, which would boost profitability and make the deal look cheaper, one of the sources said. With Adenza, Nasdaq's recurring revenues, which investors like for their predictability, will comprise around 77% of overall revenues, up from 71%. A director at one of Nasdaq's largest shareholders, whose firm supports the Adenza deal, said there were few good companies left that could be synergistic to Nasdaq. One of the sources said once Nasdaq also cuts out costs, the multiple will be closer to the mid-20s.

Persons: Thoma, Adena, Thoma Bravo, Friedman, Rosenblatt, Andrew Bond, Adena's, she's, Bond, Morningstar, Michael Miller, pushback, Adenza, Verafin, John McCrank, Paritosh Bansal, David Gregorio Our Organizations: YORK, Nasdaq, Thoma Bravo, Adenza, Rosenblatt Securities, BBB, Adenza's, Thomson Locations: United States, Europe, Adenza

☆ Nasdaq deepens fintech push with $10.5 bln Adenza deal
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-12 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nasdaq said buying Adenza is expected to increase the medium-term organic revenue growth outlook for its Solutions Businesses, which designs and develops financial software for investors, from 7%-10% to 8%-11%. It intends to issue about 14.5% of its outstanding shares to the owners of Adenza, which is controlled by Thoma Bravo. Adenza, which makes software used by banks and brokerages, is expected to hit about $590 million in annual 2023 revenue, Nasdaq added. The upbeat results came on the back of the company's $2.75 billion deal for anti-financial crime software firm Verafin. Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC and J.P. Morgan Securities LLC are financial advisors to Nasdaq, while Qatalyst Partners LP is lead financial advisor to Thoma Bravo and Adenza on the deal.

Persons: Thoma, Adena Friedman, Tal Cohen, Friedman, Adenza, Goldman Sachs, Manya Saini, Nivedita Organizations: Nasdaq, Thoma Bravo, Solutions, Wall, Goldman Sachs & Co, Morgan Securities, Qatalyst, Thomson Locations: U.S, Bengaluru

☆ 10 things that happen to your body when you stop drinking coffee
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-09 | by ( Brooke Nelson | Reader'S Digest | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

While there are numerous health benefits to drinking coffee, cutting the habit can make a major impact on your body as well. But if you suspect you're drinking too much coffee or caffeine and want to cut back, here's what could happen. Here are some signs you're drinking too much coffee. When you stop drinking coffee, you deprive your body of adrenaline and dopamine, hormones that act as natural stimulants and keep you awake. Here are some things that happen to your body when you switch from coffee to tea.

Persons: —, tiredness —, Wesley Delbridge, you'll, it's, Justin Caba, Caba, MedicalDaily, pesky, minty Organizations: Service, Duke University, telltale, Academy of Nutrition, University of Scranton, British, of Psychology

☆ Sudan’s army says evacuations of diplomats expected to begin
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Heavy smoke billows above buildings in the vicinity of the Khartoum airport on April 15, 2023, amid clashes in the Sudanese capital. The military said that army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan had spoken to leaders of various countries requesting safe evacuations of their citizens and diplomats from Sudan. With Sudan's airspace closed, foreign countries have ordered their citizens to simply shelter in place until they can figure out evacuation plans. Burhan said that some diplomats from Saudi Arabia had already been evacuated from Port Sudan, the country's main seaport on the Red Sea, and airlifted back to the kingdom. Even as questions persisted over how the mass evacuation of foreign citizens would unfold, the Saudi Foreign Ministry announced Saturday that it had started arranging the evacuation of Saudi nationals out of the country.

☆ Navy, Coast Guard intercept boat with 180 tons of Iranian explosive materials headed to Yemen
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Https | Media-Cldnry.S-Nbcnews.Com Image Upload Newscms Courtney-Kube-Circle-Byline-Template.Jpg | Courtney Kube | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

The U.S. Navy and Coast Guard intercepted an enormous Iranian shipment of explosive materials headed to Yemen last week, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command. The USS The Sullivans transferred the four Yemeni crew to the Yemeni Coast Guard in the Gulf of Aden so they could be handed over to Yemeni civil authorities. The U.S. seized a ship with 180 tons of Iranian explosive material and spent days unloading the vessel before sinking it. The dhow also had more than 100 tons of urea fertilizer, which can be used as an explosive precursor. “This was a massive amount of explosive material, enough to fuel more than a dozen medium-range ballistic missiles, depending on the size,” according to Vice Adm. Brad Cooper, the commander of U.S.

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