International
Yemen’s Houthi rebels dismiss 39 ministers and leave a government without women
The Houthi rebels of Yemen announced on Monday an important reorganization of their internationally unrecognized government – in which the female presence completely disappears -, consisting of the dismissal of 39 ministers and the reduction of the number of ministries from 42 to 21.
Two days after the appointment of a new prime minister, the head of the Supreme Political Council of the Houthi, Mahdi al Mashat, issued a decree in which he appoints the members of the new government, which will be headed by the newly appointed prime minister, Ahmad al Rahawi, and whom he asked to form a new Executive after leaving the ministerial portfolios in the middle, reported the Houthi news agency Saba.
Sheikh Mohamed Muftah, who heads the Huti National Committee to Support Al Aqsa, was appointed first deputy prime minister in this remodeling in which only the Deputy Prime Minister of Defense and Security, Jalal al Rowaishan; the Minister of Defense, Mohamed al Atifi, and the Minister of the Interior, AbdulKreem al Huti, retained their positions in the new cabinet, according to this decree.
Among the ministers who were dismissed is the Minister of Education, Yahya al Huti, brother of the leader of the group, Abdulmalik al Huti. The female presence of the previous Government, which included a Minister of Human Rights and two Ministers of State without a portfolio, disappears completely.
This reorganization of the cabinet meant the merger of some portfolios, including those of Justice and Human Rights, Foreign Affairs and Expatriates, Public Service and Administrative Development, Transport and Public Works.
The portfolios of Economy, Industry and Investment, Agriculture, Fisheries and Water Resources, Education and Scientific Research, Electricity, Energy and Water, Health and Environment, Culture and Tourism were also affected.
The new government was abolished the portfolios of International Planning and Cooperation, Technical Education and Vocational Training, Legal Affairs, Religious Guidance, Local Administration, as well as the positions of Ministers of State.
The formation of the new government shows the determination of the Houthis to rationalize spending and control inflation in the administrative structure of their government in the midst of their operations in the Red Sea framed by the conflict in the Gaza Strip.
In addition, the appointment of politicians from the southern provinces for some government portfolios indicates an attempt to please the Southerners, whose areas are under the control of the internationally recognized government and the Southern Transitional Council backed by the United Arab Emirates, both rivals of the Houthis.
International
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump criticized what he described as unfair fees imposed on American ships passing through the Panama Canal and threatened to demand that Washington take back control of the strategic waterway.
“Our Navy and commerce have been threatened in a very unjust and reckless way. The rates that Panama charges are ridiculous,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
The president-elect also denounced the growing influence of China in the canal, a situation he called concerning as U.S. businesses depend on the waterway to transport goods between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
“This complete scam against our country will end immediately,” he stated.
The Panama Canal, completed by the United States in 1914, was handed over to Panama under the 1977 treaty signed by Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Panama took full control of the commercial passage in 1999.
“It was exclusively for Panama to manage, not China or anyone else,” Trump said. “We would never allow it to fall into the wrong hands!”
“If Panama cannot guarantee a ‘safe, efficient, and reliable’ operation of the canal, we will demand that the Panama Canal be returned to us in its entirety, without a doubt,” the Republican added.
Panamanian authorities did not immediately respond to Trump’s statements. While he will assume office on January 20, Trump has been exerting his political influence in the final days of President Joe Biden’s administration.
Five percent of global maritime trade passes through the Panama Canal, which allows vessels traveling from Asia to the U.S. East Coast to avoid the long and dangerous route around the southern tip of South America.
The countries that use the Panama Canal the most are the United States, China, Japan, and South Korea.
In October, the Panama Canal Authority reported earnings of nearly $5 billion in the last fiscal year.
International
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Russian President Vladimir Putin promised more “destruction” in Ukraine on Sunday, in response to a drone strike that hit a residential building in the city of Kazan, located in central Russia, on Saturday.
Russia accused Ukraine of launching a “massive” drone attack, which struck a luxury apartment block in Kazan, about 1,000 kilometers from the border.
Videos shared on Russian social media show drones hitting a high-rise glass building. No casualties have been reported as a result of the attack.
In his statements, Putin addressed the local leader of Tatarstan, the region where Kazan is located, during a virtual ceremony marking the opening of a road.
The attack in Kazan is the latest in a series of increasingly frequent bombings in this nearly three-year-old conflict. Ukraine has not commented on the attack.
Putin had previously threatened to strike the center of Kyiv with a hypersonic ballistic missile in response to Ukrainian attacks on Russian territory.
The Russian Ministry of Defense stated that the recent Russian strikes on Ukrainian energy facilities were retaliation for Ukraine’s use of Western-supplied missiles to target Russian territory.
International
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
At least nine people were killed on Sunday after a small aircraft crashed in a commercial area of the tourist city of Gramado, in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, authorities confirmed.
“There are nine confirmed deaths according to Civil Defense services, and there are no survivors from the plane,” said Cléber dos Santos Lima, director of the Interior Police Department of the Civil Police of the state, in a statement to AFP.
Authorities have not yet confirmed the exact number of passengers and crew aboard the aircraft, a turbo-prop Piper Cheyenne 400. However, Civil Defense had previously stated that “preliminarily, the plane was carrying ten people.”
The plane crashed on Sunday morning “into the chimney of a building, then onto the second floor of a house, and finally fell onto a furniture store,” according to a statement from the Rio Grande do Sul Public Security Secretariat.
Trump criticizes Panama Canal fees and demands U.S. control over strategic waterway
Putin vows retaliation following drone attack on luxury building in Kazan
Small plane crashes in Gramado, Brazil, killing nine people
Tec de Monterrey honors one of its students for his contribution to nanotechnology in medicine
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