An update from Ansarallah (also known as the Houthis) on the situation in Yemen, within the context of escalating US military aggression and airstrikes, including the bombing of Ras Isa Fuel Port in Hodeidah, which killed 74 people and injured 171 (some of whom were immolated by the resulting fires), as well as severely damaging or destroying all the fuel infrastructure at the port, including tanker tracks, storage tanks, and piping, leading to large fires and oil slicks that burnt and destroyed everything.

The National Defense Council, chaired by His Excellency Field Marshal Mahdi Al-Mashat, President of the Supreme Political Council and Chairman of the National Defense Council, addresses the political and military situation, developments in the US aggression against our country, and options for responding and confronting the aggression.

Twitter source, retweeted by official Yemeni Armed Forces officials such as Brigadier General Yahya Sare'e

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~~Are the Saudis about to get bombed again? Saudi Arabian Formula 1 Grand Prix starts in less than two hours.~~

In the end, it was just the announcement of Yemeni sanctions against US companies, and an overview of military actions. Biggest military news is that it's heavily implied that Ansarallah are primarily using an electro optical monitoring system for air defence, instead of a system in the electromagnetic spectrum like radar, with comments about bypassing "electromagnetic jamming". No big announcements otherwise.

So we can agree that went to the Vatican to kill the Pope, right?

They made the money go bad again

if saudis weren't such pieces of shit, that would mean something

Finnish national news is running a hero story on two guys who have gone to Ukraine to fight. The story is fully uncritical of this and the two dudes are platformed giving advice to Finnish defense forces and people on how we are fully unprepared for when Russia attacks (because in these minds this is what will happen).

I would like to know what sorts of organizations does a kid like this need to be connected to to end up in command positions in the Donbass? But of course the article never asks this, just states how these young lads packed their bags and went to war, just like that.

Interesting visual emphasis on the lion tattoo too, almost like they are trying to make a vague point of what isn't there. But we don't see the whole arm, nor is the lion all that non-fashy in history either.

The other dude cites a message where their thinking goes: "It's time for peaceful nations to stand up..." This is some sort of manifesto for them. As this is how they do peaceful, it's totally f'd up.

The comment section is all men being great war and Russia understanders who seem to all think Finland is somehow a part of this war. It's very smug and typical in a country with a draft where all dudes think they are the greatest war tacticians to ever live because they have been in the army.

Algeria reports surge in Chinese investments

"Chinese investments in Algeria have sharply increased over the past few years and the bulk of them are in industrial projects, official Algerian data showed on Wednesday.

Chinese investments are now estimated at nearly $4.5 billion covering 42 projects, showed the figures by the Algerian Investment Promotion Agency (AIPA).

The projects include 22 direct investments by Chinese companies and 20 joint Chinese-Algerian ventures, the report said.

It did not provide details of the investments but Chinese companies have invested heavily in Algeria’s energy sector, vehicles and other industries.

The latest Chinese foray in Algeria was last month, when Great Wall Motors announced its intention to build a car assembly plant in the OPEC country.

AIPA reported last week that it has registered more than 12,800 projects with a value of nearly $43 billion since it was created in late 2022."

https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/industry/algeria-reports-surge-in-chinese-investments-owcgdyfk

The late pope really held on for Easter, huh.

US VP Vance asserts in a tweet that illegal aliens comprise at least 6% of the US population

more than 20 million people

spoiler the entire population of El Salvador + the entire population of Honduras + the entire population of Panama

that's two entire Swedens

spoiler I can sum the populations of twenty two European countries without hitting that number

the 64th largest country in the world is actually just illegally living in the United States

spoiler illegal immigrants are actually the fourth largest US state, surpassing New York

that's NYC + LA + Chi-town + fuck Houston + hooked on Phoenix + Philly, (city limits only), all illegal

spoiler that's about spot on for the entire population of the New York City Metropolitan Area That the administration wishes to deport

"We have nothing to lose but our chains" quotes noted {Marxist theorist|radical centrist} David Brooks in an NYT opinion piece:

What’s Happening Is Not Normal. America Needs an Uprising That Is Not Normal.

In case anyone's wondering "why doesn't North Korea make a move on South Korea, or China on Taiwan" with the large build up of US military assets in the Middle East, with many of these assets coming from South Korea and US military bases in the region, it appears that the US has simultaneously reinforced their defences (or offensive capabilities) in the the region, with four B-1B Strategic bombers deployed to Japan, along with additional F-35A 5th generation stealth aircraft and F-35B vertical/short take off and landing (V/STOL) 5th generation stealth aircraft deployments. There are 10 US bombers deployed overseas (6x B-2 Spirit stealth bombers, and 4x B-1B bombers), flanking China from both the east and west. The 6 B-2s are currently carrying out operations against Ansarallah in Yemen.

This is also the first US bomber task force deployment to Japan since the Vietnam war.

There's also an interesting, maybe coincidental, may not, payload match up here. 6 B-2s can carry 96 JASSM stealth cruise missiles internally (6x16). 4 B-1s can also carry 96 JASSMs internally (24x4).

“The blockade has caused us many problems. We hope that the world will look at us, even for one day, as it looks at other countries. Everyone in other countries lives in comfort. Why are we condemned to this fate?” asked Sameer Badr, explaining that his children spend their days going back and forth in search of water.

---

UN News, 2025-04-13: "Resilience in the face of thirst: Trucking water in war-ravaged Gaza"

full story

In Gaza, where lack of access to water is an existential threat, Ibrahim Alloush stands out as an unsung hero, providing a lifeline to the thirsty people of the Strip.

Every day, he drives his water truck through the Strip, filling up empty tanks and vessels.

Our camera accompanied Alloush on a recent arduous mission to provide a little water to the residents of Jabalia. UN News’ correspondent met Alloush in Jabalia’s desalination plant, where he spends hours waiting for water.

Like everywhere else in Gaza, the desalination plant is overcrowded. As Gaza is running out of fuel, Alloush explained that 35 to 40 liters of diesel is needed every hour for the plant just to operate.

Hours spent waiting

At the plant, Ibrahim has to be patient: “We come to the desalination plant and wait about five hours for our turn to fill up. Water prices are very high due to production costs. People here in Gaza cannot afford water unless it is distributed by organizations, institutions, or initiatives.

“The cost of one cubic metre is very high because of how expensive diesel is, which is needed to operate the generators. One cubic metre of water can cost between 90 to 100 shekels, this is about 20 Jordanian dinars. [According to xe.com, 20 JOD is 28.20 USD or 24.82 EUR. 90-100 shekel is 24.44-27.15 USD or 21.49-23.89 EUR]”

After completing his task, Ibrahim Alloush gets into his old truck, starts its engine, and sets off on a challenging journey through the devastated neighborhoods of Jabalia.

For Alloush, the struggle does not stop at the water plant. Driving through Gaza is not easy, navigating destroyed streets and surrounded by rubble, Alloush needs to reach the people waiting for him – waiting for water.

There are always people waiting for him. It is almost impossible for trucks to reach certain areas, if it were not for Mr. Alloush, these areas would basically be lacking any supply.

No life without water

'We are suffering from a major water crisis,” says Ayman Kamal, a Gaza Strip resident. While some can wait half a day to fill up five or ten gallons of water only, others may not even be able to get water, as they were too far behind in line.

“Without water, there is no life...We wait for potable water that comes from distant areas, and people crowd to get their share,” says another resident, Fathi al-Kahlout, as he fills his bucket.

“The blockade has caused us many problems. We hope that the world will look at us, even for one day, as it looks at other countries. Everyone in other countries lives in comfort. Why are we condemned to this fate?” asked Sameer Badr, explaining that his children spend their days going back and forth in search of water.

Worsening water crisis

The continued closure of border crossings and the ban on fuel entry is paralysing desalination plants, the closure of the main water pipelines has also led to a sharp decrease in the amount of drinking water available to residents in Gaza. The water crisis is worsening, warns Children’s Fund UNICEF.

After the collapse of the ceasefire, the repair work that had been started on vital wells and water points came to a total halt, leaving many water sources either out of service or at risk of further damage.

According to UNICEF about one million people – including 400,000 children – are currently receiving a daily six-litre ration per person, a stark decrease from the previous average of 16 litres.

If fuel runs out, UNICEF warned that this amount could drop to less than four litres per day in the coming weeks, forcing families to rely on unsafe sources, significantly increasing the risk of disease outbreaks, especially among children.

Brazil's Federal Council of Medicine Bans Hormone Blockers for Trans Children and Adolescents

The Federal Council of Medicine (CFM) approved on Tuesday (8) a resolution that bans the use of hormone blockers for gender transition in children and adolescents, and raises the minimum age from 18 to 21 for undergoing gender transition surgeries that have a sterilizing effect —that is, which affect reproductive capacity.

The ban on prescribing hormone blockers does not apply to cases of early puberty or other endocrine disorders, only to those involving minors who wish to transition.

The resolution also increases the minimum age from 16 to 18 to begin cross-sex hormone therapy

US airstrikes continue on Yemen for the 33rd day and night in a row, with lots of airstrikes all over the country. Two US airstrikes took place in Saada and Dhamar Governorates, along with Saudi Arabian artillery, earlier during the daytime. During the night, over 20 airstrikes were reported in and around the capital city Sana'a, with multiple rounds of airstrikes targeting the city itself as well as underground facilities. The roar of jets was heard over Sana'a, such has become a common occurrence over the last week. Al Jawf and Hodeidah (four airstrikes) Governorates were also hit by US airstrikes. Another round of airstrikes is currently ongoing around the capital, Sana'a.

Renewed airstrikes on Hodeidah Governorate.

Videos of earlier airstrikes on Sana'a

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Warning for potential graphic imagery of casualties during ongoing airstrikes:

Al Masirah TV twitter

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As for developments in the recent US campaign, following the recent downing of an MQ-9 Reaper drone/UCAV a few days ago, a renewed attempt has been made from the Carl Vinson Aircraft Carrier's flight wing, to carry out the Suppression/Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD/DEAD) mission, to open up a corridor to other parts of Yemen in the same way a corridor has been opened up to Sana'a and Saada, so that drones and non stealth aircraft can operate freely without being fired upon or shot down in other regions of Yemen. Also plenty of stand in short range munitionss, 2000lb BLU-117 bombs fitted with GBU-31 JDAM guidance kits, being loaded into the internal weapons bays of F-35C 5th generation stealth aircraft, along with some being loaded onto F/A-18E/F series aircraft.

AGM-88E AARGM anti radiation missiles being prepared and loaded onto an EA-18G Growler SEAD aircraft (left), and an EA-18G taking off atmed with an AGM-88E:

GBU-31s being loaded onto F-35Cs:

My takeaway from this is not insightful, and the same takeaway that you can get from the outcomes of other air conflicts like the Russia-Ukraine war. If a force like Ansarallah/the Houthis, with their rudimentary air defences, can restrict the initial US bombing campaign (which used only 4th generation F/A-18 aircraft, no F-35Cs) to using standoff weapons like glide bombs and cruise missiles for the majority of strikes (stand in weapons like JDAMs were still used since the beginning, but for a minority of strikes) for the first few weeks of the conflict before they could open a more permanent corridor to Sana'a and Saada, then 4th generation non stealth aircraft are rapidly approaching their expiration date. Stealth/low radar observability and 5th generation capabilities are becoming a minimum requirement, or entry point, to waging a traditional air campaign with stand in weapons. Without stealth capabilities, aircraft are restricted to using standoff weapons. UCAVs like the MQ-9 are becoming increasingly obsolete against enemies with any form of air defence. SEAD/DEAD and electronic warfare (EW) capabilities are also incredibly important. Without the EA-18Gs, the US Navy would not be able to open these air corridors in Yemen.

Saudi prince Khalid bin Salman and the sitting President of Iran, Pezeshkian, along with their respective military and political delegates, meet in Tehran.

The Saudi Minister of Defence says:

From now on I say openly and with pride — the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia considers Iran a friend, brother, and honourable neighbour.

As I am obsessively keeping my finger on the pulse of the bsky law nerds, I should share that a whole lot of nothing happening has been happening all at once for the past few days. Still no Actual Constitutional Crisis™.

Deets (none of it means anything yet or probably ever)

• Xinis ordered expedited discovery (depositions) in Abrego Garcia suit
  • Gov't appeals and requests a stay about the meaning of the word "facilitate"
• Boasberg finds probable cause for gov't contempt in AEA plane thing
  • Gov't appeals
• 5 different judicial districts put in restraining orders on AEA deportations
• Court says Trump needs to let the Associated Press in, Trump says no, AP says please
• Restraining Order against Executive Order that banned a specific law firm that Trump doesn't like from federal property
  • Trump whines on truth social about it
• supreme court is supposed to rule about whether the president can fire anyone anywhere

US airstrikes continue on Yemen for the 35th night in a row.

Warning for potential graphic imagery of casualties during ongoing airstrikes:

Al Masirah TV twitter

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Link to yesterday's update

Latest Ansarallah/Houthi statement announcing a number of operations, including a ballistic missile launched at Israel, the shooting down of a 20th MQ-9 Reaper drone, and targeting the USS Carl Vinson Aircraft Carrier for the first time.

Satellite imagery of the aftermath of the US double tap strike on Ras Isa Fuel Port in Hodeidah, that killed 74 people, and left 171 wounded. Lots of oil slicks and fires/smoke.

I won't be providing detailed updates today, I'm quite ill.

It's funny how Dollar appreciated like crazy before Trump got elected in part due to anticipation of his policies pumping up US markets.

Now, his policies turned out to be much sillier than expected, the dollar is depreciating.

For third world countries, the fall in oil prices and the depreciating Dollar will make some of the pain from tariffs and global economic slowdown a bit better.

China should really accept local currencies of third world countries upto a certain limit, only for trade transactions. I think the "selfish" aspect of trade remains, with China preferring local currency arrangements with countries it has a trade deficit with.

https://xcancel.com/FirstSquawk/status/1912846282181214664

U.S PHILADELPHIA FED MANUFACTURING INDEX (APR) ACTUAL: -26.4 VS 12.5 PREVIOUS; EST 2.2

Lol. Lmao, even.

Exclusive: Israel still eyeing a limited attack on Iran's nuclear facilities By Erin Banco Reuters NEW YORK, April 19 (Reuters) - Israel has not ruled out an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities in the coming months despite President Donald Trump telling Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. was for now unwilling to support such a move, according to an Israeli official and two other people familiar with the matter. Israeli officials have vowed to prevent Tehran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and Netanyahu has insisted that any negotiation with Iran must lead to the complete dismantling of its nuclear program. .S. and Iranian negotiators are set for a second round of preliminary nuclear talks in Rome on Saturday. Over the past months, Israel has proposed to the Trump administration a series of options to attack Iran’s facilities, including some with late spring and summer timelines, the sources said. The plans include a mix of airstrikes and commando operations that vary in severity and could set back Tehran's ability to weaponize its nuclear program by just months or a year or more, the sources said. The New York Times reported on Wednesday that Trump told Netanyahu in a White House meeting earlier this month that Washington wanted to prioritize diplomatic talks with Tehran and that he was unwilling to support a strike on the country’s nuclear facilities in the short term. But Israeli officials now believe that their military could instead launch a limited strike on Iran that would require less U.S. support. Such an attack would be significantly smaller than those Israel initially proposed. It is unclear if or when Israel would move forward with such a strike, especially with talks on a nuclear deal getting started. Such a move would likely alienate Trump and could risk broader U.S. support for Israel. Parts of the plans were previously presented last year to the Biden administration, two former senior Biden administration officials told Reuters. Almost all required significant U.S. support via direct military intervention or intelligence sharing. Israel has also requested that Washington help Israel defend itself should Iran retaliate. In response to a request for comment, the U.S. National Security Council referred Reuters to comments Trump made on Thursday, when he told reporters he has not waved Israel off an attack but that he was not "in a rush" to support military action against Tehran. “I think that Iran has a chance to have a great country and to live happily without death,” Trump said. “That's my first option. If there's a second option, I think it would be very bad for Iran, and I think Iran is wanting to talk.” The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A senior Israeli official told Reuters that no decision has been made yet on an Iranian strike. A senior Iranian security official said Tehran was aware of Israeli planning and that an attack would provoke "a harsh and unwavering response from Iran." "We have intelligence from reliable sources that Israel is planning a major attack on Iran's nuclear sites. This stems from dissatisfaction with ongoing diplomatic efforts regarding Iran’s nuclear program, and also from Netanyahu’s need for conflict as a means of political survival," the official told Reuters. BIDEN ADMINISTRATION PUSHBACK Netanyahu received pushback from the Biden administration when he presented an earlier version of the plan. The former senior Biden officials said Netanyahu wanted the U.S. to take the lead on airstrikes but the Biden White House told Israel it did not believe a strike was prudent unless Tehran moved to accelerate its enrichment of nuclear material or expel inspectors from the country. The Biden officials also questioned the extent to which Israel’s military could effectively carry out such an attack. Former officials and experts have long said that Israel would need significant U.S. military support – and weapons – to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities and stockpiles, some of which are in underground facilities. While the more limited military strike Israel is considering would require less direct assistance - particularly in the form of U.S. bombers dropping bunker-busting munitions that can reach deeply buried facilities - Israel would still need a promise from Washington that it would help Israel defend itself if attacked by Tehran in the aftermath, the sources said. Any attack would carry risks. Military and nuclear experts say that even with massive firepower, a strike would probably only temporarily set back a program the West says aims to eventually produce a nuclear bomb, although Iran denies it. Israeli officials have told Washington in recent weeks that they do not believe U.S. talks with Iran should move forward to the deal-making stage without a guarantee that Tehran will not have the ability to create a nuclear weapon. "This can be done by agreement, but only if this agreement is Libyan style: They go in, blow up the installations, dismantle all of the equipment, under American supervision," Netanyahu said following his talks with Trump. "The second possibility is ... that they (Iran) drag out the talks and then there is the military option." From Israel's perspective, this may be a good moment for a strike against Iran's nuclear facilities. Iran allies Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon have been hammered by Israel since the Gaza war began, while the Houthi movement in Yemen has been targeted by U.S. airstrikes. Israel also severely damaged Iran's air defense systems in an exchange of fire in October 2024. A top Israeli official, speaking with reporters earlier this month, recognized there was some urgency if the goal was to launch a strike before Iran rebuilds its air defenses. But the senior official refused to state any timeline for possible Israeli action and said discussing this would be "pointless".

Reporting by Erin Banco; Additional reporting by Parisa Hafesi in Dubai and the Jerusalem newsroom; Editing by Don Durfee and Daniel Wallis

I have a feeling El Salvador will be an easy target for Dems to get revenge on if they win to score easy political points. I’m expecting sanctions. Lots of them.

This will only create more migrants and more Bukele-like figures in their neighboring countries. Castro in Honduras has also had a rather harsh crackdown on crime. So has everyone else in the region. But American liberals keep saying, “you’ve made a very powerful enemy” because just like when they use idpol, concern for others only matters when it’s Americans suffering or the bad guy of the year is doing it. Otherwise you can slowly choke on sanctions.

Jerome Powell gave a press conference today where he all but used the S-word (stagflation) to describe the Fed's current economy outlook post-Liberation Day. Should history repeat itself, that would mean Neo-Reagan is probably 6-8 years away.

Surprised it took this long for Russia to pick up Israel’s rhetoric

“ 🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦 Russia's Ministry of Defense reported that a precision strike was carried out yesterday in Sumy using two Iskander-M missiles, targeting a meeting of senior Ukrainian military leadership.

The strike reportedly hit its intended target, resulting in the elimination of over 60 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel, including members of the command staff”

https://t.me/DDGeopolitics/144794

Chinese President Xi Jinping concluded a 5-day tour of Southeast Asia to strengthen ties between nations. Last year, the countries of the ASEAN regional bloc were his main destinations, with a total of 586.5 billion dollars.

• Telesur English

It’s not Joever till I say it’s Joever

COMMENT: Could the US strike a deal to restart Nord Stream gas pipeline? (archive link: https://archive.is/PiRGp)

Stephen Lynch (the investor, not the artist) wants to take over Nordstream and start it up again under US ownership.

US investor and a veteran of the Russian market Stephen Lynch has already applied for permission to take the pipeline over, which currently belongs to Germany. [...] Lynch has already submitted a request to have sanctions on the pipeline suspended to allow the deal to go ahead but it has apparently not yet been approved. [...] “In other words, if the United States can’t stop Russia from increasing its gas supplies to Europe after the end of the war, it should try to control them,”

So Van Hollen met with Kilmar in El Salvador and Kilmar just had to go back to jail afterwards? Weren't they outside at a restaurant?

"Commemoration of 1994 Genocide against Tutsi in Rwanda"

Nelly Darlene Teta, Cindy Monia Keza, Sandrine Amahoro Rutayisire, and Allegra Nshuti, read a poem and lights candles in honour of families lost during the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda during the 31st commemoration of the genocide on the International Day of Reflection on the Genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda.

The event was co-organized by Permanent Mission of Rwanda and Department of Global Communications.

©UN Photo/Manuel Elías, 2025-04-07

There's an unverified DPRK AMA going on over on Lemmy and .world

Edit: pretty nuanced and not a caricature of Yeonmi Park, so either a well-educated troll or real.

Edit 2: .world took theirs down, lol

Edit 3: it's back. Decent but not verified info, interesting but take it with a large heaping of salt.

MAJOR PORTUGUESE election campaign drama, possibly compromised judiciary???

So the public prosecutor received an anonymous complaint about possible wrongdoing in the acquisition of 2 apartments (or something like that) by the leader of the center-left socialist party, Pedro Nuno Santos (often called PNS). This comes after the leader of the center-right government, Luis Montenegro has been under public scrutiny for months because of payments made to his family's company by casino and hotel conglomerates, which the public prosecutor said they were "pre-investigating" but nothing came of it yet, and the guy is still still running for PM. Also after the former socialist party PM Antonio Costa (now president of the EU council) resigned after the public prosecutor announced they were investigating him for possible corruption, which ended up not leading anywhere.

PNS immediately came out and, unlike Montenegro who just insisted he did nothing wrong, explained everything about those properties and how he acquired them (and how he owes the bank 400k), basically, he has a rich dad and a rich wife, he used to have a really good car that his dad bought him but he sold it off after saying it "didn't match with his socialist values", honestly I doubt he actually did anything illegal and so do most people that's why this smells fishy.

The government and the socialist party are pretty much tied in the polls now but the socialists have been rising, and after striking down an absolute majority socialist government, and mostly ignoring a PM that technically gets monthly payments by private companies, the public prosecutor suddenly announces they're investigating the leader of the opposition 1 month away from elections?

The guy is also the most "left-wing" leader the socialists have had this century, during the troika he got caught on a hot mic saying portugal should just declare we wouldn't be paying our debts to german banks and then "their legs would shake", during the contraption government he was also in charge of negotiating with the left block and communist party for them to approve government budgets. That's pretty based but he's also not that left-populist guy anymore, he's to the right of, say, Bernie and Corbyn, and his idea of a developmental regime for Portugal would immediately have to face EU restrictions, which would split the socialist party (one of the most europeanist parties in europe).

In better news, there's some groundswell for Paulo Raimundo the leader of the communist party's performance in the 20 minute long televised debates between party leaders, I'm hearing this from both friends and, surprisingly, family who did not like the guy 2 years ago. Now I despise the format of these debates so I'm not watching them, basically each candidate gets in theory 10 minutes and then after each debate they bring out the fucking dumbest pundits in the office to talk for 30-60 minutes and, I shit you not, "give scores" to each leader for their "performance", not the content or politics of what they said, just their performance and how much they owned the other guy, WHICH IS CRAZY, does that happen in your country too???

Anyway while a lot of these pundits would never give a communist a good score some of them have pretty much been forced to, or at least they lower the score of whoever he as debating since they can't possible argue that Raimundo had lost the debate. Surprisingly I'm hearing that there's not a lot of ukraine talk, there's only been a couple of instances where Raimundo had to reiterate for the umpteenth time that the party doesn't support arms shipments to ukraine. Now this has a lot of comrades feeling very hopeful that the party might regain some of the vote share it lost last time, which would mean the party would increase its vote share in a national election for the first time since 2015, and possibly regain some of its strongholds. I'll remain cautiously optimistic since the anti-communism and vulgar propaganda skyrocketed after the ukraine war, but if the party manages to regain support in these conditions I'll call that a victory regardless of what comes out of the elections