The United States on Wednesday put Yemen's Houthis rebels back on its list of specially designated global terrorists, piling financial sanctions on top of American military strikes in the Biden administration's latest attempt to stop the militants' attacks on global shipping. Officials said they would design the financial penalties to minimize harm to Yemen's 32 million people, who are among the world's poorest and hungriest after years of war between the Iran-backed Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition. But aid officials expressed concern. The decision would only add "another level of uncertainty and threat for Yemenis still caught in one of the world's largest humanitarian crises, Oxfam America associate director Scott Paul said. The sanctions that come with the formal designation are meant to sever violent extremist groups from their sources of financing. President Donald Trump's administration designated the Houthis as global terrorists and a foreign terrorist organisation in one
The two companies sanctioned by the US Treasury Department on Friday were Hong Kong-based Cielo Maritime and UAE-based Global Tech Marine Services
The US on Thursday imposed sanctions on a group of money exchange services from Yemen and Turkey alleged to help provide funding to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been launching attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the southern Red Sea including a drone and a missile that were shot down Thursday by the US military. Included in the sanctions are the head of a financial intermediary in Sana'a, Yemen, along with three exchange houses in Yemen and Turkey. U.S. Treasury alleges that the people and firms helped transfer millions of dollars to the Houthis at the direction of sanctioned Iranian financial facilitator Sa'id al-Jamal. The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans. Thursday's action is the latest round of financial penalties meant to punish the Houthis. Earlier this month, the U.S. announced sanctions against 13 people and firms alleged to be providing tens of millions
The U.S. on Thursday imposed sanctions on a group of money exchange services from Yemen and Turkey alleged to help provide funding to Iranian-backed Houthi rebels who have been launching attacks on commercial shipping vessels in the southern Red Sea. Included in the sanctions are the head of a financial intermediary in Sana'a, Yemen, along with three exchange houses in Yemen and Turkey. U.S. Treasury alleges that the people and firms helped transfer millions of dollars to the Houthis at the direction of sanctioned Iranian financial facilitator Sa'id al-Jamal. The sanctions block access to U.S. property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans. Thursday's action is the latest round of financial penalties meant to punish the Houthis. Earlier this month, the U.S. announced sanctions against 13 people and firms alleged to be providing tens of millions of dollars from the sale and shipment of Iranian commodities to the Houthis in
It's unclear what's holding the vessels up, but US sanctions on tankers hauling Russian crude in breach of a price cap imposed by the Group of Seven nations might be part of the cause
The US on Tuesday imposed sanctions on a Belgian involved in procuring electronics for the Russian military, his companies and a group of Belarusian firms and people tied to Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control targeted a network led by Belgium-based Hans De Geetere, which included nine entities and five people across Russia, Belgium, Cyprus, Sweden, Hong Kong, and the Netherlands. They are accused of being involved with procuring military-grade equipment for Russia. Also on Tuesday, the US Justice Department unsealed two indictments against Hans De Geetere and the Commerce Department added him and five firms to its entity list. US sanctions block access to US property and bank accounts and prevent the targeted people and companies from doing business with Americans. De Geetere did not respond to an Associated Press request for comment through email. State Department spokesperson Matt Miller said the US is committed to working with our allies a
Zhao pleaded guilty Tuesday to violating the Bank Secrecy Act in federal court in Seattle. Richard Teng will succeed Zhao as CEO.
"KSS terrorist activity has threatened the lives of both US and Global Coalition to Defeat ISIS personnel in Iraq and Syria," US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement
India is studying options to resume imports of oil from Venezuela after purchases stopped in late 2020
The Biden administration on Wednesday eased sanctions on Venezuela's oil sector after the government and opposition parties reached a deal for the 2024 election
Mexico's president has said that about 10,000 migrants per day are heading to the US border, and he blamed US economic sanctions on countries like Cuba and Venezuela for the influx. President Andrs Manuel Lpez Obrador said the number of migrants reaching Mexico's northern border with the United States was partly due to about 6,000 migrants per day crossing into Mexico from Guatemala over the past week. He said many of those migrants are traveling on a route through Central America that includes the jungle-clad Darien Gap region between Panama and Colombia. Lpez Obrador seemed to join Colombian President Gustavo Petro in blaming the situation on US sanctions on countries like Venezuela and Cuba, whose citizens make up a large part of the migrant flow. Experts say economic mismanagement and political repression are largely to blame for the tide of migrants leaving those countries. The United States has sanctioned both governments over what it considers the suppression of democracy.
Iran's President Ebrahim Raisi said Wednesday that relations with the United States can move forward if the Biden administration demonstrates it wants to return to the 2015 nuclear deal, and a first step should be easing sanctions. Raisi told a news conference that the Americans have reached out through several channels saying they wish to have a dialogue, but we do believe that it must be accompanied by action. So talk alone is not going to do it, Raisi said. But action on sanctions can be a solid foundation for continuing discussions. The Iranian leader added: We have not left the table of negotiations. Raisi reiterated that the American withdrawal from the 2015 agreement, aimed at reining in Iran's nuclear programme, trampled on US commitments including on sanctions. Then-President Donald Trump had unilaterally pulled the US out of the accord in 2018, restoring crippling sanctions. Iran began breaking the terms a year later, including by enriching uranium to higher levels, and
The official spokesperson of the US Department of State highlighted how "troubling" it is to see the cooperation between Russia and North Korea
Regulations announced by the US Commerce Department in October last year restrict the export of manufacturing tools that can churn out processors at 16 nanometers or below
The statement added that the US is gravely concerned about the situation in and around Nyala, South Darfur where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped as fighting escalates between RSF and SAF
Russia's expenditure on the war is a state secret, but it coincides with a major shock to the Russian economy from the toughest ever Western sanctions imposed after the invasion
The demand for diamonds fell as sanctions were imposed on diamonds mined, processed or produced in Russia; India sourced almost 35 per cent of its rough diamonds from Russia
Taliban-appointed acting Foreign Minister of Afghanistan Muttaqi on Saturday left Kabul for Qatar to meet with US special envoy for Afghanistan
The new owner of the 100,000 tonnes of Urals crude carried on the Leopard I was a similarly low-profile outfit, Guron Trading, also based in Hong Kong, according two trading sources
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