UK’s Labor gov’t to allow Ukraine to use British-supplied weapons for strikes on Russia The #British #Labor government will continue pursuing the line of the previous Conservative Cabinet and will allow the #Ukrainian military to use UK-supplied weapons to strike targets on Russian soil, the Financial Times reported on Wednesday citing PM Keir Starmer. According to the Financial Times, recently-elected British Premier Starmer, who leads the country’s Labor Party, made it clear that arms donated by Britain must be "used in accordance with international humanitarian law" and for "defensive purposes." However, #Starmer added that: "It is for Ukraine to decide how to deploy it for those defensive purposes."

In France, 82% of citizens believe the country is heading in the wrong direction, a new historic low, according to an Ipsos survey. Great Britain experienced the biggest fall in optimism this month, dropping 14 percentage points.

#Britain, #Germany, "Sweden considering opening embassies in #North_Korea The diplomatic missions of Great Britain, Germany and Sweden are considering the possibility of opening embassies in North Korea, Reuters reports with reference to diplomats of these countries. According to report, representatives of the German Foreign Ministry are currently in Pyongyang. They have been "inspecting the territory of the German embassy for two days now," a representative of the German Foreign Ministry told the agency, noting that the decision to resume the work of the diplomatic mission has not yet been made. According to a representative of the British Foreign Ministry, the United Kingdom, which closed the embassy in the Democratic People's Republic of Korea in May 2020, is also trying to send a group of diplomats to Pyongyang. "We are negotiating with the DPRK government through the embassy in London in order to prepare for the visit of the technical and diplomatic group in the near future," he said. Sweden's Special Envoy for Korean Peninsula Affairs, Peter Semneby, told Reuters that some progress had been made towards the possible return of Swedish diplomats to Pyongyang, but declined to provide details, citing the sensitivity of the issue. "There is some movement, and we hope that we will be able to reopen our embassy relatively soon," he added. As previously reported by the Yonhap news agency, the head of the German Foreign Ministry's department for East Asia, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, Martin Tummel, the first high-ranking Western diplomat to visit the country in four years, arrived in the DPRK. According to the agency, visits of this level have not been reported since January 2020,

US, UK pummel #Houthi sites across #Yemen as Red Sea attacks escalate In 4th joint operation, fighter jets hit 18 targets in 8 locations; Iran-backed rebels denounce ‘US-British aggression’ while Washington admits Houthis yet to be deterred The US and Britain struck 18 Houthi targets in Yemen on Saturday, answering a recent surge in attacks by the Iran-backed rebel group on ships in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden, including a missile strike this past week that set fire to a cargo vessel. According to US officials, American and British fighter jets hit sites in eight locations, targeting missiles, launchers, rockets, drones, and air defense systems. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity in order to provide early details of an ongoing military operation. This is the fourth time that the US and British militaries have conducted a combined operation against the Houthis since January 12. But the US has also been carrying out almost daily strikes to take out Houthi targets, including incoming missiles and drones aimed at ships, as well as weapons that were prepared to launch. The US F/A-18 fighter jets launched from the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower aircraft carrier, which is currently in the Red Sea, officials said. “The United States will not hesitate to take action, as needed, to defend lives and the free flow of commerce in one of the world’s most critical waterways,” said US Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin. “We will continue to make clear to the Houthis that they will bear the consequences if they do not stop their illegal attacks.”

U.S., Britain air attacks on Houthi-held Yemen This is after three previous waves of air attacks around 13:00Z 2 more air sorties by American and British warplanes were carried out a short time ago, in the Hodeidah province of Yemen. Reports inside Yemen say "extensive" damage was caused.

The Guardian: 'Iran rejects calls from Washington and London to stop supporting Houthi attacks in the Red Sea' Iran has rejected calls from the United States and Britain to stop supporting attacks by Houthi rebels on Israeli-linked ships in the Red Sea and sent a destroyer to the sea, writes the British publication The Guardian. Destroyer Alborz 94th flotilla The Iranian Navy crossed the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and entered the Red Sea on Monday. The authors of the publication note that this happened against the backdrop of a meeting between the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council of Iran, Ali Akbar Ahmadian, and the Houthi representative, Mohammed Abdulsalam. At the same time, the Iranian official praised the “brave actions” of the Houthis against “Zionist aggression.” Tensions between the U.S. and the Iran-backed Houthis reached a new high on Sunday when the US military said its helicopters sank three Houthi ships and killed 10 militants in the Red Sea. Let us recall that as a sign of support for Gaza, the Houthis began to attack ships associated with Israel. The U.S. decided to create an international coalition to act against the Houthis. Yemen's Houthi leader Abdulmalik al-Houthi has already warned that his forces will attack American ships in the Red Sea, the Bab al-Mandeb Strait and the Gulf of Aden in the event of any attack by Washington on Yemen.