![Crew evacuated as ship hit by Yemen rebels drifts in Red Sea](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/85/11/04/Crew-evacuated-as-ship-hit-by-Yemen-877437.jpg)
-
Messi a doubt for Argentina ahead of Copa quarter-final
-
British tennis ace Raducanu votes for 'lie-in' on election day
-
France film director Jacquot charged with raping two actors
-
Israel 'evaluating' new Hamas 'ideas' on halting Gaza war
-
Venezuela, US agree to 'improve relations,' says Caracas
-
Under-fire Kenya govt says to review state salary hikes
-
Thousands told to flee raging California wildfire
-
Osaka focuses on Olympics after Wimbledon KO
-
Tens of thousands flee south Gaza as tensions soar
-
US Fed officials stressed 'patience' on rate cuts: minutes
-
Blond not bombs as Fognini learns to love Wimbledon
-
New lithium plant inaugurated in Argentina
-
Threads hits 175 mn users on first anniversary
-
French court says Netflix shark hit can keep streaming in copycat row
-
Comeback king 'Cav' to carry on doing the thing he loves
-
Alcaraz marches on at Wimbledon as Osaka returns to Centre Court
-
Biden under pressure as Democratic panic rises
-
Belarus frees 'some political prisoners': exiled opposition leader
-
Alcaraz coasts into Wimbledon third round
-
Cavendish makes Tour de France history with 35th stage win
-
Everton sign forward Ndiaye from Marseille
-
Bailed Indian opposition leader to return as chief minister
-
World's oldest artwork discovered in Indonesian cave
-
Toney urges England to kick on after Euros reprieve
-
Murray teams up with Raducanu in Wimbledon mixed doubles
-
Former England rugby coach Jack Rowell dies aged 87
-
Hurricane Beryl bears down on Jamaica
-
US trade deficit expands less than expected in May: govt
-
'The god took away my son': Indians grieve after deadly stampede
-
Moscow hit by heat not seen in over a century
-
US private hiring eases unexpectedly in June: ADP
-
Confident Kroos says Germany-Spain clash 'won't be my last game'
-
Paris bars to open 24h for Olympics opening ceremony
-
Putin, Xi vie for influence at Central Asian summit
-
Germany, Sweden arrest eight over Syria crimes against humanity
-
French giant Mpetshi Perricard joins Wimbledon heavy artillery
-
Two-time Major winner Langer to make 'emotional' European Tour bow
-
French PM urges united front to stop far-right takeover
-
Olympic silver medallist gymnast Poujade dies at 51
-
Bhole Baba: preacher at centre of Indian stampede disaster
-
Microsoft to invest 2.2 bn euros in Spain data centres
-
Showdowns, young guns and own goals as Euro 2024 head into quarter-finals
-
Russia advances in east, kills five in Dnipro strikes
-
France prosecutors request rape charges against film director
-
Schumacher blackmail suspects had 'family photos'
-
EU clears Lufthansa's proposed ITA Airways stake, with conditions
-
Indian World Cup winners head home after hurricane delay
-
120,000 'stolen' babies: Georgia's trafficking scandal
-
Only far right can win absolute majority, French PM warns
-
Turkey ride 'best save' and wave of emotion into Euros quarters
![Crew evacuated as ship hit by Yemen rebels drifts in Red Sea](https://www.portugalcolonial.pt/media/shared/articles/85/11/04/Crew-evacuated-as-ship-hit-by-Yemen-877437.jpg)
Crew evacuated as ship hit by Yemen rebels drifts in Red Sea
The crew of a ship that was holed in an attack by Yemen's Huthi rebels has been evacuated and the vessel is drifting in the Red Sea, a security agency said on Friday.
The MV Tutor was abandoned after it was struck by a sea drone off rebel-held Hodeida on Wednesday, causing serious flooding, in the latest in a series of Huthi attacks.
The Iran-backed rebels have been harassing the vital sealane since shortly after the start of the Israel-Hamas war, forcing much marine traffic into lengthy detours.
"The crew of the vessel has been evacuated by military authorities," said the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations, which is run by the British navy.
"The vessel has been abandoned and is drifting."
Philippines President Ferdinand Marcos had earlier pledged to help the Filipino seamen on board and transfer them to Djibouti, across the Red Sea from Yemen, with the UKMTO's help.
"We are doing everything that we can do," he said in a statement.
The Liberian-flagged, Greek-owned and operated merchant ship was hit by a sea drone and an "unknown aerial projectile", the US military's Central Command said on Wednesday.
Security firm Ambrey said it was the first time the Huthis had hit a ship using remote-controlled, water-borne explosives.
It was one of a surge of attacks this week, one of which badly injured a sailor who was evacuated by US forces from the MV Verbena in the Gulf of Aden on Thursday.
They follow the latest retaliatory strikes by US and British forces last month which killed 16 people, according to the Huthis, who threatened to escalate their activities.
- 'Spy network' -
On Thursday, the United Nations special envoy Hans Grundberg warned of a slide back towards full-blown hostilities after a lull in Yemen's civil war.
"If the parties continue the current escalatory trajectory, the question is not if but when the parties revert to escalation on the battlefield," he told the UN Security Council in a briefing.
Apart from the Red Sea attacks, the Huthis this week arrested more than a dozen aid workers, including UN staff, accusing them of being part of a "US-Israeli spy network".
UN human rights chief Volker Turk dismissed the "outrageous allegations" and demanded their immediate release.
Last week, at least 18 combatants were killed in battles between the Huthis and Yemeni government forces in the country's southwest, two military officials told AFP.
Meanwhile, a dispute between rival monetary authorities in rebel and government-controlled areas threatens to cut off banks in Sanaa from international transactions, further roiling Yemen's stricken economy.
The Huthis, who control much of Yemen, seized the capital Sanaa in 2014, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention in support of the government the following year.
They say their scores of Red Sea attacks since November are in support of Palestinians in Gaza as part of Iran's "axis of resistance" to the US and Israel.
Among the most notable attacks, the Huthis stormed and hijacked a vehicle-carrier, the Galaxy Leader, in November, later opening it as a tourist attraction for propaganda purposes.
In March, the Rubymar bulk carrier, carrying thousands of tonnes of fertiliser, sank in the Red Sea after its hull was damaged in a Huthi missile strike.
Yemen's war has left hundreds of thousands of people dead, through fighting or indirect causes such as disease or lack of food, with most of the population dependent on aid.
H.Portela--PC