Welcome,
Here are the updates of the day:
- Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi heads to China to meet his counterpart Wang Yi as Beijing is exceedingly trying to mediate an end to the US-Israeli war
- The Houthi Foreign Ministry says that navigation remains safe in the Bab al-Mandeb strait, and blames Saudi Arabia for trying to "mislead the international community". Meanwhile, fighting continues with reports of a Houthi drone downed near Mecca, and Houthis claiming that they shot down a Saudi fighter jet
- US officials met representatives of Yemen's Houthis in Oman over the weekend, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, days after the Iran-backed militia seized a strategic stretch of the Red Sea coast in a sweeping offensive that routed Saudi-backed forces
- The Trump administration is preparing to approve a $2.8bn arms package for Israel that includes 40,000 heavy bombs. At the same time, Israeli attacks are continuing on Gaza, occupied West Bank, southern Lebanon and south Syria despite any agreements or alleged ceasefires