Head of Yemen's presidential council, which is supported by Saudi Arabia, says UAE-backed forces in the country should leave within 24 hours.

Al Mukalla

Yemen’s presidential council, with support from Saudi Arabia, has issued a 24-hour ultimatum for Emirati-backed forces to withdraw from the country. This move follows a Saudi airstrike on the port of Mukalla after two ships, reportedly carrying weapons for southern separatists, arrived from the UAE without proper permits and with disabled tracking systems.

The situation underscores a rift between Saudi Arabia and the UAE, who are otherwise regional allies but now back opposing sides in Yemen. Political analyst Khaled Batarfi emphasized the urgency of a peaceful resolution, warning that failure to comply with the ultimatum could escalate the conflict and harm civilians in affected provinces.

Yemen’s presidential council cancels UAE defence deal

The head of Yemen's presidential council, supported by Saudi Arabia, says Emirati-backed forces in the country should leave within 24 hours. That follows a Saudi airstrike on the port of Mukalla in Yemen, carried out after two ships arrived carrying weapons destined for southern separatist forces. Now, Mukalla is in Yemen's Hadramout province. It was recently seized by the separatist Southern Transitional Council. Saudi state media say the ships came from the port of Fujairah in the UAE. Saudi officials say that they arrived late last week without official permits, and that they had disabled, the ships that is, had disabled their tracking systems. The airstrike did not hit either ship, and there were no reports of injuries. Khaled Batarfi is a political analyst. He joins us live from Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Khaled, thank you for being on the NewsHour on Al Jazeera. This is a marked escalation between Saudi Arabia and the UAE. How do you read this? Well, I read it as I read it when the Houthis went against the will of their government and the will of the world in 2014. Now, again, the same thing is happening. This time, it is Al Intiqali, and whether it is supported by Gulf states or by others, we have to deal with Al Intiqali. And Al Intiqali has an agenda, has orders, and has to comply with these orders and this agenda. Otherwise, he will have to pay for them. And we hope it doesn't come to that, and that they will come to their senses, and they will leave the areas that they occupied and obey the orders they were given by the coalition. Yeah, about that. So the order given by Yemen's presidential council was for those forces to leave within 24 hours, those Emirati-backed forces. If they don't, and 24 hours is a very short window for any kind of significant movement on the ground, if they don't, what do you foresee happening? Well, that's the orders from the Yemenis, and we have the Saudis and the coalition supporting that. I don't know if this 24 hours time is enough, at least to show some willingness to move or to act on that. But if this 24 hours passed without any movement, I can't foresee any peaceful solution to this. And I would expect the coalition to support the presidential council on this. And I don't know how, but it has to be within the next few days. You know, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are aligned on many issues regionally, but on this one in Yemen, they're on competing sides. I mean, isn't there an avenue for dialogue? What do you think are the lines of communication between Saudi and the UAE on something like this? I trust there is a line of communication. I trust there is friends and partners who are helping with this line of communication. And I'm betting on this to succeed in resolving this issue. What do you think are the next steps here? Well, we have only two choices, whether the peaceful solution or the hard choice, which is war. And since I am originally from Hadramout, I hope it's not the second, because there are people in there. There are civilians. We don't want what happened in the east to happen in the west to happen in the east. What has been happening in Sana'a and Sa'dah and other places around them to happen in Hadramout and Mahra and Shabwa. We hope that this issue could be resolved politically and diplomatically and peacefully. Khaled Batarfi, you're in Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Thank you very much for joining us on the program. Most welcome, sir.

China fired rockets into waters off northern and southern Taiwan on Tuesday (December 30) and deployed new amphibious assault ships alongside bomber aircraft and destroyers on the second day of its most extensive war games.

Taipei City

China fires rockets towards Taiwan in war games simulating blockade

The search for Malaysia Airlines flight 370 that went missing in 2014 with 239 people on board is expected to resume Tuesday (December 30). The Malaysian government and a private marine robotics company say they will use advances in technology to aid in the search.

Kuala Lumpur

Search resumes for Malaysia Airlines flight that disappeared in 2014

The two countries have agreed to hold fire, freeze troop movements and allow civilians to return home under a new agreement.

Krong Poi Pet

Thailand-Cambodia ceasefire holds as 72-hour observation period ends

U.S. President Donald Trump said the United States could support another major strike on Iran were it to resume rebuilding its ballistic missile or nuclear weapons programs and warned Hamas of severe consequences if it does not disarm.

Florida

Middle East Conflict

Trump warns Iran of possible strike, urges Hamas to disarm

U.S. hit an area in Venezuela where boats are loaded with drugs, Trump says, as Pentagon carries out another deadly strike in the Pacific. This claim follows a series of U.S. strikes on boats in the Eastern Pacific, raising the total number of known strikes to 31 and resulting in over 100 deaths.

Caracas

Trump claims attack on a dock in Venezuela, strikes kill two in Pacific

The Taiwanese government says it has placed its forces on alert as China intensifies its military presence in the Indo-Pacific Ocean and launches air, navy and rocket drills around the island.

Taiwan's forces on alert as China launches military drills

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is denying Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s claim that Ukraine tried to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in northern Russia.

Kyiv

Ukraine Invasion

Zelenskyy denies Russian claim that Ukraine targeted Putin’s residence

President Trump said after a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that Hamas must disarm soon or "there will be hell to pay." He said the next phase of the Gaza peace plan could move forward quickly if Hamas disarms.

Washington

Trump warns "hell to pay" if Hamas doesn't disarm

CBC’s Kris Reyes highlights the biggest AI advancements in 2025 along with the continued calls to establish clear boundaries in an effort to prevent misuse.

DeepSeek and the biggest AI advancements in 2025

Russia accused Ukraine on Monday (December 29) of trying to attack President Vladimir Putin's residence in northern Russia, although it provided no evidence to back up an assertion that Kyiv dismissed as baseless and designed to undermine peace negotiations.

Moscow

Russia claims Ukraine tried to attack Putin residence

Two helicopters collided above Hammonton, New Jersey, and one person has died, officials say. CBS News' Elaine Quijano reports.

Hammonton

Helicopters collide in New Jersey

U.S. President Donald Trump is meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Florida on Monday (December 29) as questions linger about the future of the U.S.-backed ceasefire in Gaza.

Palm Beach

Trump and Netanyahu meet in Florida to discuss Gaza ceasefire

British-Nigerian boxer Anthony Joshua was involved in a road accident on Monday in Makun, Ogun State, south-west Nigeria.

Makun

British boxer Anthony Joshua survives car crash that killed two others

In a new show of force, China has mobilized its navy, air force, and ground troops to simulate a blockade of the self-ruled island's key ports. The military drill comes on the heels of an $11bn US arms sale to Taipei.

China stages new military exercises around Taiwan

U.S. President Donald Trump said he believes both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Russian President Vladimir Putin truly want peace as he and Zelenskyy met in Florida. Some experts say Trump is 'delusional' if he truly thinks Putin wants peace.

Trump-Zelenskyy meeting ends with optimism but no deal

Although the U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine have been "100% agreed," they have a short expiration date, the Ukrainian president explained after revealing more details following his meeting with Trump on Sunday.

U.S. security guarantees for Ukraine set for 15 years, Zelenskyy says

China's military moved army, naval, air force and artillery units around Taiwan on December 29 for its "Justice Mission 2025" drills, as the island vowed to defend democracy and mobilized troops to rehearse repelling a potential Chinese attack.

China launches 'Justice Mission 2025' war games around Taiwan

President Trump spoke with Russian President Vladimir Putin by phone before meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Florida on Sunday. Trump said he thinks both men are ready for peace.

Trump meets with Zelenskyy, insists Putin is ready for peace

Far-right politics have pushed further into the mainstream across much of Europe. Populist parties, even in opposition, are shaping national debates on migration and the economy. The trend reflects growing voter frustration over living costs, borders and political trust.

Berlin

Far-right politics gaining influence across Europe

Ukrainian President Zelenskyy is set to discuss a new peace plan draft with U.S. President Trump in Florida on Sunday (December 28). However, fresh Russian attacks on Kyiv have left a third of the city without power, undermining local confidence.

Kyiv residents fear escalation amid Zelenskyy-Trump peace talks

A report has sought to catalogue some of the most significant extreme weather events of the year. UK charity Christian Aid found that heatwaves are pushing the limits of human adaptation, hurricanes and typhoons are breaking records, and droughts are devastating lives across the globe. It's all coming at a heavy financial cost.

Top 10 natural disasters cost over $120 billion in 2025, report says

Russia attacked Kyiv and other parts of Ukraine with hundreds of missiles and drones on Saturday, ahead of what President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said would be a crucial meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump to work out a plan to end nearly four years of war.

Russian drones, missiles pound Kyiv ahead of Zelenskiy-Trump meeting

French actor Brigitte Bardot has died aged 91, her foundation said on Sunday (December 28). She shot to international fame dancing the mambo barefoot in "And God Created Woman," her tousled hair and fierce energy radiating a sexual magnetism rarely before seen in mainstream cinema.

Saint-Tropez

Brigitte Bardot, France's 'legend of the century', has died

A ceasefire is now in place between Cambodia and Thailand after weeks of cross-border fighting. But with nearly a million civilians displaced and trust in short supply, the focus now is on whether the guns will stay silent.

Bangkok

Thailand and Cambodia agree on ceasefire to end weeks of deadly fighting

The storm that hit the Northeast this weekend dropped up to a foot of snow in some areas. New York City saw its highest level of snowfall in nearly four years, and the region's three major airports experienced significant delays and disruptions.

New York

Powerful winter storm brings heavy snow to Northeast

For approximately 10 hours Saturday, Russia attacked the Ukrainian capital city of Kyiv with about 500 drones and 40 missiles. The attack comes one day before before Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy meets with President Trump in Mar-a-Lago. Elizabeth Palmer has the latest.

Russia launches massive attack on Ukraine ahead of Trump-Zelenskyy meeting

Prime Minister Mark Carney and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met today in Halifax to discuss economic aid amid the Russia-Ukraine war. This comes ahead of Zelenskyy’s plans to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump to discuss a peace deal.

Halifax Regional Municipality

Canada announces $2.5B in aid for Ukraine

President Trump said Thursday's strikes on Nigeria targeting ISIS were set for Wednesday but were delayed to Christmas Day for symbolic reasons. Mr. Trump claimed the Nigerian government is failing to protect Christians.

Washington D.C.

Trump says timing of Christmas Day strikes in Nigeria was intentional

The latest attack comes as presidents Zelenskyy and Trump prepare to meet in Florida on Sunday amid ongoing efforts to end the war.

Breakdown