World
Yemen’s Houthis seized UN rights office in Sanaa, UN official says
Yemen’s Houthi rebels stormed the headquarters of the United Nations’ Human Rights Office in the capital, Sanaa, seizing documents, furniture and vehicles, a senior U.N. official said Tuesday.
The seizure was the latest move in a crackdown by the Houthis on people working with the U.N., aid agencies and foreign embassies. The crackdown comes as the Iranian-backed rebels have been targeting shipping throughout the Red Sea corridor over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip.
YEMEN’S HOUTHI REBELS USE MISSILES, DRONES TO ATTACK 2 MORE SHIPS IN RED SEA
The rebels took over the U.N. Human Rights Office’s premises in Sanaa on Aug. 3, after forcing U.N. Yemeni workers to hand over belongings, including documents, furniture and vehicles, U.N. Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said in a statement.
“Ansar Allah forces must leave the premises and return all assets and belongings immediately,” Türk said, using the official name of the Houthis.
A spokesman for the Houthis didn’t return phone calls and messages requesting comment.
The U.N.’s Human Rights Office said it had suspended the office’s operations in Sanaa and other Yemeni areas controlled by the Houthis following the June crackdown campaign. But it still operates in the parts of Yemen controlled by the internationally recognized government.
Houthi rebel fighters march during a rally of support for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and against the U.S. strikes on Yemen outside Sanaa on Jan. 22, 2024. (AP Photo)
In June, the Houthis detained more than 60 people working with the U.N. and other NGOs, according to the U.N. Human Rights Office. Among the detainees were six workers with the Human Rights Office, who joined two of their colleagues detained by the Houthis in November 2021 and August 2023, it said.
Days after the arrest campaign, the rebels said they had arrested members of what they called an “American-Israeli spy network.”
The Houthis issued what they purported to be videotaped confessions by 10 Yemenis, several of whom said they were recruited by the U.S. Embassy in Yemen. The U.N. Human Rights Office said one of its staffers who was detained earlier appeared in a video in which he was forced to confess to allegations, including of espionage, the office said.
The Houthis’ claims could not be independently verified.
The Houthis have been engaged in a civil war with Yemen’s internationally recognized government, backed by a Saudi-led coalition, since 2014, when they took control of Sanaa and most of the north.
The war in Yemen has killed more than 150,000 people, including fighters and civilians, and created one of the world’s worst humanitarian disasters, killing tens of thousands more.
The rebels have imprisoned thousands of people during the war. And in recent months they intensified their crackdown on dissent at home, including recently sentencing 44 people to death.
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Officials on Monday revealed new details about a series of arson attacks targeting properties connected to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, alleging the suspects were recruited and directed by a Russian-speaking handler.
According to police and court reporting, the suspects were promised payment to carry out a coordinated campaign in London in May 2025, including attacks involving a vehicle and two properties linked to Starmer.
A new investigation reported that the handler is believed to be a diplomat trained in information warfare and part of a broader Russian sabotage and disinformation operation directed from Moscow, according to the Kyiv Post.
Ukrainian national Roman Lavrynovych, 22, and Romanian national Stanislav Carpiuc, 27, were convicted in connection with the arson plot after Lavrynovych was recruited by a Russian-speaking Telegram handler known as “El Money,” according to police and court reporting. Kyiv Post reported that Carpiuc was also born in Ukraine. A third defendant, Petro Pochynok, 35, was acquitted.
BRITISH POLICE INVESTIGATE FIRE AT PRIME MINISTER KEIR STARMER’S LONDON HOME
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer speaks during a meeting on Feb. 24, 2026. (Kin Cheung / POOL / AFP via Getty Images))
According to police, Lavrynovych was recruited through Telegram by a Russian-speaking handler saved in his phone contacts as “El Money,” who allegedly directed him through a series of increasingly serious tasks while promising payment in return.
“Look, you attacked the home of a very high-ranking person in Britain. I’ll send you the money you need to leave the city,” the handler allegedly wrote in one message cited by investigators, according to Kyiv Post.
BRITAIN INTRODUCES SWEEPING NEW POWERS TO TARGET FOREIGN STATE-LINKED GROUPS INCLUDING IRAN’S IRGC
Officials arrest a Ukrainian man who was later found guilty of setting on fire houses linked to U.K. Prime Minister Starmer. (Metropolitan Police)
The handler reportedly offered Lavrynovych Russian citizenship in exchange for carrying out the attacks and frequently voiced support for Russian President Vladimir Putin, according to the outlet. Evidence also suggested that “El Money” was trained in information warfare by propagandists and intelligence operatives, the outlet said.
Investigators added that Russian operatives allegedly coordinated the campaign remotely through social media platforms and Telegram, using fake far-right and Muslim online communities to sow division and fear in the U.K., Kyiv Post said.
The Russian Embassy has reportedly denied any involvement, rejecting “any attempt to associate Russia or its foreign ministry with unlawful activities,” according to the report.
SYNAGOGUE IN LONDON TARGETED IN ATTEMPTED ‘ANTISEMITIC HATE CRIME,’ UK POLICE SAY
Police officers stand outside Britain’s Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s private home, after it was damaged by fire in a suspected arson attack in north London, Britain, May 13, 2025. (REUTERS/Toby Melville)
According to officials, the three arson attacks occurred over a five-day period in May 2025.
The first attack took place on May 8, when a Toyota vehicle formerly owned by Starmer was set ablaze.
A second fire was set on May 11 at the entrance of a residential property that was managed by a company in which Starmer had previously served as a director and shareholder.
The third attack occurred on May 12 at a house that is owned by the prime minister.
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Russian President Vladimir Putin holds a video conference meeting outside Moscow on April 7, 2026. (Alexander Kazakov, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP)
“The actions of the two men involved in these arson attacks were incredibly reckless, and it was sheer luck that nobody was killed or injured,” Commander Helen Flanagan, head of Counter Terrorism Policing London, said in a statement.
Police said Lavrynovych was arrested on May 13 last year after detectives linked the suspect to the attacks through CCTV footage and phone records indicating he had conducted reconnaissance ahead of the fires.
Authorities said Carpiuc was arrested on May 17 in the departure lounge at Luton Airport moments before boarding a flight to Romania.
Updated:
Iran outmanoeuvred US President Donald Trump “like a violin” in negotiations, walking away with far better terms after sensing his desperation for a deal to end the war, former National Security Adviser John Bolton told Euronews.
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