Your helper

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Trump Announces 'Historic' Gaza Deal As Board Of Peace Agrees On 'Complete Disarmament' Of Hamas

US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced what he described as a "historic" agreement for the "complete disarmament" of Hamas, saying the move would pave the way for a new Palestinian administration in Gaza. The announcement came as senior Hamas officials confirmed that understandings had been reached with Israel on the group's weapons and the phased withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Gaza Strip. Israel did not immediately respond to the claims. <h2 data-section-id="1c8isv0" data-start="1320" data-end="1359">Trump Announces 'Historic' Agreement</h2> Posting on his Truth Social platform, Trump said the agreement would see Hamas and other armed groups gradually surrender their weapons under a structured process. "Today, the Board of Peace reached a HISTORIC agreement for the COMPLETE DISARMAMENT of Hamas and all other armed groups in Gaza. This is a monumental step toward lasting PEACE and SECURITY," Trump wrote, adding that the disarmament would be carried out in "carefully structured phases." "As disarmament is completed, Israeli forces will withdraw, and the International Stabilization Force will work with a new Palestinian police force to take responsibility for Gaza being safe for its residents and its neighbors," he added while thanking mediators from Egypt, Qatar and Turkey. ALSO READ: <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/nepal-violence-spreads-beyond-sunsari-curfews-army-deployment-as-death-toll-rises-to-3-1859542">Nepal Violence Spreads Beyond Sunsari; Curfews, Army Deployment As Death Toll Rises To 3</a> <h2 data-section-id="154ozqe" data-start="2109" data-end="2151">Hamas Confirms Understanding On Weapons</h2> Senior Hamas officials told AFP that negotiations had resulted in an agreement covering the movement's weapons and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. "An agreement has been reached regarding the issue of weapons...Furthermore, an agreement has been reached on a gradual withdrawal of (Israeli forces)" from the strip, a senior Hamas official said. Earlier, sources involved in the Cairo-mediated negotiations had told AFP that Hamas was moving closer to accepting a framework involving the decommissioning of its weapons. <h2 data-section-id="14n8lps" data-start="2683" data-end="2728">Disarmament Remains Central Sticking Point</h2> The issue of Hamas's disarmament has remained one of the most contentious aspects of ceasefire negotiations since fighting erupted in Gaza in October. According to Trump's proposed 20-point peace plan, the second phase of the ceasefire would include Hamas's disarmament alongside the phased withdrawal of Israeli forces from the enclave. The proposal also envisions the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG) taking over civilian governance during the territory's post-war transition. The committee would be supported by the International Stabilisation Force (ISF), a proposed multinational force operating under Trump's Board of Peace. Egyptian state-linked broadcaster Al-Qahera News reported early Friday that mediators from Egypt, the United States, Qatar and Turkey are expected to meet in Cairo "soon" to discuss implementation of the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire plan. The broadcaster did not specify a date for the meeting but said discussions would focus on advancing the roadmap already agreed upon by Hamas and other Palestinian factions. ALSO READ: <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/sheikh-hasina-to-face-arrest-the-moment-she-returns-to-bangladesh-says-minister-1859548">Sheikh Hasina To Face Arrest The Moment She Returns To Bangladesh, Says Minister</a> <h2 data-section-id="18jg2pc" data-start="3839" data-end="3868">'No Exceptions' On Weapons</h2> A diplomatic source familiar with the negotiations told AFP that the proposed roadmap seeks the complete dismantling of armed infrastructure in Gaza. "We continue to advance the implementation roadmap that offers a balanced and pragmatic path forward, with all weapons decommissioned and a phased transition of responsibilities taking place to hand over full authority to the technocratic government," the source said. The official added there would be "no exceptions for certain weapons or certain people. One authority, one law, one weapon". The roadmap also calls for dismantling tunnels, weapons depots and arms production facilities. "All weapons, heavy and light, will be under full control of the NCAG in coordination with and with the support of the ISF," the AFP report quoted the source as saying, adding that a verification mechanism would be established to monitor compliance by all sides. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/nv3G3_T4HpM?si=0WbaVlrTpRNoPq-U" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h2 data-section-id="81j7y8" data-start="4741" data-end="4773">Hamas Awaits Israeli Response</h2> As per the AFP report, a Hamas source familiar with the negotiations said the group was "awaiting the Israeli response to the amendments we recently submitted to the mediators". The source said the revisions related to two provisions in the proposed roadmap. Regarding the article concerning weapons, the Hamas source said that "some points were removed, and alternatives were proposed". However, an Israeli political source told AFP that the current proposal does not "satisfactorily" address Israel's security demands. "Israel demands the complete disarmament of Hamas, including the removal of weapons from Gaza and full demilitarization of the Strip as a precondition for any process," the source said. The source also maintained that "the issue of Gaza did not come up at all" during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with Trump in Washington earlier this week.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/trump-announces-historic-gaza-deal-as-board-of-peace-agrees-on-complete-disarmament-of-hamas-1859576

Trump mulling USD 1,00,000 fee for students keen to work in US after graduation: Report

Washington, Jul 31 (PTI): The US is planning to impose a USD 1,00,000 fee on visas issued to international students for working in the US after graduation from an American university, The Wall Street Journal reported.The Trump administration move comes after a US court struck down a proposal to levy a USD 1,00,000 fee on H1-B visas.According to The Wall Street Journal, the Department of Homeland Security is mulling the high fee on Optional Practical Training (OPT) visas which are an extension of F-1 visas issued to students.The OPT programme allows foreign graduates to work for one to three years on their student visas in areas directly related to their studies.Roughly 4,19,000 foreigners were working on OPT in 2024, the latest year for which data are available.Tech companies, which conduct most of the recruitments from US universities, opposed the USD 1,00,000 fee on H1-B visas.A DHS spokeswoman said in a statement: “No policies should be considered final until formally announced. At DHS we are always having conversations about how to use all tools in our arsenal to protect the integrity of our legal immigration system.” In addition to the H-1B and student visas, officials at the State Department are also weighing attaching a USD 1,00,000 bond on applicants for green cards outside the US, redeemable only after they move to the US and become citizens.The OPT program is one of the primary attractions for international students choosing to study in the US.Without OPT, most international students would be forced to leave the US immediately after graduation, taking the skills they gained at American universities to foreign markets. PTI SKU PRK(This story is published as part of the auto-generated syndicate wire feed. No editing has been done in the headline or the body by ABP Live.)

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/trump-mulling-usd-1-00-000-fee-for-students-keen-to-work-in-us-after-graduation-report-1859574

Russian Missile Violates Airspace Violation? Poland On High Alert, Amid Ukraine Assault

Edited by: Louis Oelofse Polish authorities on Thursday said they were inspecting a crater near the city of Lublin for information clarifying a violation of its airspace. Police and military said a crater, 10 meters in diameter (about 33 feet), had been created upon impact by what was likely a Russian missile during Moscow's massive overnight bombing campaign on neighboring Ukraine. Russia's attacks not only targeted the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, but also western cities such as Lviv. The point of impact in Poland, said to have been a field in Tarnawa Kolonia near Lublin, was located about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Ukrainian border. ALSO READ |<a href="https://ift.tt/wfg7tR5"> Germany Records Highest Antisemitic Incident Rate as 2025 Turns Deadliest Year</a> Poland's Prime Minister Donald Tusk headed to the site, accompanied by his defense and interior ministers. Writing on X before he departed, Tusk wrote: "During the Russian massive missile attack on western Ukraine, a violation of Polish airspace occurred. In connection with this, I have convened a coordination team with the participation of the Minister of Defense and the relevant services, which have been working on-site for many hours and are systematically providing me with information about all the circumstances of the incident." In Lublin, Tusk said: "Everything points to it being a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile, but we do not wish to pre-empt the results of a thorough investigation." <blockquote class="twitter-tweet"> W trakcie rosyjskiego zmasowanego ataku rakietowego na zachodnią Ukrainę doszło do naruszenia polskiej przestrzeni powietrznej. Zwołałem w związku z tym zespół koordynacyjny z udziałem Ministra Obrony i odpowiednich służb, które od wielu godzin pracują na miejscu zdarzenia i… — Donald Tusk (@donaldtusk) <a href="https://ift.tt/kt4lXVT 30, 2026</a></blockquote> <script src="https://ift.tt/OWDV7lb" async="" charset="utf-8"></script> Local police say residents reported hearing a large explosion that rattled windows around 4:00 a.m. local time (0200 GMT) after which police quickly discovered a massive "crater" and "debris from a non-identified object." A military helicopter confirmed the finding during a flyover. Poland's military said it had scrambled an F-16 prior to impact after radar picked up a violation of the NATO member's airspace around 3:40 a.m. Though the origin of the object has not been confirmed, Ukraine's Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha wrote on X that a "Russian Kh-101 cruise missile” had "crossed into Poland" and violated NATO airspace. Sybiha continued, "This is yet another clear demonstration that strengthening Ukraine's air defense now is urgent and serves as a guarantee for the protection of the entire Euro-Atlantic community." Russian jets, drones and missiles have repeatedly violated the airspace of several NATO member states throughout over four years of war. NATO said it was in close contact with Polish authorities. ALSO READ | <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/morocco-migrants-swim-ceuta-spanish-authorities-overwhelmed-reception-centers-1859446">Spain Faces Fresh Migrant Surge As Hundreds Swim To Ceuta, Border Security At Risk</a> The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Alexus G. Grynkewich, spoke earlier today with Poland's Chief of Defense General Wieslaw Kukulan about NATO and Poland's response to the incident, which remains under investigation. He underlined the military alliance will continue to take all necessary measures to defend NATO territory. (Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.)  

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/poland-airspace-violation-russian-kh101-cruise-missile-lublin-1859536

Wednesday, July 29, 2026

PoK Unrest: Violence Escalates in PoK as Protesters Face Gunfire, March Towards Muzaffarabad Continues

Tensions have intensified in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) following reports of violent clashes between Pakistani Rangers and protesters demanding their rights. According to the report, Rangers allegedly opened fire at close range on unarmed demonstrators near Chenab Chowk in Rawalakot, resulting in the reported deaths of four to five civilians, with fears that the toll could rise. Despite the violence, large groups of protesters continue marching from Rawalakot toward Muzaffarabad, showing no signs of backing down. The report also highlights alleged CCTV footage from Mirpur, which purportedly shows Pakistani Rangers entering shops and looting property, while local police are accused of assisting them. These claims have further fueled public anger across the region. Protesters reportedly remain undeterred despite continued firing by security forces and are pressing ahead with their demonstrations. The report portrays the situation as one of growing unrest and escalating confrontation in PoK, with demands for rights and accountability continuing to drive large-scale public protests despite the reported use of force by Pakistani authorities.

source https://news.abplive.com/videos/news/world-pok-unrest-violence-escalates-in-pok-as-protesters-face-gunfire-march-towards-muzaffarabad-continues-1859373

PoJK Violence: Death Toll Rises To 36 As Pakistan Rangers Open Fire On Protesters In Rawalakot, Mirpur

Violent crackdown and heavy firing by Pakistani Rangers and Frontier Corps (FC) continue unabated in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK). At 1:00 PM yesterday near Chinar Chowk, two Pakistani Rangers personnel sprinted toward a gathering of civilians in nearby fields and opened indiscriminate firing at point-blank range. At least three civilian deaths have been confirmed in this attack. Although heavy rain temporarily paused the violence, clashes erupted again at 4:00 PM as a massive procession of hundreds of thousands of peaceful demonstrators marched from Rawalakot toward Muzaffarabad. Upon reaching a police checkpoint near D-Chowk, PoJK police initially launched teargas shells, after which Rangers opened direct fire into the crowd. At least two more casualties were confirmed in this strike. As of late night, a gathering of over 200,000 protesters who had marched out from Rawalakot's Eidgah ground remains staged at Rawalakot's D-Chowk. At 10:30 PM, authorities cut off electricity across the entire city, along with continuous firing by Rangers amid loud anti-establishment chanting by demonstrators. ALSO READ | <a href="https://ift.tt/YCq5LHZ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">‘Enemies Like India’: Pakistan Defence Minister Defends Force Against PoK Protesters: WATCH</a> <h2>Death Toll Climbs to 36; Targeted Killings Reported</h2> Seven individuals who were critically injured during Monday and Tuesday’s shootings in Mirpur and Rawalakot succumbed to their injuries between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. This brings the death toll from Monday and Tuesday’s violence to 31, raising the total number of unarmed Kashmiris killed over the last three days to 36. Pakistani forces are also carrying out targeted killings of key protest organisers. Usman Nazir, the brother of one of the key organisers of the protest, Umar Nazir, was shot dead by Pakistani Rangers during Monday’s firing. Osama Jameel, a PhD student at Qaid-e-Azam University who was known for singing Ram Prasad Bismil’s patriotic poem “Sarfaroshi Ki Tamanna” daily at the Rawalakot bus stand, was also shot and killed by Pakistani Rangers on Tuesday at Chinar Chowk. Farooq Sudhan, a former terror commander of Hizbul Mujahideen, is also critically injured in the Rangers' firing. Over the last three days, more than 80 people have suffered severe injuries across Rawalakot and Mirpur due to state violence. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/kGLuCP7AlIQ?si=ys71H3Ys9YobBRu9" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h2>Looting Captured on Camera; Total Deaths Stand at 110</h2> Beyond the lethal force deployed by Rangers and local police, video and CCTV footage accessed by ABP News shows security personnel engaged in widespread looting in Mirpur. Rangers in civilian clothes alongside uniformed PoJK police officers were captured breaking locks of private shops to steal bottled water and ice cream. Since the onset of military action on June 7 and the subsequent widespread uprising that began on July 9, the death toll in the 50-day unrest has reached 110 confirmed fatalities as of July 29. ALSO READ | <a href="https://ift.tt/9OZ1LYD" target="_blank" rel="noopener">PoJK Woman Pleads For India's Help, Alleges Pakistani Forces Are 'Killing Us And Our Children'</a> <h2>Rana Sanaullah Defends Crackdown, Admits to Pakistan’s Proxy State Policy</h2> Defending the state's actions on Geo News, Rana Sanaullah, Special Assistant to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Political Affairs and Former Federal Interior Minister, acknowledged Pakistan's long-standing policy regarding proxy terrorist training.  Sanaullah stated that the demonstrators gathering at Rawalakot and attempting to march to Muzaffarabad are the exact "Mujahideens" that Pakistan had previously trained and deployed to fight against the neighbouring country (India). Claiming these protesters are armed, Sanaullah declared that the ongoing military and police action against them is fully justified.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/pakistan-pok-protest-death-toll-rises-to-36-as-pakistan-rangers-open-fire-on-protesters-in-rawalakot-mirpur-1859360

Tuesday, July 28, 2026

PoK Violence Escalates: 24 Protesters Killed In 48 Hours As Firing Grips Mirpur, Rawalakot

Widespread violence and intense firing by Pakistani Rangers and Frontier Constabulary (FC) forces continue to grip Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). Over the last 48 hours, at least 24 unarmed civilians have lost their lives in fresh firing incidents across Mirpur and Rawalakot, pushing the overall death toll since June 7 to 98. <h2>Unprovoked Firing on Marchers in Mirpur</h2> The fresh wave of violence broke out when a group of 40 to 50 protesters on motorcycles was heading toward Rawalakot as part of a larger march toward Muzaffarabad. As the group reached the Mirpur market area, Pakistani Rangers allegedly opened indiscriminate fire without warning. Demonstrators abandoned their vehicles and fled for safety, but firing continued. Three protesters were killed on the spot, and eight suffered critical injuries. Later in the evening, a second round of firing by Rangers and FC personnel claimed two more lives in Mirpur. ALSO READ | <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/pok-protest-crackdown-death-toll-rises-to-22-in-24-hours-amid-fresh-firing-1859124">PoK Protest Crackdown: Death Toll Rises To 22 In 24 Hours Amid Fresh Firing</a> <h2>Hospital Siege and Denial of Family Access</h2> Victims' bodies have been placed at the District Headquarter (DHQ) Hospital in Mirpur. Authorities have barred family members from claiming the bodies or visiting the injured. Security forces reportedly fired shots outside the hospital premises to disperse gathering relatives. In Rawalakot, where Pakistani Rangers have taken control of the Combined Military Hospital (CMH), protesters were forced to treat their injured in makeshift facilities at the local Eidgah ground. <iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Nq37jBKTvO4?si=5MPuIIfP8LWGOlE9" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe> <h2>Mounting Casualty Count in Rawalakot</h2> The death toll in Rawalakot reached 19 following continuous firing since yesterday evening. Protesters gathered at key junctions including Chinar Chowk while Shaheed Chowk came under heavy fire from Rangers stationed on nearby rooftops and surrounding hills. Despite the heavy casualties, demonstrators refused to retreat. Following news of the shootings, residents from Khoi Ratta joined a mass movement of over 250,000 people currently marching toward Muzaffarabad. ALSO READ | <a href="https://news.abplive.com/news/world/us-iran-war-live-updates-donald-trump-holds-positive-productive-meetings-with-netanyahu-and-zelenskyy-at-white-house-1859163">Trump Holds ‘Positive, Productive’ Meetings With Netanyahu And Zelenskyy At White House</a> <h2>War-Zone Fortifications on Civilian Roads</h2> Footage recorded by protesters reveals that Pakistani security forces have dug deep trenches across roads in Rawalakot, erecting sandbag bunkers and soil barricades typically used in military combat zones. The ongoing violence across Pakistan-occupied Kashmir has resulted in 24 civilian deaths within the last 48 hours alone, comprising 19 casualties in Rawalakot and 5 in Mirpur, where 18 more people remain critically injured. This surge in casualties brings the total death toll across major flashpoints including Chinar Chowk, Shaheed Chowk, Mirpur, and Rawalakot to 98 since June 7, even as an estimated 250,000 marchers continue their push toward Muzaffarabad.

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/pakistan-pok-protest-violence-escalates-24-protesters-killed-in-48-hours-as-firing-grips-mirpur-rawalakot-1859183

Strait Of Hormuz Still Sees Ship Traffic Despite Iran Attacks, Data Shows

Edited by Milan Gagnon and Andreas Becker. The Strait of Hormuz has become one of the world's most dangerous waterways since March, when Iran began attacking shipping vessels as a pressure tactic in its ceasefire talks with the United States. Still, though a significant proportion of the global oil trade bottlenecks at the strait, shipping traffic never completely halted. With the United States and Iran issuing conflicting statements as to whether the Strait of Hormuz is open, DW analyzed public data sources to track how shipping traffic has changed during the course of the war and which vessels are still taking the risk of transiting the maritime choke point, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman. <h2>Shipping Through Strait Of Hormuz Disrupted</h2> As Iran's strikes on and interception of vessels in the Strait of Hormuz continue, mines have also been reported in the prewar shipping lanes. The Joint Maritime Information Center (JMIC), a project of the US-led Combined Maritime Forces, assesses the threat to shippers as "severe," its second-highest warning level. However, according to one of JMIC's latest advisory notes, issued after attacks resumed on July 6 and 7, "commercial traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained at reduced levels, with vessels transiting via both the southern Omani corridor and the northern Iranian-controlled route." JMIC added that shippers remained cautious of transiting the strait amid the attacks on vessels in recent weeks. DW's analysis of data from the open-source platform Global Fishing Watch showed that, nevertheless, several shipping companies have navigated their vessels through the Strait of Hormuz throughout the war. Though the platform's primary purpose is to monitor fishing efforts, it also collects data on all other vessels using satellite imagery and relying on signals transmitted by ships' automatic identification systems (AIS). As ships can switch off their AIS transponders — and have reportedly repeatedly chosen to while transiting the Strait of Hormuz — the number of vessels is likely higher than shown. Based on AIS signals, a combined total of at least 84 ships crossed the Strait of Hormuz in two periods of the conflict: from the start of the war on February 28 until the announcement of a ceasefire on April 7 and following the renewed attacks on July 6 and 7. This aligns with reports of the United States saying it gave passage to about 70 ships and adding that not all of them transmitted signals. For comparison: In the same periods of 2025, more than 900 ships crossed the strait. Of these 84 ships, 34 moved from east to west into the Persian Gulf and 50 crossed the strait in the opposite direction, moving out of the gulf. <h2>In Which Countries Are Ships That Transit The Strait Of Hormuz Registered?</h2> As part of the AIS signal, ships transmit which flag they are sailing under, but this information is entered manually aboard the vessels. In only a few cases investigated for this story did the flag reflect the actual country of origin of the registered owner or the ship manager of a vessel. This information can still be looked up manually in different databases using the ship's international ID number and its name. Only nine Iranian- and two Pakistani-owned ships transited under their respective national flags. All of the other 73 ships hoisted a flag different from the vessel owner's country. Analysis of this data shows that a wide variety of companies operating in the region continue to cross the Strait of Hormuz. At the top of the list is the United Arab Emirates, which neighbors the strait. The UAE's Abu Dhabi Crude Oil Pipeline (ADCOP) runs overland parallel to the waterway in the south. 13 cargo ships registered in the United Arab Emirates transited the strait during the shutdown, as well as two liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) tankers and three support vessels. Most of the UAE-based ship owners in the dataset appear to have only one to five vessels in their fleet. One of the UAE-registered vessels that was detected passing into the Persian Gulf on July 11 is managed by Lubeck Shipping LLC, a company associated with an Iranian oil tycoon that has been sanctioned by the United States. Also sanctioned by the United States is Salina Ship Management PvT Ltd., a company from the Indian state of Maharashtra that US officials accuse of helping Iran move petrol. The company manages one of the four Indian oil and LPG tankers that Global Fishing Watch recorded entering the strait. India, like many Asian countries, is heavily reliant on the Strait of Hormuz for energy supply. China, Pakistan and Vietnam, too, had oil and LPG tankers in the Persian Gulf that they moved out of the Strait of Hormuz before a ceasefire was announced on April 7. All seven vessels owned and managed by companies from Greece, the world's biggest shipping power, were freighters, typically carrying unpackaged dried goods such as iron, coal and grains. <h2>Why Risk Transiting The Strait Of Hormuz?</h2> The primary motive for continuing to move oil and other goods via the Strait of Hormuz despite the threat of attacks by Iran is financial — "simply because the reward seems higher than the risk," said Matt Smith, director of commodity research at Kpler, a business intelligence company headquartered in Belgium that specializes in analyzing global commodity flows. "The key point is that producers of oil (or gas, aluminum, and other products) within the Strait of Hormuz essentially have only two options," economist David Wech wrote in an email. Wech monitors the flow of energy commodities such as oil and refined products for the British company Vortexa. "Option 1: to halt production and earn no money at all — or even incur losses due to operating expenditures," Wech wrote. "And option 2: accept the risk of transiting the strait and thereby earn 90% or more of their normal revenue. With an oil price of currently more than $80 per barrel, we're talking about billions of USD." With hostilities hot again as of July, the Brent Crude oil price is on yet another upward trend, perhaps one of the most perceivable global effects of the war and the near shutdown of the Strait of Hormuz. <h2>What Are Alternatives To Strait Of Hormuz?</h2> In prewar times, roughly 25% of the global maritime oil trade passed through the Strait of Hormuz. Alternative routes have limited capacity to compensate for the loss of oil flow through the strait, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Two pipelines are currently used to bypass the Strait of Hormuz: the UAE's ADCOP and another in Saudi Arabia. The ADCOP in the United Arab Emirates would allow ships to land and load in the northeastern port of Fujairah and transport oil out of the Persian Gulf without transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The Abqaiq-Yanbu crude oil pipeline system (East-West Crude Pipeline or Petroline) in Saudi Arabia has some capacity left, the IEA reported in February. Publicly available shipping data for Yanbu show an increase in oil-related ship traffic from May through June, compared with previous years. "Combined, Yanbu and Fujairah have been able to reroute over 4 million barrels a day of crude from having to pass through the Strait of Hormuz," Smith said. "This has been able to act as a release valve to keep barrels flowing to key customers in Asia — but only offsetting 4 of the total 15 million barrels per day that typically passes through the strait." The alternative routes have their own risks. Reports are increasing of piracy and attacks on ships by Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the narrow choke point between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. "Bab al-Mandeb has the potential to add further supply woes to a global supply picture that is already severely constrained," Smith said. So, the release valve to the Strait of Hormuz might soon become a maritime choke point of its own. (Disclaimer: This report first appeared on Deutsche Welle, and has been republished on ABP Live as part of a special arrangement. Apart from the headline, no changes have been made in the report by ABP Live.)

source https://news.abplive.com/news/world/strait-hormuz-iran-shipping-traffic-dw-analysis-public-data-1859120