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British and US aid workers have been asked to leave Yemen by Houthi authorities in the country, a letter seen by Sky News shows.

In the letter to the country’s United Nations coordinator, the Houthi-controlled foreign affairs ministry requests aid workers with US and British citizenship to leave within 30 days.

It follows the second set of joint UK and US airstrikes against Houthi forces, aimed at stopping raids on shipping in the Red Sea.

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Houthis warn UK and US to ‘expect response’

The letter also calls on aid agencies not to recruit any workers with dual nationalities from the UK and US in the next 30 days.

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The full letter reads: “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen extends its best regards to the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Sanaa, and through them to all offices of humanitarian organisations working in the Republic of Yemen.

“The ministry would like to emphasise the necessity of informing all officials and workers who hold American and British citizenship of their preparation to leave the country within a maximum period of 30 days from the date of this determination so they will be ready to leave immediately upon the expiration of the period referred to, and the ministry will be sure to inform you via a ministerial letter 24 hours before departure.

“The ministry also calls upon [the humanitarian organisations] not to recruit any employees with dual nationalities from those countries mentioned above during this period.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Yemen takes this opportunity to express appreciation and respect to the office of the United Nations Resident Coordinator.”

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Why have the UK and US launched more strikes on Yemen?

The UK and US have been carrying out the strikes in retaliation for Houthi attacks on international shipping in the Red Sea.

Defence Secretary Grant Shapps said last night that the second round of strikes was a “success”.

In a post on X, Mr Shapps posted: “I want to thank all members of the Armed Forces involved in last night’s operations against Houthi targets.

“Their dedication, professionalism and skill made the operation a success, degrading the capabilities that the Houthis use to threaten global trade and the lives of innocent mariners,” he said.

Last night’s strikes targeted a Houthi underground storage site and locations associated with the Houthis’ missile and air surveillance capabilities, a joint statement from the UK, US, Bahrain, Australia, Canada and the Netherlands said.

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Who are the Houthis?

The Ministry of Defence said four RAF Typhoons, supported by a pair of Voyager tankers, “joined US forces in a deliberate strike against Houthi sites in Yemen”.

It added that Paveway IV precision-guided bombs were used to strike “multiple targets at two military sites in the vicinity of Sanaa airfield”.

The MoD continued: “These locations were being used to enable the continued intolerable attacks against international shipping in the Red Sea.”

It said a “very rigorous analysis” was used to minimise any risk of civilian casualties, which included the decision to attack at night.

The Houthis support Hamas and have been attacking ships they claim are either linked to Israel or heading to Israeli ports. However, several of the group’s attacks have been on vessels from other countries.

Watch our new foreign affairs show, The World with Yalda Hakim, from Monday to Thursday between 9pm and 10pm on Sky News.

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‘NATO Santa’ shot down over Moscow in apparent Russian propaganda video

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'NATO Santa' shot down over Moscow in apparent Russian propaganda video

Father Christmas, driving a sleigh filled with NATO-branded rockets, is shot out of the sky above Moscow in an apparent new piece of Russian propaganda.

“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” says a second Santa in Russian, sitting in what appears to be a control room.

Ukraine Centre for Countering Disinformation shared the video, saying that Russia’s “paranoia about the ‘NATO threat’ has reached new heights”.

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Still from apparent Russian propaganda showing Santa over Moscow
Image:
Still from apparent Russian propaganda showing Santa over Moscow

Ukrainian journalist Illia Ponomarenko reported that it was released after the Azerbaijani Airlines plane crashed in Kazakhstan on Christmas Day – amid speculation it was shot down by Russian air defences.

Sky News has not yet been able to verify the timing of the video’s release, which appeared on pro-Russian social media channels and not from an official source.

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The video begins with Santa, dressed in red, flying in a sleigh above the Russian capital, saying: “Ho, ho, ho! Hi Russians, here are your presents! Happy New Year!”

It then shows a missile blowing up the sleigh and cuts to the control room, where an alternative Father Christmas dressed in blue asks “Is that it?” and a man in uniform replies: “Yes, the target is destroyed.”

“Good, we don’t need anything foreign in our skies,” the Santa says in response.

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Eurostar passengers ‘trapped for hours’ in Channel Tunnel after train breaks down between London and Paris

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Eurostar passengers 'trapped for hours' in Channel Tunnel after train breaks down between London and Paris

Passengers on a Eurostar train from London to Paris say they were stuck for hours in the Channel Tunnel after a train broke down.

The 06.01am train left on time and was supposed to arrive at Paris Gare du Nord at 9.20am local time – but travellers were told they would get to Paris with a delay of about six hours.

Eurostar said on its live departures and arrivals page: “Due to a technical problem, your train cannot complete its journey. It will now terminate at Calais Frethun where you’ll be transferred onto another train to your destination.”

Lisa Levine posted on X: “What a mess. We were trapped for hours and hours in a tunnel. No idea of when we were go get out. Now transferred to another train and literally missing our entire day in Paris.

“Do better Eurostar. Communicate with your paying customers.”

Gaby Koppel, a television producer, told The Independent: “We stopped in the tunnel about an hour into the journey, so roughly 7am UK time.

“There were occasional loudspeaker announcements saying they did not know what the fault was.”

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Alicia Peters, an operations supervisor, was on the train taking her daughter to Disneyland Paris.

She told The Independent: “Sitting for 2.5 hours on a stationary train with my eight-year-old daughter was very stressful.

“She was very worried as we heard a noise and then there was no power.

“It was very hot and we didn’t really know when we would be moving as they were unable to provide any timeframe.”

In a post on X the rail company said: “Service update: Train 9080 had a technical issue this morning.

“This train is now running at reduced speed to Calais where passengers will be transferred to another Eurostar train to continue their journey to Paris. Thank you for your understanding and our apologies for the delay.”

X users reported long queues on the motorway to the Channel Tunnel following the train breakdown.

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South Korea’s parliament impeaches acting president

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South Korea's parliament impeaches acting president

South Korea’s parliament has voted to impeach acting President Han Duck-soo.

The move could deepen a constitutional crisis triggered by a short-lived period of martial law declared by Mr Han’s predecessor, Yoon Suk Yeol.

After the vote on Friday, Mr Han said he will step aside to avoid more chaos.

The opposition brought impeachment proceedings against him over his refusal to immediately fill three places on South Korea’s Constitutional Court – where the former president is on trial.

Three justices had been approved by parliament – where the opposition Democratic Party has a majority – but Mr Han said he would not formally appoint them without bipartisan agreement.

South Korea’s constitution says that six justices on the nine-member Constitutional Court must agree to remove an impeached president, meaning the current justices must vote unanimously to remove Mr Yoon.

The court has said it can deliberate without the full nine-member bench.

Leader of the opposition Lee Jae-myung had vowed to go ahead with the impeachment, accusing Mr Han of “acting for insurrection”.

A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest.
Pic: AP
Image:
A man waves a South Korean flag at an anti-Yoon Suk Yeol protest. Pic: AP

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Now that Mr Han – who is also prime minister – has been impeached, his finance minister Choi Sang-mok is set to take over as acting president.

Politicians in the 300 parliament voted 192-0 to impeach him. Governing party politicians boycotted the vote.

Following the vote, Mr Han said he would respect the decision and will await a ruling from the Constitutional Court on the impeachment motion.

Mr Han will be stripped of the powers and duties of the president until the Constitutional Court decides whether to dismiss or reinstate him – the same as with Mr Yoon.

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