Battle rages for airport in key Yemen aid hub

'They have stormed the airport': Yemen's war intensifies in Hodeidah

The news conference came as the United Arab Emirates leads Yemeni fighters in an assault on the rebel-held port city of Hodeida that has been criticized by global rights groups.

Intense fighting erupted Tuesday around the airport in rebel-held Hodeida in western Yemen as Saudi-backed government forces mounted a new offensive to capture the area, military sources said.

Saudi-led airstrikes on Tuesday heavily bombed Houthi positions and snipers who took over rooftops in Hodeida as forces battled to take control over the airport of the city.

It lies just 8km from the city's port, through which three-quarters of Yemen's imports pass, providing a lifeline for some 22 million people dependent on aid.

UN Special Envoy for Yemen Martin Griffiths left Sanaa on Tuesday, wrapping up a four-day visit during which he spoke with leaders of the Shia Houthi rebel group.

During the war, the Saudi-led coalition has disrupted food and other supplies coming into Yemen by imposing a naval blockade on ports including Hodeidah, which they have said are used to smuggle in weapons. Tehran has denied the allegation.

Rebel-held Hodeida is the latest battlefront in a three-year war that has seen Yemen, long the most impoverished Arab country, pushed to the brink of starvation.

IPhones to soon automatically share your location with 911
Apple's system uses technology that estimates a phone's location with data from cell towers, GPS and Wi-Fi access points. These help to counter the fact that every four out of five calls for emergency services come from mobile phones.

Mavericks acquire Luka Doncic from Hawks for Trae Young, pick
Doncic played global ball for Real Madrid and in exhibitions against National Basketball Association teams. This deal was in the works most of Thursday with Dallas adamant about moving up for Doncic.

Trump reverses family separation policy after tech, political backlash
News reported that the government dropped charges against 17 migrants, each of them parents. "That seems unlikely. Members are meeting later Thursday, and it's possible the bill could be rescheduled back to later in the day.

Yemeni President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi said military "operations will continue on various fronts until (the capital) Sanaa and the whole territory" are retaken from the rebels.

"The so-called relief plan announced by the Arab coalition in Yemen must be seen for exactly what it is; a justification to launch an attack that will have catastrophic consequences", she asserted in a statement.

At least 156 Huthis and 28 soldiers were killed in the fight for the airport, according to Hodeida hospital sources.

Hodeidah's port is the conduit through which as much as 80 percent of Yemen's food, medical and commercial supplies enters the country. He declined to offer the nationalities nor the numbers of troops now fighting in the Saudi-led coalition around Hodeida, only saying it had "numerical superiority" over the Houthis. Houthi media said coalition warplanes had carried out more than 40 strikes on the airport since the morning. It could also give an edge to the Western-backed military alliance which, despite superior weaponry and firepower, has failed to defeat the group in a war that has killed 10,000 people.

The Houthis seized control of Sanaa in September 2014, later pushing south toward the port city of Aden.

Speaking through video conference from Sanaa, Griffiths told the Security Council that he would launch a first round of peace talks next month, according to a press conference held at the United Nations headquarters in NY following the closed session.

The rebels have so far agreed only to share control of the port with the United Nations.

Related News:

22 June 2018

MTV Studios reboots '90s TV shows Daria, The Real World
This group of young people is living in The Valley of Nogales, Arizona, a town along the border of the United States and Mexico. This new series will be a different take on the 1990s feminist series from writer Grace Edwards ( Inside Amy Schumer ).

22 June 2018

Instagram competes with YouTube, launches long videos
It's free and you can start recording videos by yourself right away, just download it from Google Play and register an account. Called " IGTV ", it is aiming to be a true YouTube competitor, allowing users to upload videos up to one hour in length.

22 June 2018

Trump signs executive order to end family separations at border
Under the Obama administration, such families were usually referred for civil deportation proceedings, not requiring separation. CBP agents were instructed Wednesday night to no longer send parents with children to federal courthouses for prosecution.
22 June 2018

Penalty helps Australia hold Denmark 1-1
But that's not the end of the permutations as Group D winners Croatia wait following their stunning demolition of Argentina. Yet Australia went on to dominate a second half that saw Aaron Mooy and late substitute Danel Arzani go agonisingly close.

22 June 2018

Impressive Socceroos held to 1-1 draw with Denmark
With the "Fubo Premier" bundle, you will get access to all four of the World Cup soccer TV channels in most markets. Instead, Denmark fell victim to the system, which has worked well so far in the World Cup but isn't ideal .

22 June 2018

Audi A1 Sportback: See The Changes Side-By-Side
So the new A1 - available to order from September and on the roads in November - is a completely new design from the ground up. Since its launch in 2010, the A1 has proven a strong seller for Audi and has become its third most popular model in the UK.
22 June 2018

Melania Trump sends a questionable message en route to the border
Again, weird, coming from an immigrant herself - unless you want to use pretzel logic and call it ironic. Twitter users were quick to criticise the first lady's jacket faux pas and the not-so-hidden message.

22 June 2018

Mobile carriers cut off flow of location data to brokers
On Tuesday, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said on Twitter that it too had ended partnerships with data aggregators. But the company will not stop sharing that data entirely, the Associated Press reported .

First lady Melania Trump visits detained immigrant children
Melania wore the jacket as she boarded a plane en route to Texas, where she visited an immigrant children detention facility. Melania Trump wore a green army style jacket that had the words "I REALLY DON'T CARE, DO U?" written across the back.
22 June 2018

World Cup games to air on free TV amid problems in…
There were also issues on the opening night of the tournament with drop-outs, freezing pictures and logging-on problems. Optus CEO Allen Lew said on Wednesday afternoon that the company "deeply regret" streaming issues.

22 June 2018

Japan fans impress by cleaning up stadium
Senegal kick-started their Group H campaign with an impressive 2-0 win over Poland, 16 years after first appearing in the World Cup in 2002.

22 June 2018

Get your wallet ready, the Steam Summer Sale starts today
The battle royale game PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds is down to $20, as is the comedic RPG South Park: The Fractured But Whole . Fallout: New Vegas Ultimate and Fallout 3: GotY Edition are $10 apiece, and Fallout 4: GotY Edition is $30.