Missile fired from rebel-controlled Yemen misses a container ship

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — A missile fired from territory controlled by Houthi rebels in Yemen missed a container ship traveling through the crucial Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Thursday, a U.S. defense official said, the latest attack threatening shipping in the crucial maritime chokepoint. The attack saw the missile splash harmlessly in the water near the Maersk Gibraltar, a Hong Kong-flagged container ship that had been traveling from Salalah, Oman, to Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, the official said.

Kyiv protesters demand more spending on the Ukraine’s war effort

KYIV, Ukraine (AP) — Hundreds of protesters angered by what they view as wasteful municipal spending by Kyiv officials have gathered outside the Ukrainian capital’s city hall. The demonstrators at Thursday’s protest demanded that money should go to Ukraine’s war against Russia instead of local projects. The protesters, who appeared to be mostly in their 20s and 30s, gathered despite cold, damp weather. They dispersed in the afternoon when air defense systems burst into action. Protestors chanted, “It’s better to buy drones than build a new park” and, “The more money we spend on the army, the faster Ukraine will win this war.”

Turkish lawmaker who gave speech criticizing Israel dies after collapsing

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A Turkish opposition legislator died Thursday, days after he suffered a heart attack and collapsed in parliament just after delivering a speech critical of Israel and of the Turkish ruling party’s relationship with the country. Hasan Bitmez, 53, a member of parliament from the Islamist Saadet Partisi, or Felicity Party, died at the Ankara City Hospital, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca announced. Bitmez collapsed at the lectern of the Turkish Grand National Assembly on Tuesday after speaking for some 20 minutes.

With death toll rising, Kenyan military evacuates people from flood-hit areas

MANDERA, Kenya (AP) — Kenya’s military hastened efforts Thursday to evacuate hundreds of people trapped by raging floods that have hit many parts of the East African country. Floods have killed at least 170 and displaced more than 600,000 since the onset of heavy rains in November, according to the Red Cross, which is helping to coordinate the rescue efforts. Tens of thousands of people in Northern Kenya have lost livestock, farmland and homes due to the floods described by aid groups as the worst in 100 years.