The first stages of the hostage deal have taken place. I won’t know more about them until Sunday, or at least until after sunset on Saturday night I hope things go well.
On a similar note, I’ve heard a report that Hamas intends to release all 23 Thai agricultural workers that were abducted on October 7th. The Thailand government was in contact with Iran in an appeal for Hamas to honor the Hague conventions and release the Thai workers unconditionally. Like any reports from Hamas, this needs to actually happen in order to be believed. There was no mention of Hamas paying any indemnity to Thai workers that were murdered or for any injuries workers sustained at the hands of the terrorists. The rumor I heard also doesn’t mention the Filipino caregivers or the Nepalese students that were also kidnapped at the same time.
The first consequences of the piratical seizure of the Japanese owned ship Galaxy Leader by the Houtis may occur soon. The US will probably designate them as a “terrorist organization”. The designation was removed from the Houtis by the Biden administration about 2 years ago.
The UN mandated anti-piracy patrol off Somalia no longer exists. The patrol operated up to 2022 and was made up of warships assigned by the navies of several nations. It was allowed to lapse because Somali piracy had declined. I wonder if anyone will try to reinstate it now.
Wetherhorn 