Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for missile attack on central Israel

China

Yemen's Houthis claim responsibility for missile attack on central Israel

2024-09-16 07:40 Last Updated At：16:07

Yemen's Houthi group on Sunday claimed responsibility for a missile attack on central Israel, according to a statement aired by the Houthi-run al-Masirah TV.

The Israel Defense Forces reported on the same day that, in the early hours of Sunday, Houthi forces from Yemen launched a ground-to-ground missile at central Israel. Israeli rescue agencies later confirmed that nine people were injured while seeking refuge.

Houthi spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a televised statement that the Houthis used a new type of hypersonic missile to strike deep within Israeli territory.

"The operation was carried out with a new hypersonic ballistic missile that, with Allah's help, successfully reached its target, and the enemy's defense system failed to intercept or confront it. The missile traveled a distance of approximately 2,040 km in 11 and a half minutes," Sarea said in the video.

Sarea reaffirmed the Houthis' support for the Palestinian people, warning that Israel would face increasingly frequent and varied attacks. He added that the missile strike was retaliation for Israel's large-scale airstrike on Yemen's port city of Hodeidah on July 20.

On the same day, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel would carry out severe reprisals in response to the attack.

U.S. Fed slashes rates by 50 basis points, first rate cut in four years

2024-09-19 02:22 Last Updated At：03:17

The U.S. Federal Reserve on Wednesday slashed interest rates by 50 basis points amid cooling inflation and a weakening labor market, marking the first rate cut in over four years.

"The Committee has gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2 percent, and judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance," the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the central bank's policy-setting body, said in a statement.

"In light of the progress on inflation and the balance of risks, the Committee decided to lower the target range for the federal funds rate by 1/2 percentage point to 4-3/4 to 5 percent," the FOMC said.

This signals the start of an easing cycle. Starting from March 2022, the Fed had raised rates consecutively for 11 times to combat inflation not seen in forty years, pushing the target range for the federal funds rate up to between 5.25 percent and 5.5 percent, the highest level in over two decades.

After maintaining rates at the high level for over a year, the Fed's tight monetary policy faced pressure to pivot due to the easing of inflationary pressures, signs of weakening in the job market, and slowing economic growth.