Australia, partners warn Houthis against further attacks in Red Sea

A dozen countries warned the Houthis, a Yemen-based rebel group backed by Iran, against continuing its attacks on shipping in the Red Sea, which have disrupted global commerce and triggered a limited military response from the US. "The Houthis will bear the responsibility of the consequences should they continue to threaten lives, the global economy and free flow of commerce in the region's critical waterways," the governments of the US, the UK, Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Italy, Japan, Netherlands and New Zealand said in a joint statement Wednesday. They called the attacks "illegal, unacceptable, and profoundly destabilising". Numerous…