Heightened aggression by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait is sparking a critical question: Could this vital maritime passage transform into another Strait of Hormuz, known for its geopolitical tensions?

This question’s complexity is underscored by challenging geographical and political landscapes. Unlike the Strait of Hormuz, where Iran directly impacts navigation from its own shores, its influence over Bab el-Mandeb is mediated through its alliances with the Houthis. The region surrounding this strait is further complicated by a fractured Yemen, divided among various armed and political factions. This division presents the U.S. and regional allies with a complex threat that isn’t easily addressed using naval capabilities alone.

The potential peril was highlighted when Houthi forces targeted the Egyptian-owned cargo vessel Tihamah in the strait. Tragically, four crew members—three Pakistani nationals and one Indonesian—lost their lives, as confirmed by Yemeni and Pakistani authorities. Additionally, two Yemeni rescue workers died in subsequent strikes aimed at rescue operations, according to Yemen’s Coast Guard. If verified, these fatalities could mark the first instance of deaths resulting from Houthi assaults on shipping since the onset of the U.S.-Iran conflict on February 28.

Positioned between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait serves as a crucial junction, linking the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea to the Red Sea. Further extending northward, this route provides passage to the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean Sea. Its strategic importance cannot be overstated, especially for energy and commercial shipping. Notably, the Suez Canal, along with Egypt’s SUMED pipeline, marks the northern terminus of this essential Red Sea passage.

But the southern side of that corridor borders a country that has been at war for more than a decade.

The Houthis control the capital, Sanaa, and much of northern Yemen, while the internationally recognized, Saudi-backed government and an array of allied or competing groups control areas elsewhere. The Southern Transitional Council, a separatist movement that has been backed by the United Arab Emirates, has been a major force in the south.

That fragmentation is becoming increasingly relevant to the security of the waterway.

Amr Al Bidh, the STC’s foreign affairs chief, told News Media that naval forces can defend individual vessels but cannot by themselves remove the threat posed by Houthi-controlled territory overlooking the maritime route.

“Naval presence protects individual ships. It does not take away Houthi launch sites, it does not interdict the smuggling routes that resupply them and it does not hold terrain,” Al Bidh said.

He said that “you have to be on the ground” to ultimately secure Bab el-Mandeb.

The deterioration comes amid a broader escalation in Yemen. U.N. Special Envoy Hans Grundberg told the Security Council Thursday that the country faces its most serious threat of a return to large-scale war since the U.N.-brokered 2022 truce, warning that renewed Houthi attacks on commercial vessels risk drawing Yemen deeper into the wider regional confrontation.

That truce sharply reduced major fighting after years of war following the Houthis’ seizure of Sanaa in 2014 and the Saudi-led military intervention the following year. Though the formal truce expired in October 2022, large-scale hostilities remained comparatively limited for years.

On July 20, the Houthis declared what they called a naval blockade of Saudi Arabia, threatening vessels doing business with Saudi ports. Riyadh denies the Houthi accusation that Saudi Arabia has imposed a siege on Yemen.

A White House official, speaking on background, said the United States expects the Houthis to continue to uphold the terms of the ceasefire. The official said the Houthis “saw during Operation Rough Rider that the United States and President Trump will take necessary action to protect freedom of navigation and U.S. commercial shipping from Houthi terrorist attacks.”

The official added that the United States is focused on protecting core national security interests — including freedom of navigation in the Red Sea — while “empowering our regional partners to take the lead in managing and resolving regional security challenges.” The official said Washington is in continuous dialogue with Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Yemen government regarding regional stability.

United Against Nuclear Iran, citing Joint Maritime Information Center data, has put the decline in tanker transits since the July 20 blockade declaration at roughly 40%. UANI also said tankers have been observed broadcasting messages including “CHINESE OWNER” and “ARMED GUARD ON BOARD” through their tracking systems, apparently in an effort to reduce the chance of being targeted.

China, meanwhile, has been in contact with the Houthis over safe passage for Chinese vessels, according to a July 28 Reuters report citing Chinese and regional sources. Four China-bound tankers had crossed Bab el-Mandeb following the blockade announcement as Beijing sought assurances for its shipping.

The economic stakes are rising because of what is happening hundreds of miles to the east.

Saudi Arabia has increasingly relied on its Red Sea export infrastructure as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz has been disrupted by the U.S.-Iran conflict.

That makes the Red Sea both an alternative to Hormuz — and a potential second pressure point.

Yemeni Nobel Peace Prize laureate Tawakkol Karman warned at the United Nations Thursday that Yemen’s internal collapse is increasingly threatening interests far beyond its borders.

“This is no longer a Yemeni crisis alone,” Karman said. “The continued collapse of the state in Yemen threatens international navigation and trade, energy security, and global supply chains and undermines regional and international peace and security.”

Karman had been invited by Denmark, which holds the Security Council presidency, to brief council members, but Denmark’s deputy U.N. ambassador said “strong opposition” prevented the briefing from taking place. Karman instead addressed reporters outside the chamber.

In a separate interview with News Media, Karman argued that restoring a functioning Yemeni state is ultimately essential to defeating armed groups and securing the country.

“Yemeni people can do that,” Karman said of defeating the Houthis and other militias. “We can be partners on saving the global and regional security.”

“Without restoring Yemen, that means there is not any sustainable peace,” she added.

But U.S. experts caution against treating Bab el-Mandeb as simply a second Hormuz.

“Iran doesn’t have the same direct influence on flows through the Bab al-Mandeb as it does for the Strait of Hormuz,” Richard Goldberg, a senior advisor at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former National Security Council official, told News Media.

“The strategy would depend much more on proxies — Iraqi groups focusing fire on infrastructure and the Houthis focusing on the Red Sea,” Goldberg said.

But he said there are limits to that strategy. “The Houthis act much more independently than they used to, and have not yet shown an interest to going to war against the world — just against Riyadh,” Goldberg said.

He also pointed to one critical difference between the two waterways: ships that cannot safely cross Bab el-Mandeb can bypass the Red Sea entirely by sailing around Africa.

“Unlike Hormuz, shippers can go around the Red Sea if they really need to,” Goldberg said. “It adds cost and time but it’s not a single point of failure like Hormuz.”

The question facing U.S., Saudi Arabia and its partners is therefore how to prevent the Houthi threat from becoming more serious.

Riyadh is now trying to assemble two overlapping layers of regional security cooperation.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan signed the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement on Aug. 7, a mutual-defense pact that calls for high-level political and military coordination, joint exercises and deeper defense-industry cooperation. Turkey has stressed that the agreement is defensive and does not identify Iran or any other country as an enemy.

Dr. Aziz Alghashian, a Saudi foreign-policy researcher and senior non-resident fellow at Gulf International Forum, told News Media earlier this week that one immediate implication could be greater coordination against Iran-backed groups, particularly the Houthis.

Alghashian said the pact could produce a greater trilateral presence near the Saudi-Yemeni border, “especially in the maritime dimension,” while allowing Riyadh to take a firmer collective approach toward Iran-backed militias even as it maintains a more diplomatic approach toward Tehran itself.

Separately, Saudi Arabia is leading an effort specifically focused on the waterways.

The Saudi Defense Ministry announced July 30 plans for a multinational maritime-defense coalition intended to protect freedom of navigation and commercial and energy routes through Bab el-Mandeb, the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. Fourteen countries, including Turkey, Pakistan, Egypt, Sudan and Djibouti, initially backed the initiative.

Turkey’s Defense Ministry confirmed Thursday that Ankara is participating in meetings in Jeddah aimed at establishing the coalition.

A State Department spokesperson separately told News Media that protecting commercial shipping through both the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz remains a “top priority” for the Trump administration, pointing to freedom of navigation as one of Washington’s core national security interests in the Middle East. “We will continue to work with international partners to deter Iranian and Iranian-proxy attacks on merchant vessels, ensure the free flow of commerce and hold accountable those who threaten the safety of international shipping lanes,” a State Department spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said the administration is also seeking to disrupt the flow of Iranian money and weapons to the Houthis, noting that the U.S. has sanctioned more than 200 entities associated with the group.

“We condemn Iran’s flagrant violation of Yemen’s sovereignty and international law in threatening freedom of navigation and supporting their Houthi proxies,” the spokesperson said. The State Department also emphasized Washington’s support for Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s internationally recognized government as the threat around Bab el-Mandeb grows.

“The United States stands firmly with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the internationally recognized government of Yemen against Houthi terrorism,” the spokesperson said. “We are in close consultation with our Saudi and Yemeni partners and remain committed to their security.”

In Mary Shelley’s classic tale “Frankenstein,” the infamous monster comes to life when an assortment of salvaged human organs and animal parts are stitched together and zapped with electricity. A mystical blend of science and imagination brings the creature to life with a burst of lightning.

Unlike fiction, the real-world creation of life is far from simple. However, using nature’s own biological tools could pave the way to addressing many of humanity’s challenges.

Recently, a groundbreaking innovation took center stage: a “synthetic cell” known as SpudCell. Bioengineered from essential biomolecules like proteins, lipids, and DNA, this artificial cell has sparked excitement among scientists for its potential to replicate living cell functions and its promise for revolutionary therapeutic advancements.

Yet, this leaps us into an age-old philosophical dilemma: Are we daringly taking on the role of creators, much like Dr. Frankenstein?

Synthetic cells hold promise as minuscule couriers for delivering medication directly to diseased tissues. They might be engineered to synthesize crucial substances such as insulin, antibiotics, and vaccines right inside a patient. Envision a future where these artificial cells not only produce anticancer drugs but also transport them straight to a tumor, potentially rendering chemotherapy and other harsh treatments obsolete.

Their potential benefits extend to the stars. Long-term space exploration poses all sorts of medical risks. Artificial cells could heal astronauts when doctors aren’t around. If a space cadet gets sick, all he’d have to do is open a packet of synthetic cells and add water — the necessary medications could be manufactured on demand.

These little wonders could even be deployed into the environment to consume toxic chemicals or clean contaminated water.

What could go wrong?

A lot.

For every positive use of synthetic cells, someone out there would create an evil use. Infectious biowarfare capabilities could be apocalyptic.

Or consider another foreseeable nightmare scenario where we produce synthetic cells that consumes oil to clean up spills. Everything is going gangbusters. Until the cells find their way into the world’s oil reserves and eat those up too.

The entire balance of nature could be overthrown.

What if synthetic cells have better Darwinian fitness than natural microorganisms, outcompeting earth’s native bacteria? Some have sounded alarms about the possibility of so-called “mirror life” — hypothetical synthetic cells that function like normal bacteria. But their internal internal enzymes would be flipped compared to all known bacteria. That means our immune systems — and the rest of nature’s — might not recognize these invaders and would have no ability to combat them. They could devour all existing life.

Could this be our punishment for trying to create artificial “life”?

And the question remains: Should these creations be considered truly alive? If recent reactions to SpudCell are any indication, then the media is eager to hype the inventions as real life.

In response to recent successes by Kate Adamala, a University of Minnesota synthetic biologist, CNN claimed, “Scientists say they have built a cell from scratch for the first time that can feed, grow and replicate like a natural cell.”

But SpudCell isn’t alive — if we mean to describe something that can survive in a natural environment, metabolize nutrients, and perpetually self-replicate. And it was hardly made “from scratch.”

Even the New York Times acknowledged that “SpudCell’s originators do not claim to have created life.” Still, one of the scientists involved called it “a genuine milestone on the road toward” the question of lab-engineered life.

Even this is misguided.

Life excels at multiplying. But SpudCell can only survive for a handful of replications before its machinery degrades and ceases to function. This is because SpudCell cannot produce ribosomes — highly complex biomolecular machines that all living cells make to manufacture proteins. SpudCell must be fed a steady diet of ribosomes — all originally made by other real cells.

SpudCells also lack a functional metabolism. As a result, they must be suspended in a “broth” of biomolecules which allow them to perform fundamental functions.

Another area where SpudCell fails to qualify as life is its inability to fully pass on traits to future generations. As bioengineer Tara Daens stated, “It doesn’t reliably pass on its genetic material.”

None of this negates SpudCell’s impressive abilities, of course. But even if we’re playing God, we can’t become Him.

There’s an old joke about scientists who boast to God that they’ve figured out how to make a man. “We start with some dirt,” they begin, until God interjects, “Hold on — you’ve got to get your own dirt!”

This is the essence of SpudCell: Its creators borrowed all the “dirt” in the form of functional information-rich genes, molecular machinery, and enzymes, stolen from living cells.

SpudCell is a testament not only to the cleverness of man, but also a powerful reminder that life originates only through intelligent design.

Casey Luskin is a PhD scientist and Associate Director at Discovery Institute.

On a quiet Tuesday, Cristiano Ronaldo, the world-renowned billionaire footballer, tied the knot with Georgina Rodríguez in an intimate ceremony at their home in Portugal. Sporting a casual T-shirt beneath a suit jacket, Ronaldo kept the occasion low-key yet meaningful as the couple exchanged vows.

The duo celebrated their union on a special date, the decade-long milestone since first crossing paths. Their love story began at a Gucci store in Madrid, where Rodríguez, then a shop assistant, first met the athlete. With Ronaldo now 41 and Rodríguez 32, the date held profound significance.

Contrary to swirling rumors and heightened public interest, the couple opted for a simple affair. The event transitioned seamlessly from their living room to a nearby church, a location that evoked deep emotions in Georgina, who admitted she couldn’t hold back her tears during the heartfelt moment.

In a candid discussion with Vogue for the magazine’s Summer digital issue, Rodríguez shared insights about their choice of venue: “We wanted to do it in the very room of our home where we share our daily meals and capture the essence of our everyday life…”

She continued, expressing a sentimental future vision, “In 30 years, I hope our children reflect on this table and think about something wonderful — the wedding vows of their parents.”

‘When I was a little girl I dreamt of the biggest castle, the biggest carriage, the longest dress, a crown full of diamonds. And now I’m saying: no. I want something intimate, with my partner and our children, at home.’ 

However, the beauty did promise in the interview that they would in the future have a ‘big wedding’ to celebrate with their wider family and friends but did not elaborate further on their plans. 

Another surprising element of the day was their choice of clothes, however, the couple explained the reason they both wore Gucci was due to them meeting at the Gucci store in Spain all those years ago.

They called the idea a ‘full circle’ moment.  

Georgina wore a sheer white shirt and skirt, satin shoes teamed with sparkling diamond jewellery from Chopard. 

Cristiano meanwhile wore a custom light beige cotton suit, T-shirt and loafers for the big day. The children all wore matching outfits.

‘He’s not going to dress us up,’ Georgina explained. ‘I didn’t want us to go into a day that was so simple for us in costumes.’

After the ceremony at home they drove to the Shrine of Our Lady of Fatima, an hour away, where a priest gave them a blessing. 

The couple won’t be going on a honeymoon and have already jetted back to Saudi Arabia where he plays football.

The couple have daughters Alana and Bella together, and welcomed twins Eva Maria and Mateo through surrogacy.

Bella had a twin brother named Angel, but he sadly passed away shortly after birth. Ronaldo has a final child, Cristiano Jr, from an earlier relationship.

The footballer shared that he and Georgina had tied the knot after ten years together by sharing a snap of their wedding bands on Instagram.

He captioned the post: ‘C❤️G.’

A representative for Ronaldo also confirmed news of the union, saying: ‘Cristiano Ronaldo and Georgina Rodriguez were married today in a civil ceremony in Cascais, Portugal, and are now officially husband and wife. 

‘The ceremony was a private and intimate moment attended by their five children.’

Jornal de Noticias published a copy of the couple’s marriage certificate late on Thursday, saying only four witnesses were present as well as their children.

Cristiano’s mother Dolores Aveiro and his three siblings Hugo, Elma and Katia, were not present at the intimate civil ceremony.

His family found out he was marrying his long-term girlfriend just moments before he married Georgina, a local report has claimed.

It was Portuguese television presenter Cristina Ferreira who claimed the footballer’s family’s absence from his big day will ’cause problems’.

Speaking on TVI programme Dois at ten, she said: ‘It will cause a lot of problems because the family wasn’t present.

‘And they shouldn’t even have known. Or if they did know, it was 30 seconds beforehand.’

Claudio Ramos added on the programme: ‘I really hope that what we said here, which had to do with the impressions we get from what exists on social media, did not actually cause sadness in the family, that things were not as they apparently seem.’

Dolores, who has had to refute claims over the years of a bad relationship with her daughter-in-law, gave her blessing to the star couple’s union.

Shortly after they announced they were married she posted a heart emoticon on Cristiano’s official social media alongside the snap he published of their rings.

Cristiano’s sister Katia, who is based in Brazil but travelled to her native Madeira at the weekend to meet family and friends, did the same.

She has yet to address reports she and other members of Cristiano’s family were absent from the Cascais wedding ceremony.

Georgina’s sister Ivana, Cristiano’s long-time friend Miguel Paixao and a Spanish couple named as Jose Rodríguez Sangil and his wife Monica Gonzalez Martinez were the only witnesses.

Registrar Maria Manuel Ferreira de Campos Folhadela de Oliveira travelled from the northern Portuguese city of Porto to Cascais to officiate the ceremony.

And the star couple, who married exactly one year to the day after they announced their engagement on social media, have decided to keep their pre-nuptial assets separate despite tying the knot after a decade-long romance.

They signed a pre-nup agreement to define their property regime on August 10, a day before the ceremony at a public notary’s office in Lisbon.