Yemen's Houthi group said on Monday that it had launched drone strikes on facilities involved in transporting crude oil from eastern Saudi Arabia to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, saying the operations were in response to alleged Saudi drone incursions into Yemeni airspace.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said the group had targeted "a number of sensitive sites and facilities" involved in transporting crude oil along the route using "multiple drones." He did not identify the targeted locations or provide details on the number of drones used in the operation.
The Houthi claim came hours after Saudi Arabia said its air defenses had intercepted and destroyed drones launched from Iraq that attempted to target oil facilities in the kingdom's Eastern Province and the capital, Riyadh. Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry said the drones were launched by Iran-backed armed groups operating in Iraq.
The latest development came amid a sharp escalation that began last week when the Houthi group imposed a maritime ban on Saudi-linked shipping in the Red Sea, saying the move was a response to what it described as a blockade on areas under its control.
Since then, both sides have exchanged a series of military strikes, with the Houthis claiming attacks on Saudi-linked vessels and energy infrastructure and the Saudi-led coalition conducting airstrikes on Houthi-held sites in Yemen.
Yemen has been mired in conflict since late 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and much of northern Yemen, prompting a Saudi-led coalition to intervene the following year in support of the internationally recognized Yemeni government.
Houthi group claims drone attacks on Saudi crude oil transport facilities
In the first half of this year, the vitality of business entities in China and the high-end development of the industrial structure have been further improved, delivering solid achievements in high-quality development, an official with the State Taxation Administration (STA) said on Tuesday.
Hu Jinglin, the STA commissioner, told a press conference that the number of tax-paying business entities has increased during the period. "Tax data showed that the vitality of business entities in China has further improved from January to June. The number of active tax-paying business entities that are operating normally in China rose 20.2 percent year on year and the number of tax declaration companies gained 10 percent year on year," said Hu.
Hu noted that high-tech and digital economy industries saw a surge in sales revenue during the same period.
"The high-end development of the industrial structure has been further advanced. The sales revenue of high-tech industries and core digital economy industries increased 15 percent and 8.7 percent year on year, respectively. And their share of the total enterprise sales revenue expanded 1.7 percentage points and 1.1 percentage points year on year, respectively. At the same time, the profits of high-tech manufacturing enterprises and digital product service enterprises surged 29.2 percent and 64.4 percent year on year, respectively," said the official.
China's foreign investment inflows and foreign trade exports continued to demonstrate strong resilience in the six months, Hu added.
"The stability of [China's] opening up to the world has been further enhanced. The number of foreign-funded tax-paying entities rose 10.9 percent year on year. The total profit declared by foreign-funded enterprises increased 4.5 percent year on year. The number of export tax rebates processed by the tax authorities for enterprises gained 7.7 percent year on year. These figures indicate that China's introduction of foreign investment and foreign trade exports continue to maintain strong resilience," he said.
China's business vitality further enhanced in H1
