DailyBrief: US-UK airstrikes on Yemen; and should Lakshadweep be left alone?

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Market Watch

• Indian benchmark indices hit new highs today with the Sensex up 847.27 points at 72,568.45, and the Nifty up 247.30 points at 21,894.50 at the end of the day’s trading.
• All sectors barring Auto, Power and Healthcare, ended the day in the green.

US, UK announce airstrikes in Yemen: Has the conflict escalated?

The United States and the United Kingdom have launched military strikes against the Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen. President Joe Biden said the attack was to protect international commerce and freedom of navigation and targeted over a dozen Houthi locations to degrade their military capabilities, including radar systems and weapons storage sites.

Houthis who? The Houthis are a Shia Islamist political and military organization that emerged from Yemen in the 1990s. Officially called Ansar Allah - the name Houthis comes from their founder Hussein Badr al-Din al-Houthi.

• Yemen is 65% Sunni and 35% Shia. The government gets a lot of support from Sunni stronghold Saudi Arabia, and the Houthis have been engaged in a civil war with the Yemeni government.
• With Saudi as a common enemy, the Houthis enjoy the patronage of Iran, and this is where their role in the current Israel-Hamas conflict becomes interesting. They have expressed solidarity with Gaza, and have been launching attacks on ships passing through the Red Sea, particularly those heading toward Israel.
• This is why the US and UK launched airstrikes against Houthi targets in Yemen.

Yes, but: Despite the strikes, the Houthis have vowed to continue their attacks, especially targeting ships linked to Israel, and have threatened a “greater” response if the US strikes continue, making things more volatile.

• The Red Sea is a crucial passage for a majority of the world's trade including oil shipments. The Houthi attacks have led to an increase in the insurance costs for ships passing through the region, while others have chosen to avoid the Red Sea altogether and take longer routes. This could translate to a spike in oil prices.
• More importantly, the US and UK now risk escalating the conflict and turning it into a larger regional war.

Clip du jour

This clip of PM Modi “mopping” (not really sure we can call it that) the floor of a temple in Nashik while promoting a cleanliness drive.

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Should Lakshadweep be left alone?

Remember Fyre Festival? It was promoted with so much gusto, but ultimately the organizers were unable to even provide the most basic amenities they promised to attendees.

With Lakshadweep being promoted now on almost every travel platform in India, it raises the question as to whether the archipelago is equipped to handle an influx of tourists.

The details: For example, drinking water is not very abundantly available on the island, and a huge influx of tourists could put a strain on the supply. If bottled water is a likely solution, plastic pollution is one of the first and most obvious concerns.

• Residents in Lakshadweep have long complained of the poor waste management system on the island. An influx of tourists will complicate this further.
• A hotel owner on Lakshadweep says that of the 36 islands, only 4-5 islands are used for tourism there and that these islands cannot accommodate more than 200 tourists at a time - highlighting the dearth of infrastructure to handle more tourists.
• Even if Lakshadweep Administrator Praful Patel's idea of building villas on the islands to accommodate more tourists is achieved, it still raises the question as to whether the rest of the infrastructure - power, water supply, sewage, and waste management - can keep pace with the development.
• The impact on the sensitive ecology of the archipelago can also not be understated.

The bottom line: Gaurav Bhatnagar of TBO.com puts the matter quite simply, saying “over-tourism and sustainability need to be accounted for now, not when it's already too late.”

• It would be more prudent to simultaneously develop beach tourism across India's 6000-km coastline, instead of focusing on just one archipelago, which may not yet be ready to handle an influx of tourists.

ICYMI

• France's least-experienced PM has appointed the country’s least-experienced Foreign Minister, and it’s his ex.
• Microsoft briefly surpassed Apple to become the most valuable company in the world.
• Defying its own sanctions, the US has begun imports of Russian oil.
• The United Nations Security Council has confirmed the death of Lashkar-e-Taiba co-founder and key 26/11 Mumbai attack conspirator Hafiz Abdul Salam Bhuttavi.
• In an intimate Hawaiian ceremony, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman celebrated his union with his best friend and partner Oliver Mulherin.
• The Indian government will start the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination campaign aimed at combating cervical cancer among girls aged 9-14.
• The seven men who assaulted the interfaith couple in Karnataka have been charged with rape.