Welcome to The World in Ten.
In an increasingly uncertain world, this is The Times' daily podcast dedicated to global security.
Today with me, Tom Noonan and Alex Dibble.
The Houthis in Yemen have ramped up their attacks on shipping in the Red Sea again.
This surging threat has sunk two ships,
killed at least one crew member and taken six people hostage.
It's also shattered the relative calm in the Red Sea
since Donald Trump proclaimed a ceasefire deal with the Houthis back in May.
So why have the Houthis ramped up their attacks?
And will it just lead to more violence in the Middle East?
To answer those questions, our guest today is Birar Shaban,
a Yemen specialist from the Rusi think tank.
He's been forced into exile from Yemen because of his criticism of human rights abuses by the Houthis.
Birar, is this the end of that ceasefire proclaimed by Donald Trump?
Well, that ceasefire was fragile at best.
Yes, at that time they managed to reach some form of understanding.
The Iranians were also keen to tone down the escalation in the region.
But for the Houthis, this was just one stepping stone, if you'd like,
out of many, in my opinion, this wave of attacks.
is something that we're going to witness.