UN Security Council demands Houthis halt Red Sea attacks

The U.N. Security Council on Wednesday demanded Yemen's Houthis immediately end attacks on ships in the Red Sea and implicitly endorsed a U.S.-led task force that has been defending vessels while cautioning against escalating tensions.

The demand came in a Security Council resolution approved with 11 votes in favor, none against and four abstentions. It also called on the Houthis to release the Galaxy Leader, a Japanese-operated vehicle carrier linked to an Israeli businessman that the group commandeered on Nov. 19, and its crew. (Reporting By Jonathan Landay in Washington and Arshad Mohammed in Saint Paul, Minn.; Editing by Chris Reese)