Houthis target 3 ships off Yemen

DUBAI: Two ships were damaged in separate attacks off Yemen by Houthi rebels on Tuesday. In the first attack, a port-side ballast tank was holed by a sea drone. The same ship, sailing 118 km northwest of Hodeida, had come under threat earlier, reporting four splashes nearby. The second ship was damaged by a missile strike 179 km off Hodeida. A third ship was targeted in the Indian Ocean with a drone and a winged missile. — Agencies

Saudi projects deficit through 2027

RIYADH: The Arab world’s biggest economy Saudi Arabia announced Monday it anticipates a budget deficit of 2.3 percent of GDP in 2025, projected to continue over the following two years. It cited increased government spending and lower oil revenues for the budget outlook. The deficit is projected to hit 2.9 percent of Saudi GDP in 2026 and 3.0 percent in 2027. — AFP (See Page 8)

Gamers hit by PlayStation outage

PARIS: The online services of Sony’s PlayStation consoles went down for several hours on Tuesday, the Japanese firm said, affecting gamers around the world. The conglomerate apologized in a social media post without providing a reason for the outage. PlayStation’s online services allow owners of consoles such as the PS4 and PS5 to play games such as “Fortnite” or “Call of Duty”. — AFP

ADNOC swoops on Covestro

FRANKFURT: German chemicals group Covestro said Tuesday it had accepted a takeover bid from UAE state energy company ADNOC, as one of the key sectors in Europe’s largest economy is gripped by crisis. The deal valued Covestro, a maker of plastics, at some €12 billion ($13.3 billion), the German group said in a statement. – AFP (See Page 8)