Arabian Sea

Five Bulgarian sailors who were part of the crew aboard the hijacked ship "Ruen" have safely returned to Varna. The vessel, owned by Bulgaria and flying the Maltese flag, fell victim to piracy off the coast of Somalia last December. The Bulgarian Navy confirmed the sailors' safe arrival, marking a significant moment of relief for their families and the maritime community.

At an extraordinary briefing held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Mariya Gabriel announced that all sailors aboard the hijacked Bulgarian cargo ship "Ruen" are in good health and currently aboard an Indian warship.

Only goats seeking shade now use the long-abandoned lines of Soviet-era T-34 tanks, but the rusting relics point to the strategic value that Yemen's Socotra islands hold for foreign powers.

The archipelago's remote location helped it forge its astonishing nature millennia ago - a third of the main island's plants are unique, from bulbous bottle and cucumber trees to alien aloes.

A motion calling for the extension of Turkish forces' deployment in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and the Arabian Sea until Feb. 10, 2022 was published in Turkey's Official Gazette early on Jan. 28. 

Turkey's presidency on Jan. 25 submitted a motion extending Turkish forces' deployment in the Gulf of Aden, Somalia and the Arabian Sea.

Lawmaker will debate the motion on Tuesday extending the authorization of the deployments through Feb. 10, 2022.

Since it was first approved by parliament in 2008, the motion for the deployment has been extended 13 times.

Indian Navy Chief Admiral Sunil Lanba has advised China not to trigger fresh tension in South Asia by sending warships to Arabian Sea.

Chinese naval forces involved in anti-piracy patrols in the Gulf of Aden have held their first joint drill with NATO ships carrying out the same mission, China's Defense Ministry said on Nov. 27, as China seeks a greater global security role. 

Two Iranian destroyers, sent to the Gulf of Aden to protect commercial ships, have reached the entrance of Bab el-Mandab, a strategic strait between Yemen and Djibouti, Iran's navy said April 30.