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Sources

Those Royals And Their Crown Jewels: After Naked Harry, Topless Kate

CLOSER ( France), BBC (UK)

Worldcrunch

The Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton is reportedly "furious" after a French magazine published topless pictures of the Royal couple when on holiday in the south of France.

Closer, a French weekly celebrity magazine, hit shelves on Friday with images of Kate Middleton, along with the headline: "Oh my God! The photos that will go global."

[rebelmouse-image 27085943 alt="""" original_size="618x360" expand=1]

Closer's website teased French readers yesterday before the publication: "Discover the incredible snaps of the future queen of England like you've never seen her before... and like you would never have dreamt of ... The Duchess topless on the terrace of a guesthouse in the Lubéron! OMG!"

The BBC's Royal correspondent, Peter Hunt, says: "They believe a "red line" has been crossed. The couple cannot believe someone would take such photos and publish them."

I mean. You're the future Queen. Get your baps out on a balcony and someone with a wide angled lens is going to seize the day #katemiddleton

— Emma Smith (@WelshAlienLDN) September 14, 2012

However, there is one country in which the saucy photos of the Princess will not be printed... her dear home nation.

With the British tabloid industry marred by phone-hacking scandals, it seems Fleet Street is still treading on eggshells and are therefore choosing not to publish the photos after being offered them last week, the BBC reports.

Instead, the British press today focused on her current visit to Malaysia, with captions extolling her choice of dress: "Kate's the new Diana," "Kate's a real golden girl" and "A goddess in gold."

The publication is the second headache the Royal family has had to deal with in the past month after American gossip website TMZ published naked pictures of Prince Harry, after a party-filled trip to Las Vegas.

Daily tabloid The Sun was the only newspaper that chose to print the photos of Harry, claiming they were of public interest. The newspaper was subsequently bombarded with thousands of complaints.

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FOCUS: Israel-Palestine War

What Are Iran's Real Intentions? Watch What The Houthis Do Next

Three commercial ships traveling through the Red Sea were attacked by missiles launched by Iran-backed Yemeni Houthi rebels, while the U.S. Navy shot down three drones. Tensions that are linked to the ongoing war in Gaza conflict and that may serve as an indication as to Iran's wider intentions.

photo of Raisi of iran speaking in parliament

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi at the Iranian parliament in Tehran.

Icana News Agency via ZUMA
Pierre Haski

-Analysis

PARIS — It’s a parallel war that has so far claimed fewer victims and attracted less public attention than the one in Gaza. Yet it increasingly poses a serious threat of escalating at any time.

This conflict playing out in the international waters of the Red Sea, a strategic maritime route, features the U.S. Navy pitted against Yemen's Houthi rebels. But the stakes go beyond the Yemeni militants — with the latter being supported by Iran, which has a hand in virtually every hotspot in the region.

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Since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, the Houthis have been making headlines, despite Yemen’s distance from the Gaza front. Starting with missiles launched directed toward southern Israel, which were intercepted by U.S. forces. Then came attacks on ships belonging, or suspected of belonging, to Israeli interests.

On Sunday, no fewer than three commercial ships were targeted by ballistic missiles in the Red Sea. The missiles caused minor damage and no casualties. Meanwhile, three drones were intercepted and destroyed by the U.S. Navy, currently deployed in full force in the region.

The Houthis claimed responsibility for these attacks, stating their intention to block Israeli ships' passage for as long as there was war in Gaza. The ships targeted on Sunday were registered in Panama, but at least one of them was Israeli. In the days before, several other ships were attacked and an Israeli cargo ship carrying cars was seized, and is still being held in the Yemeni port of Hodeida.

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