UK aircraft carrier sidelined from largest NATO exercises since Cold War due to propeller problem

LONDON (AP) — A British aircraft carrier that had been set to lead the largest NATO exercises since the Cold War will not set sail because of a propeller problem. The Royal Navy said the HMS Queen Elizabeth will not sail Sunday as had been planned. It will be replaced in the exercises off Norway’s Arctic coast by the HMS Prince of Wales. With the HMS Queen Elizabeth sidelined, the navy may not be able to deploy an aircraft to the Red Sea as armed forces minister James Heappey has suggested amid increased hostilities with Iran-backed Houthi rebels who have been targeting cargo ships in the waters connecting Asia with Europe and the U.S.