JERUSALEM: US President Donald Trump on Sunday endorsed his ally Benjamin Netanyahu before Israel’s close-fought parliamentary election on October 27, providing a boost to the veteran prime minister’s bid to win a new mandate. Netanyahu touted his close relationship with the US president in a video released by his Likud party, saying that together they had “crushed Iran” and adding that re-election would allow him to work with Trump to “elminate the Iranian threat over the next two years, or eve

CAIRO: The Houthis, Al-Qaeda and Daesh come from sharply different religious traditions. The Yemeni militia is rooted in a hard-line interpretation of Zaydi Shiism, while Al-Qaeda and Daesh emerged from extremist movements. Their doctrinal disagreements are profound, and they have fought each other on the ground. Yet the differences can obscure a more consequential question: Which poses the greater long-term threat to Yemen and the wider region? The answer cannot be measured solely by the number

LONDON: Arsenal struck late to beat Nottingham Forest and keep the pressure on Premier League leaders Manchester City on Sunday, while struggling Manchester United dropped more points in a draw at Leeds. The Gunners faced Forest a day after pacesetters City celebrated a seventh win in seven games at home to Ipswich — shrugging off the fallout from the club’s guilty verdict for serious financial irregularities. Defending champions Arsenal huffed and puffed against Oliver Glasner’s struggling side

PARIS, France: Noah Cadiou’s second-half penalty for Lorient prevented Monaco returning to the top of Ligue 1 as the principality outfit fell to a 1-0 defeat in Brittany on Sunday. Monaco are one of four teams level on points at the top of the table as they were joined by Paris FC, who edged Rennes 4-3 thanks to Lassine Sinayoko’s injury-time penalty winner. Rennes dropped to fifth, a point behind, despite forward Esteban Lepaul’s hat-trick of penalties in Paris. That left champions Paris Saint-

AL-HASA: Matchday 10 of the 2026/27 Saudi Pro League is officially underway, albeit under unique circumstances, with three matches from the previous round postponed because of the logistical difficulties facing teams traveling across the country amid frequent airport closures.   Only one game took place on Sunday, as Al-Fateh and Al-Khaleej met in a thrilling Eastern Province derby, both sides coming off their first victories of the season last Thursday.   Mourad Batna led Al-Fate

MILAN, Italy: AC Milan held off Atalanta with a 3-2 win in Serie A on Sunday, while Cesc Fabregas’s Como ended their winless streak with a 3-1 victory at lowly Fiorentina. Goncalo Ramos, Adrien Rabiot and Mario Gila netted for Ruben Amorim’s side as they climbed to fourth in the table on 15 points. Gianluca Gaetano and Nikola Krstovic pulled two back for the visitors in the second half but it was too little, too late for Atalanta as they succumbed to a fourth defeat of the campaign. After Milan

President Emmanuel Macron on Sunday slammed the "unbridled" violence that erupted in cost-of-living protests across France, as police battled protesters and looters in new clashes in Paris.

Nearly 2,400 people were arrested Saturday in unrest that represented some of the worst urban violence in France in years, with almost 1,000 police and gendarmes injured, seven seriously, the interior ministry said.

In an address to the nation, Macron said authorities would increase security and vowed lessons would be learned over the police response. But he stopped short of announcing any drastic measure, such as a state of emergency or curfew.

"Tonight, we all feel anger and shame," Macron said, adding that there must be a distinction between protesters with "legitimate demands" with "those who destroyed, smashed, and looted".

"Those who have destroyed must pay," he said, vowing the government would be "uncompromising" towards the "agitators from ultra-left fringe groups, joined by numerous delinquents" who "unleashed unbridled violence in our cities".

AFP journalists said police Sunday fired tear gas and stun grenades at hundreds of people gathered in a Paris square following social media calls for a gathering that authorities said had not been approved.

Bottles and rocks were hurled at police who made several arrests. Shops were also looted around Republique square with specialist anti-riot police deployed for the second day.

Violence also erupted Sunday in the southeastern city of Lyon where a police thwarted youths who attempted to smash the windows of a luxury clothing store.

'Lamentable' address

The unrest came just months from a presidential election where centrist Macron cannot stand again and Marine Le Pen, the far-right presidential candidate for the National Rally party, is riding high in the polls.

Le Pen said the troubles showed that Macron's administration was "running on fumes, exhausted and disoriented". Her top lieutenant Jordan Bardella described Macron's speech as a "lamentable" address that showed the authorities had "nothing more to say" to France.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, head of the hard-left France Unbowed party, also running for president, urged Macron to respond to the protesters' demands, saying young people "need this episode to reach a positive conclusion".

Macron said "our country deserves a fine presidential election", marked by debates "with the parties, rather than in the streets with violence".

Saturday's protests had seen unions, the anti-Macron Yellow Vests movement that ruffled the early years of his presidency and school students, who had protested for the last weeks, join forces in a show of anger at the cost of living and prospects for young people.

With images of French town halls burning and shops being looted grabbing headlines around the world, US President Donald Trump waded into the debate, blaming immigration for the unrest.

"France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country," Trump said in a social media post.

'All necessary lessons'

Macron vowed that top officials would "make decisions in coordination with mayors to protect our cities, public buildings, and businesses."

"Seeing the streets of our cities ransacked in this way is unbearable," he said, pledging "support" for businesses that suffered.

Macron vowed there would be "full transparency" over the response by security forces to the protests, after criticism that police preparations had been inadequate.

Some opposition politicians have already called for the sacking of Interior Minister Laurent Nunez.

Macron said he had asked Nunez to "draw all necessary lessons", particularly with regard to intelligence gathering and anticipation, adding he expected "clear answers".

"It's like we had a war," a 78-year-old Paris resident Mehmet Ozeden told AFP amid burnt street barricades from Saturday's protests.

The city of Limoges lost its 19th-century town hall to a fire that local prefect, Maurice Barate, told news channel LCI had been deliberately set by "a wild horde".

In Lyon, a tourist office in the city centre was set ablaze during the protests amid multiple clashes and looting.

A 17-year-old boy had his right hand blown off by a crowd-control grenade in the southern city of Saint-Etienne. In Mulhouse a 17-year-old girl lost an eye, according to prosecutors.

 

In Albania, violent anti-government protests have escalated for six days, leading to confrontations between demonstrators and police in Tirana. Protesters, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Edi Rama due to poor university conditions, high tuition fees, and corruption, clashed with police, resulting in injuries to at least 272 individuals, including many officers. Rama has rejected calls for his resignation, attributing the unrest to external influences.

Bald eagles are a conservation success story, rebounding after DDT and other harmful chemicals, which drove them to near extinction, were banned. But today, eagles and other wildlife face a new threat: rat poisons. “Animal Collateral” reveals the truth about these poisons the chemical companies and their lobbyists don’t want you to hear, describing how SGARS—an especially deadly class of poison used in bait boxes found around homes, businesses, and communities—are killing owls, hawks, eagles, f

Albanian police fired water cannon and tear gas Sunday as violent anti-government protests entered a sixth day and Prime Minister Edi Rama rejected demonstrators' demands that he resign.

Violent demonstrations have rocked Tirana since Tuesday, with protesters calling for action over poor university conditions, high tuition fees and corruption.

Hundreds of protesters gathered again at noon in front of the education ministry chanting "Rama, resign" amid a tense standoff with police.

After police bid to disperse the crowds, the protests scattered across the city centre, escalating into hours-long violent clashes.

Protesters set ablaze litter bins in the streets, smashed windows, including at the headquarters of the governing Socialist Party, and set fire to a police station and the entrance of the interior ministry.

Chaotic clashes extended to the main boulevard and square, with demonstrators throwing rocks, Molotov cocktails and charging pyrotechnic devices, as the police responded with rubber bullets and tear gas, according to an AFP journalist.

Ambulances were seen rushing in and out of the scenes of clashes to pick up the injured.

The ministry of Health told AFP that 16 police officers were injured -- 14 of them when protesters attacked the police station.

Before the protest, shops and offices in the city centre secured their doors and windows with metal shutters, while city workers removed paving stones to prevent them being thrown by protesters.

In a video broadcast lasting more than an hour, Rama ruled out resigning, stating that the protests are the "work of an outside hand".

According to Austrian federal press service, Rama's official visit to Federal Chancellor Christian Stocker scheduled for Monday, has been cancelled by the Albanian side.

Buildings on fire

Writer and activist Lura Elezi, 38, told AFP that she is protesting for "a better life, rule of law and against crime and corruption".

"I love my country, but my government does not respect us - it defies us. Every citizen must take responsibility for their country, taking on the duty to lead, to love, and not to destroy one's own nation", she said.

Tirana saw its harshest violence on Saturday when protesters threw rocks, Molotov cocktails, metal objects and pyrotechnic devices at police, and torched cars and litter bins to use as barricades against advancing police.

Buildings including a court, banks and a post office were set on fire or severely damaged. Police used rubber bullets on demonstrators for the first time since the protests began, AFP journalists saw.

Albert Nushi, from the police public security department, said in a statement that because of "the unprecedented scale of attacks on the police", a "limited use of specialised crowd-control equipment was used".

He urged protesters to stay away from masked individuals behind the violence and "assemble in a peaceful manner".

He said police detained 54 individuals in Tirana on Saturday, and 27 face criminal proceedings.

According to a health ministry report issued Sunday, 65 people were injured, including 37 police, with 12 people hospitalised.

Since Tuesday, 272 people have been injured in the clashes, including 169 police, the ministry said.

Albania's close ally, the United States, reacted late Saturday. Its embassy in Tirana urged "restraint and calm on all sides".

The European Commission in a written statement, "condemned the use of violence in Tirana and other cities", adding that the response to it "must remain proportionate".

"In a candidate country firmly committed to the EU accession process... grievances should be handled through constructive dialogue and in a peaceful manner," the statement said.

The unrest follows months of anti-government protests in the Balkan nation, initially sparked by a controversial resort development linked to US President Donald Trump's family.

 

KUALA LUMPUR: The Saudi Water Authority has won five international awards for projects focused on water technology, energy efficiency and recovering valuable resources from desalination waste. The authority, through its research arm, the Water Technologies Innovation and Advanced Research Institute (Watira), received the awards at the fourth Asian Water Awards and the 2026 Asian Power Awards in Kuala Lumpur. Among the recognised projects was a drinking-water enrichment system that uses nanotechn

Dozens of trucks from the UAE delivered 789 tonnes of aid, including food and shelter supplies, to the Gaza Strip this week as part of Operation Chivalrous Knight 3, bringing the total to 138,030 tonnes. This humanitarian effort comes amid severe crises in Gaza, where nearly 2 million have been displaced and over 74,000 killed since late 2023, with accusations of genocide and war crimes directed at Israel.

RIYADH: Saudi influencers are using their social media platforms to promote national unity, counter misinformation and encourage informed discussion amid ongoing regional tensions. The Arabic hashtag #GoToExtremesInDefendingYourHomeland has gained traction online, encouraging citizens and residents to use their voices in support of the Kingdom. The campaign has become a rallying point for content creators seeking to shift conversations toward verified information and constructive dialogue rooted

HEBRON: Israeli settlers in Idhna, west of Hebron, prevented Palestinian farmers on Sunday from harvesting olives and attempted to assault them and steal their crops. Local sources reported that settlers pursued farmers near the town, preventing them from harvesting olives and attempting to assault them and steal their produce. The western area of the town has experienced daily harassment by Israeli settlers, including burning trees and crops, as part of efforts to seize more land and annex it t

QUNEITRA: Ghassan Al-Sayyid Ahmad, governor of Syria’s Quneitra region, called on the UN peacekeeping force to monitor and document Israeli violations during a recent meeting with the UN Under-Secretary-General for Peace Operations, Jean-Pierre Lacroix. The talks focused on the impact of Israeli actions on residents of villages near the separation line and ways to strengthen coordination with the UN mission. Ahmad urged the UN Disengagement Observer Force to fulfil its responsibilities und

Palestinian journalist Bushra al-Taweel has been held by Israel for nearly 50 days in solitary confinement, the Palestinian Prisoners Club (PPC) said in a statement on Sunday.

Al-Taweel, 33, who was previously released by Israel in January 2025 as part of a prisoner exchange deal, was rearrested in February 2026 and has since been subjected to repeated administrative detention orders.

The journalist is facing frequent raids on her cell, during which she is beaten, subjected to tear gas, and verbal abuse from prison authorities, the PPC said, based on al-Taweel's testimony given during a recent visit. The most recent raid took place two days before the visit.

Al-Taweel reported suffering dryness in her eyes, skin, and hands, as well as numbness in her hands due to being handcuffed. She also suffered from scabies prior to being transferred to solitary confinement, where she is being deprived of basic necessities.

The PPC said prison authorities have provided insufficient food for al-Taweel, while forcing her to drink discoloured tap water. She also reported having few clothes to wear, while also being unable to wash what she has.

Al-Taweel indicated that on 4 October, she signed papers for her transfer to Damon Prison, but was surprised to find herself transferred to solitary confinement at the Ohalei Oz Prison in Beersheba, where she remains detained until today. Israeli authorities renewed her administrative detention order for an additional four months.

The PPC described al-Taweel's treatment by Israel as being part of an escalating policy of systematic targeting of female prisoners through administrative detention, solitary confinement, ill-treatment, and the denial of their basic rights.

The Prisoners Club called upon international human rights groups, particularly the International Committee of the Red Cross, to intervene urgently to investigate al-Taweel's detention conditions.

Al-Taweel, a journalist who has campaigned for the rights of Palestinian prisoners, was first arrested by Israeli forces in 2011 at the age of 18, when she was sentenced to 18 months in prison.

Cartoon by Amjad Rasmi. (Courtesy of Asharq Al-Awsat)

VATICAN CITY: Pope Leo pledged ​on Sunday to slowly resume his usual activities as the leader of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics as he greeted crowds in St. Peter’s Square during his first public event since undergoing surgery for lung cancer five days ago.  The 71-year-old pontiff had an operation on Tuesday to remove the lower lobe of his right lung, fueling speculation about how his illness might change his 17-month papacy.  The 71-year-old pontiff had an operation on Tuesda

Egypt's top security body said Sunday it has agreed to support close ally Saudi Arabia in the major escalation of fighting between the kingdom and Houthi rebels in Yemen, which has marked the latest front in the Iran war.

Saudi Arabia has been pressing allies for military assistance. The Houthis have repeatedly attacked airports and oil infrastructure across the kingdom with drones and missiles that can change direction during flight, posing a challenge to interceptors. At least 19 people have been killed, thousands of flights have been affected and global markets have been rattled.

Also on Sunday, the Saudi defense minister was meeting with the United Arab Emirates president about ways to strengthen cooperation, according to the UAE’s news agency WAM. The countries have had tense relations in the recent past as they backed different factions in the Yemeni coalition fighting the rebels.

The Egyptian announcement on military assistance came a month after a visit by the Saudi crown prince. Chaired by President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, the National Defense Council decided to provide “all possible forms of support” to enable Saudi Arabia to defend its security, according to a presidential statement.

It didn’t provide details. El-Sissi on Saturday called for parliament to grant him the authorization to deploy troops and military equipment abroad.

The surge in fighting has threatened civilians in both Saudi Arabia and Yemen, which has seen a return to civil war. The interim capital of Yemen’s internationally recognized government, Aden, has seen its airport and a palace used by the government attacked in the past week.

On Sunday, an airstrike killed at least nine people, including five children and two women, in Yemen’s rebel-held northern province of Saada, the Houthi-run Health Ministry said.

Spokesperson Anees al-Asbahi said the strike hit a house in Sahar district and wounded 19 others, including 11 children. Some were in critical condition, he said.

Al-Asbahi blamed Saudi Arabia. There was no immediate comment from the kingdom. The Houthi-run al-Masirah satellite channel aired footage of people clearing debris with their hands and pulling two young people out of the rubble.

The rebels said attacks by Saudi-led forces had killed or wounded over 30 people in the past 24 hours. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the Houthis' military spokesperson, said 110 missiles or airstrikes were carried out against civilian sites in Sanaa and other cities. The Associated Press could not independently verify the claim.

Across the border in Saudi Arabia, a Saudi helicopter gunship crashed near the city of Najran in the southwest, killing its two-member crew, a Saudi military spokesperson said, citing a technical malfunction. The Houthis earlier claimed to have downed it.

Later, Saudi Civil Defense authorities said a projectile fired by the Houthis landed in a residential area of Najran province, wounding six people.

The Houthis have resumed attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks because the kingdom has supported Yemen’s internationally recognized government in the civil war. The rebels recently seized more territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coast and near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, a crucial shipping alternative to the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis’ chief negotiator on Sunday blamed Saudi Arabia for the escalation. Mohamed Abdulsalam said on social media that the rebels had warned the kingdom against striking the rebel-held Sanaa airport in mid-July.

That strike prevented the landing of an Iranian flight carrying a Houthi delegation returning from the funeral of Iran’s supreme leader, who had been killed in the opening strikes of the war in February.

The Houthis, angry over the longstanding Saudi blockade on them, declared their own blockade on the kingdom.

Oman had offered a five-day truce during which the two sides would meet and settle their dispute, Abdulsalam said. He said the Houthis agreed to stop attacks if Saudi Arabia agreed to “humanitarian demands.” He didn’t elaborate.

He said Saudi Arabia didn’t show “any indication that it is ready to deal positively” with the demands. The rebels shortly after that launched their offensive down the Red Sea coast.

A Saudi diplomat last week in a rare briefing said the kingdom had called for a meeting in Oman with the Houthis in July “to resolve outstanding differences and bring an end to this escalation,” but the rebels refused to participate.

On Sunday, the Sunni Muslim world’s foremost religious institution, Al-Azhar in Egypt, called for the formation of an “urgent mediation committee” to end conflicts across the Arab region.

US diplomats visited a Christian Palestinian village in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Sunday following attacks by militant Israeli settlers on European diplomats and an American photojournalist in the previous two days.

Riley Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, Brian Burch, US ambassador to the Holy See, and a number of other diplomats visited the Latin Convent church and were expected to meet with members of the Christian community in Taybeh.

Belgian, French and Polish diplomats, along with a French mayor and Palestinian civilians, had been attacked near Taybeh on Saturday by masked Israeli settlers.

The previous day, Washington Post photojournalist Heidi Levine was taken to hospital after being assaulted while covering a Palestinian olive harvest near another West Bank village.

The diplomats' visit coincided with US President Donald Trump endorsing his ally, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for Israel's parliamentary election on 27 October.

Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee attended a settler conference in the West Bank on Sunday.

Huckabee, an evangelical Christian and longtime supporter of Israel, earlier wrote on X calling for "those who attacked" the Washington Post photojournalist, a US citizen, to be jailed.

Trump has expressed his opposition to Israeli annexation of the West Bank, but his administration has put little pressure on Netanyahu's right-wing, pro-settler government to change its policy.

UN bodies and most countries deem the settlements illegal under international law, but Israel rejects this, viewing the territory as disputed rather than occupied.

While Foreign Minister Gideon Saar and the Israeli military both blamed "Israeli rioters" for the attack on the diplomats, Netanyahu, whose coalition is projected to lose its governing majority, has been more circumspect.

He has said the diplomats entered a "sensitive area with a history of confrontations without prior coordination" with the Israeli military, and that the facts of the attack on Levine are "unclear".

France urged Israeli authorities to arrest Saturday's attackers and to end criminal violence in the West Bank, but by Sunday there was no announcement from Israeli authorities of any arrests in either of the two latest incidents.

The West Bank is home to some 500,000 settlers and at least 3 million Palestinians.

Settler attacks on the Palestinians are surging, with at least 170 since September 27, according to Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group. Journalists, activists and foreign observers have also been targeted.

Yet prosecutions of Israeli settlers are rare.

On Sunday, Reuters saw a group of at least 10 settlers, masked and dressed in black, hurling rocks at Palestinians and activists harvesting olives near the Palestinian West Bank town of Salfit, prompting the farmers to flee.

Israeli border police were in the area and shot tear gas towards the hills.