Israeli settlers on Saturday attacked a diplomatic delegation comprising representatives from the French and Belgian consulates, and the Polish representative to the Palestinian Authority during a visit to the town of Taybeh in the central occupied West Bank.

Taybeh Mayor Suleiman Khoury told The New Arab that the delegation had been participating in an event related to the twinning agreement between Taybeh and a French city.

Afterward, the delegation members, accompanied by local residents and the mayor, went to assist farmers with the olive harvest west of the town. There, settlers attacked and assaulted them, smashing the windows of the Belgian consulate vehicle. The delegation managed to withdraw without any injuries.

Two Palestinians were injured in the attack, Khoury explained, adding that while the diplomats were unharmed, they had witnessed the violence.

He confirmed that the settlers attacked the participants while they were in an area near homes that the Palestinian side considered safe. He pointed out that the attackers came from the seven settlement outposts surrounding the town, riding on tractors. Khoury indicated that the number of attackers was approximately ten settlers, and that they also attacked the mayor's car as the participants were trying to leave the area, though no one inside the vehicle was injured.

A French mayor who was part of the delegation told AFP that the incident showed a tolerance by Israel's right-wing government for settler violence.

"I think that if settlers are behaving like this, there is a tolerance on the part of the Israeli government," Bernard Baudoux, mayor of the northern French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries, said after he was attacked on a goodwill visit to the town of Taybeh.

Belgian Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prevot issued a statement condemning the attack.

"Harvesting olives, reporting the news or carrying out diplomatic duties should never put anyone at risk of attack," Prevot said.

Belgium will continue to press for sanctions against those responsible for the violence and those who support them, Prevot said.

Israel's army issued a statement condemning the "serious incident of violence.. during which Israelis assaulted diplomatic representatives", adding that police were taking evidence from the scene.

Israeli forces and settler attacks damaged at least 3,522 fruit trees and caused agricultural losses exceeding $1.9 million over a period of a week in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture announced.

The ministry's report for the week of 8 - 15 October showed that settlers had intensified their targeting of farmers and their crops during the olive harvesting season. At least 2,667 olive trees - three-quarters of the trees included in the survey - were reported damaged.

The damage varied between cutting down, uprooting, and burning trees, in addition to stealing and confiscating olive fruits, and destroying agricultural facilities and irrigation networks.

The report also noted that Palestinian farmers were prevented from accessing their lands, threatening their ability to harvest crops and compounding their losses during a season on which thousands of Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank depend as a source of income.

The ministry's report added that settlers stole 8,612 kilograms of olives, equivalent to approximately 8.6 tons.

The impact of this theft extends beyond the value of the olives themselves; farmers also lose a portion of their seasonal income and bear the costs of tree care and harvesting without any guarantee of safe access to their land or the ability to market their produce.

Hebron Governorate topped the list of the most affected areas with losses estimated at approximately $455,000, followed by Jenin with approximately $452,000.

The similarity in losses between the two governorates reflects the wide geographical extent of the damage, while the remaining losses are distributed across other areas of the West Bank.

The report comes after a week of even greater losses, with the Ministry of Agriculture's report for the period from 1 - 8 October documenting direct losses of approximately $3,678,000 and damage to 3,192 olive trees in seven governorates, with Jenin being the most affected.

The new report records damage in the following week, indicating continued losses throughout the harvest season.

The olive harvest is a primary source of income and employment in Palestinian villages, supporting tens of thousands of families wholly or partially.

The effects of the attacks go beyond the trees and the harvest, impacting family incomes and activities related to harvesting, pressing, and trade.

Melbourne-based videogame developer firm House House announced this week that the popular video game Big Walk would not be rolled out on Xbox due to their compliance with the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The developers said that while in 2026 they had announced that the game would be released on computers and other devices such as PS5 and Switch 2, fans urged them against a future Xbox release.

“We have made the decision not to release Big Walk on Xbox, in accordance with the Palestinian-led BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) movement’s call to boycott Microsoft, and their designation of Microsoft Games (and Xbox) as a priority boycott target,” the statement from the developers reads.

It calls on fans and readers to read about why Microsoft is being targeted, and how such a targeted boycott has already been proven to be effective. It directs people to the BDS website, which details how Microsoft's technology is being used in Israel’s war on Gaza to carry out potential war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

“It has always been our intention for Big Walk to be played by groups of friends, and we know that keeping the game off Xbox runs counter to those intentions,” the statement from House House continued.

House House expressed regret at not being able to make the game available Xbox, but said it remains firm on the decision until Microsoft and, or Xbox have been removed as BDS boycott targets.

The decision has received widespread praise from activists, with many also calling on them to take their decision a step further by cutting any links they have to SONY, citing their sale of equipment to the Israeli military.

This is not the first time House House has supported the plight of Palestinians. In 2023, the developer released a statement emphasising the Palestinian right to self-determination following the start of Israel’s genocidal war on the enclave.

“Now that we're back on here, we want to express our support for the Palestinian people, and their right to self-determination, safety and happiness. An end to this genocide. An end to apartheid. Free Palestine,” they wrote.

The Big Walk game, which is a multi-player adventure that centres on teamwork, challenges and puzzles, is still available on other apps and platforms, including Steam and Nintendo.

Saudi Arabia said on Saturday that it had intercepted a fresh wave of incoming drones, as its ally Egypt weighed sending the kingdom help in defending against repeated attacks from Yemen's Houthis.

Riyadh leads a military coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognised government in its war with the Houthis, and media affiliated with the Iran-backed group reported on Saturday that Saudi airstrikes beginning overnight had killed at least 12 people.

Since Yemen's conflict flared back to life in July after a years-long hiatus, Saudi Arabia has faced sustained Houthi missile and drone attacks targeting its oil installations, tankers and transit hubs, including one on Riyadh's airport last week that killed 13 people.

A spokesman for the Saudi coalition said on Saturday that it had "intercepted and destroyed four drones over the past few hours in the regions of Riyadh, the Eastern Province, and the South".

The interceptions came as the president of Egypt, which is also a member of the coalition, said he was willing to "carry out any measure to protect" Saudi Arabia if its leaders requested it.

President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said Egypt was not looking to intervene in regional wars, but added that it was "inconceivable" for Cairo to stand by while the kingdom was "harmed or its security and stability threatened".

"I'm not talking about fighting anyone or attacking anyone," he said. "We are speaking only about defence."

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi on Saturday called for an emergency session of the House of Representatives to grant him authorisation to intervene in Saudi Arabia’s defence, should Riyadh request it.

Speaking at a graduation ceremony for new classes at the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital, Sisi explained that such a move would require parliamentary approval. 

"I call on parliament to convene an emergency session to grant us authorisation to take action to intervene in defense of Saudi Arabia if we are asked to do so," the president said.

Sisi stressed that Cairo was not seeking to attack anyone or enter a war, but rather to defend Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states, without disclosing details about the nature, scope, or timing of any potential intervention.

The move comes as Yemen's Houthis have ramped up their attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks, including the targeting of an Aramco building, airports, and other key infrastructure.

Article 152 of the Egyptian Constitution stipulates that the president, as Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, may neither declare war nor dispatch the armed forces on a combat mission outside the country’s borders without first consulting the National Defence Council and obtaining approval from the House of Representatives by a two-thirds majority of its members.

His statements come two days after he said, during a meeting with officials and media figures following a graduation ceremony at the Police Academy on Thursday, that Saudi Arabia’s security was directly linked to Egyptian and Arab national security. He stressed that Cairo rejected any threat to the kingdom’s security or borders, as well as any threat to maritime navigation in the Red Sea.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty previously said in an interview with Bloomberg on the sidelines of International Monetary Fund meetings in Bangkok that Egypt would respond to any Saudi request and was prepared to provide various forms of support, including military assistance.

He also noted that Cairo was seriously considering joining the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.

At the same time, Cairo has maintained its diplomatic approach. During a phone call with his Iranian counterpart, Abbas Araghchi, last Tuesday, Abdelatty stressed the need for an immediate halt to attacks targeting Saudi territory, describing them as unjustified and unacceptable. He called for de-escalation and for political and diplomatic solutions to take precedence.

Sisi's latest remarks on the conflict between the Houthis and Riyadh come amid an escalation in attacks targeting Saudi Arabia, including missile and drone strikes that hit King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and resulted in fatalities and hundreds of injuries. 

Thousands of Tunisians joined the largest protest in years against President Kais Saied in the capital on Saturday, accusing him of undermining democracy and mishandling the economy in a growing challenge to his rule.

The demonstration, led by the major UGTT labour union and civil society groups, comes as Tunisia grapples with an economic crisis, worsening public services, recurring water and power cuts, and shortages of medicines and essential goods.

Saied seized broad powers in 2021 and 2022, dissolving parliament, dismissing dozens of judges and ruling by decree, moves that opponents described as a coup.

Rights groups say he has intensified a crackdown on civil society, journalists and opposition figures. Saied rejects those allegations, saying he is not a dictator, and has accused his opponents of engineering economic crises to fuel social unrest.

In a rare show of unity, opposition parties from across the political spectrum joined lawyers, doctors, journalists, unemployed people and civil society groups in marching along Habib Bourguiba Avenue, a focal point of the 2011 protests that helped trigger the Arab Spring uprisings.

The protest poses a significant challenge to Saied after years of divisions weakened the opposition's ability to mobilise large crowds.

"Silence will no longer be acceptable...the state cannot built by concentrating all powers in the hand of one person", Slah Eddine Salmi, head of the UGTT, told the rally.

Hundreds of police were deployed across the capital.

Protesters chanted: "No fear, power belongs to the people!" and "The prisons are full, people are hungry!" They also revived the iconic slogan of the 2011 uprising, which was notably peaceful in Tunisia: "The people want the fall of the regime!"

They called for the release of Saied's critics and demanded an end to what they described as attacks on trade union rights. Some carried banners expressing frustration over unemployment and pollution.

"Enough is enough! The country is collapsing. We suffer from power and water cuts, and one crisis after another," said Yassine Gharseli, a protester from Sfax, about 250 km (155 miles) south of Tunis.

"I came from Sfax to stand up for my freedom, and I'm not about to give up, even if I become the last voice in the country."

Alana Hadid and Jenan Matari have pulled a children’s book they co-authored on the Palestinian experience from Penguin Random House publishers, after they said their account on history was “sanitised and misrepresented”.

Random House Children’s Books, a division of Penguin Random House, signed the book deal in November 2024, and it was set for release last month.

However, the authors, who have both been outspoken about the plight of Palestinians in the face of Israeli occupation and abuses, included the history of Palestine in the book, with the manuscript also including elements of their own families’ stories.

It touched on the Palestinian resistance, the forced exile of Palestinian civilians and the Palestinian diaspora around the world as a result.

It also centred on how the Palestinian story has long been erased and ignored, as well as the rise of Zionism, the Nakba (Catastrophe of 1948), the relationship between the US and Israel, and how life feels under a military occupation.

It described Israel as a settler colony, and Hadid documented her personal family history, mentioning how her real-estate mogul father Mohammed Hadid and his parents were expelled from Safed, and forced to live as refugees in Syria.

Matari explained in the book how her relatives were expelled from Deir Yassin and Ein Karem after the Israeli massacre in 1948, where over 100 Palestinians were killed.

However, the writers said they withdrew the book after Random House requested changes, after they had submitted a final copy.

Random House told reporters that the process was normal and had “followed our standard bookmaking procedures”.

In excerpts of communications between the authors and Random House shared with The Guardian, the writers and activists engaged in disagreements over language in the book over the course of several months.

One particular sticking point was the 7 October attack on southern Israel, and the writers stating that people under “colonial domination” have the “right to resist”. The book also cited a UN general assembly resolution that says people under colonial domination are entitled to “the right to self-determination” and to restore that right “by any means at their disposal”.

Random House demanded that a disclaimer, or counter-narrative be added to say that the attack on Israel was in violation of international law.

A failure to agree on the details resulted in the authors walking away from the deal, choosing to instead release it through Palestinian-owned US publisher Interlink Books.

 “They continued to try to sanitize our history because they didn’t want to make certain communities uncomfortable. But decolonial history is supposed to make you uncomfortable,” Matari said.

“I believe it was a revolutionary book, which is why it was under so much scrutiny,” she continued.

A prominent Israeli rabbi on Friday issued a religious ruling that would allow Israeli Jews to steal olives from Palestinian land in the occupied West Bank, with several Israeli media outlets affiliated with the religious Zionist movement, including Channel 7, publishing the religious edict.

The ruling, issued by prominent religious Zionist rabbi Dov Lior, said that the olives belong to the Jewish people, and that taking the crops represents the implementation of what he described as the "commandment to occupy the land".

The ruling, titled “In response to numerous enquiries regarding olive harvesting in the groves throughout Judea, Samaria and Binyamin” — biblical names used by Israelis to refer to areas of the occupied West Bank — states that “the people of Israel have never relinquished the Land of Israel, as we express in our daily prayers".

This comes amid escalating Israeli settler violence and terrorism targeting Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank, with mobs stealing tractors, setting alight olive trees, and damaging cars.

Lior further claims that "the Arabs never purchased the land from the people of Israel or from any Jew, and therefore it is usurped in their hands".According to his assertion, Palestinians “did not acquire ownership of it by any means, and it has remained the property of the people of Israel".

The rabbi further states that if Palestinian farmers cannot reach their crops for security reasons, it can be assumed that they have abandoned the crops.

“If they planted trees that bear fruit, such as olives, the principle of despairing of recovering them applies to them. Therefore, if they are unable to harvest them for security reasons, it should be assumed that they have given up on them — and all the more so that they have given up on olives that have already been picked," the rabbi said.

He adds that even if the owners of the trees were entitled to compensation for cultivating them, they had already received sufficient produce from them over previous years. He maintains that the land and its fruits should ultimately return to what he describes as the ownership of the Jewish people.

Lior goes so far as to declare that settlers harvesting olives from Palestinian land is “entirely permissible". He adds that this act contains an “additional virtue”, given the security risks supposedly posed by Palestinians approaching settlements and settlement outposts.

His position is not limited to olive harvesting on land adjacent to settlements. He extends the ruling to groves farther away, stating: “Jews are permitted to harvest olives even in areas far from Jewish settlements, in order to publicly demonstrate our ownership of the land, and thereby fulfil the commandment to conquer the land.”

Dov Lior is one of the most prominent rabbis associated with Israel’s religious-nationalist movement. He previously served as the chief rabbi of the Kiryat Arba settlement near Hebron. Lior is known for his hard-line religious and political positions towards Palestinians and his support for expanding settlements in the West Bank. He wields influence among settlers and religious movements associated with the settlement movement.

Israeli media reported that Lior’s ruling came in response to a religious ruling issued last Tuesday by seven rabbis from settlements in the Gush Etzion bloc, south of Bethlehem. Those rabbis prohibited settlers from stealing olives from Palestinian land, even when Israeli forces prevent the owners from accessing their property for security reasons.

The rabbis, including Ze’ev Whitman, Uri Lifshitz, Avi Bliedstein and Moshe Shifter, argued that preventing Palestinians from reaching their groves does not mean they have relinquished ownership of the harvest. They stressed that seizing the olives constitutes "theft forbidden by religious law and a desecration of God’s name".

The seven rabbis based their position on provisions of Jewish religious law prohibiting the theft of property belonging to non-Jews. They emphasised that even if the landowners were assumed to have abandoned their fruit, this would not make it permissible for others to take it.

The Tzohar movement, which includes prominent rabbis, also joined the opponents of Lior’s ruling on Friday. It stated that “theft is forbidden from any person, whether Jewish or non-Jewish”, and that individuals do not have the authority to confiscate property.

The circulation of the ruling comes amid escalating attacks by Israeli forces and settlers against Palestinian farmers during the current olive harvest season. These attacks have included beatings, gunfire, the theft of crops, the burning of trees and vehicles, and preventing farmers from accessing their land.

Several areas of the Ramallah and al-Bireh governorate witnessed widespread settler attacks on olive pickers on Friday. The attacks targeted the villages of Abu Falah, Turmus Ayya, Burqa and Deir Jarir, causing injuries among Palestinians and resulting in olive trees and vehicles being set on fire.

Israeli settlements built on occupied Palestinian land are considered illegal under international law.

Mothin Ali, deputy leader of the UK Green Party, secured a full apology and damages on Friday from right-wing commentators after they accused him of taking part in riots in his ward, vowing to The New Arab that he will keep fighting against “lies and smears”.

GB News presenter Alex Armstrong and social media commentator Bernadette Spofforth on X accused Ali in 2024 of “taking part” in the Harehills riots, a night of disorder over police supporting social workers who were removing four children from a family home over safeguarding concerns.

Ali, who sits on Leeds City Council, took the commentators to court for defamation. A court heard that the Greens' deputy leader helped police calm tensions and protect residents during the riots.

“It’s far too common for people who look like me to be smeared by right-wing hate-mongers,” Ali told The New Arab. “This is a victory for all global majority public figures and a rebuke to racists everywhere.”

Both commentators have since publicly apologised and agreed to pay “substantial damages”.

“I shouldn’t have had to go to court to get these apologies, but rest assured I’ll keep fighting back against lies and smears,” Ali added.

Armstrong wrote on X on Friday that he had “accepted [the allegations] were incorrect”, while Spofforth admitted the statement was incorrect and offered her “sincere apologies”. The High Court ordered them to pay the full court costs and publicly apologise to the councillor.

The false statements received millions of views combined, and the court heard that Ali had been publicly confronted over the false allegations.

The 2024 riots involved public disorder, fires and confrontations between residents and police. Claims from social media tried to connect the riots with the Muslim community.

Ali was praised for trying to prevent disorder during the riots, with the court hearing a statement from a senior police officer requesting his assistance to try to calm tensions. A right-wing activist group, Turning Point UK, said, “[Ali] was trying to prevent the disorder and stop bins from being pushed into fires”. 

In a separate incident, UK police are also investigating threats against Ali over claims he attended a rally in support of the Iranian regime.

The deputy leader is demanding an apology from former Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer and Conservative MP Sir Alec Shelbrooke after parliament claimed he supported the protests.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Saturday that he would not seek to remain in office when his current term expires in 2030, describing the matter as "completely settled".

Sisi, 71, a former army general who became president in 2014, made the remarks at a graduation ceremony at the Egyptian Military Academy in the New Administrative Capital, one of his flagship megaprojects.

Speaking to graduates and state officials in the sprawling new city east of Cairo, Sisi said the Egyptian constitution "would not be touched".

"The period leading up to 2030 will be the end of my term as president of the state, if I am still alive. This is completely settled, and there will be no discussion about it," he said.

The Egyptian constitution, approved in 2014 following the 2013 military ouster of late president Mohamed Morsi, originally limited presidents to two four-year terms.

Constitutional amendments approved in a 2019 referendum extended presidential terms from four to six years and included transitional provisions that allowed Sisi to run for an additional term.

Under those amendments, Sisi was re-elected in 2023 for a six-year term that expires in 2030.

Critics and opposition figures have speculated about further constitutional changes that could allow him to remain in office beyond 2030.

Before running for president, Sisi denied having political ambitions, but he resigned as defence minister in 2014 and entered the race he went on to win.

On Saturday, he said the run-up to 2030 would groom a new generation of leaders, with the Military Academy training hundreds of prospective officials, ministers and presidential candidates in statecraft and leadership.

During his 12 years in power, Sisi has overseen an ambitious state-led development programme centred on megaprojects which critics say have relied heavily on borrowing and contributed to Egypt's mounting debt burden and economic pressures.

Sisi's presidency has also faced sustained criticism from international human rights organisations over restrictions on political opposition, civil society and freedom of expression, allegations the government rejects, saying its policies are necessary to preserve stability and security.

The US Embassy in Jerusalem said on Friday it condemned the “criminal violence” by Israeli settlers and demanded an investigation into the attack on Washington Post journalist Heidi Levine a day earlier.

"The Trump Administration has no higher priority than the safety and security of Americans," the embassy said in a statement, adding that it is calling for “investigations, arrests, and convictions, of those responsible”.

Reports late on Friday said Levine had suffered from a broken rib, four broken vertebrae and a serious injury to her finger and would be undergoing surgery on Saturday morning.

She also suffered from multiple stabbing wounds, and was bruised from the beatings.

Israeli settlers attacked the photographer as she was documenting the moment masked Israeli settlers were beating and targeting Palestinian villagers as they were tending to their olive groves.

The veteran photographer was wearing a press vest clearly distinguishing her as a media worker, but was knocked to the ground and her camera and phone seized.

“They just kept kicking me and kicking me, like probably 50 times,” Levine told media reporters.

The attack has garnered widespread criticism from around the world.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a statement that the incident “remains unclear and are under investigation”, despite footage of the attack circulating online from various journalists and activists who were present at the scene at the time.

“We will not allow disputed incidents to be exploited to demonize the hundreds of thousands of law-abiding Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria,” he added.

Meanwhile, the executive editor of the Washington Post, Matt Murray, said the outlet was “outraged” by the settler attack and also called on Israeli authorities to investigate the over dozen individuals involved.

"While we are relieved that Heidi has received medical care and is safe, we are outraged by this unwarranted attack on a journalist doing her job and urge a thorough investigation and follow-through from authorities,” Murray said.

Levine remains in a stable condition, but has told reports from her hospital bed that if it was not for her flak jacket and helmet, the attack may have been fatal.

"They forced me to get up and then kicked me again," she said. "The next thing I remember is Palestinians arriving and rescuing me. It was absolute madness, and I didn't see anyone trying to stop it."

The Committee to Protect Journalists has lambasted the settler attack and said it was part of a broader pattern of systematic attacks on Palestinian farmers in the occupied West Bank.

"The brutal beating of Heidi Levine is neither isolated nor the first on a journalist covering the olive harvest in the West Bank," said the Committee to Protect Journalists' Middle East regional director Sara Qudah.

"Israel's failure to ensure accountability is emboldening those who attack journalists, while the international community's continued silence sends a dangerous message that these violations can continue unchecked," she continued.

The development comes after Israeli settler terrorists set three vehicles belonging to Palestinians alight early on Friday morning in the occupied West Bank.

Video footage circulating of the attack showed the cars completely engulfed in flames, with emergency services grappling to put out the fire between plumes of dark smoke.

One of the cars burned belonged to Palestinian civil defence teams, local media reported.

Police arrested Indian "cockroach" movement founder Abhijeet Dipke, according to several media reports on Saturday, after he was detained on Friday ahead of a Delhi rally that drew hundreds of people waving the national flag and demanding the resignation of India's election chief.

Dipke was arrested to prevent a breach of the peace and will be called before a Special Executive Magistrate on Saturday, broadcasters NDTV and India Today said.

Delhi police did not immediately respond to an emailed request for comment.

The youth-led Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), opposition groups and student organisations have held near-daily protests this month demanding Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar's resignation over a revision of voter lists that they say favours Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

More than 130 million voters were deleted during the revision. The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said wrongly deleted voters can re-enrol.

The BJP has accused rivals of trying to undermine democracy by wrongly questioning legitimate electoral processes.

Student activist Neha Bora, a prominent face of the protests, was detained on Friday as she tried to reach central Delhi with dozens of supporters and released on Saturday.

"Please, spare the people of India. Impeach Gyanesh Kumar and halt SIR (special intensive revision), so that the ordinary citizens of this country can breathe a sigh of relief, feel at ease, and have their voting rights ensured," Bora told ANI news agency after she was released.

Dipke was detained on Friday as he stepped out of a house in central Delhi, with police hauling him into a police car and driving away after a brief argument.

Dipke had called Friday's protest in support of two CJP leaders detained and sent to jail this week for five days for demonstrating at a protest site in violation of a ban.

Earlier on Friday, police met Dipke and warned him against proceeding with the protest.

The cockroach movement has emerged as one of the biggest political challenges Modi and the BJP have faced in the prime minister's 12 years in power.

A weeks-long sit-in by supporters of the movement earlier this year forced Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan to resign over exam paper leaks.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz and senior military, police and prison officials have been placed under investigation in Italy over the treatment of Gaza flotilla activists, Italian prosecutors said on Friday.

The move expands an investigation that was previously focused on Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir.

The case concerns suspected torture, kidnapping, personal injury, robbery and damage when Israeli forces intercepted small fleets of boats headed towards Gaza in 2025 and 2026, the Rome prosecutors' office said in a statement.

Investigators opened the probe after complaints from 50 Italian citizens who were detained by Israeli authorities following two Global Sumud Flotilla missions in September to October 2025 and April to May 2026.

Katz did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ben-Gvir in June dismissed news that he was under investigation, saying he would "continue to stand proudly alongside our fighters".

DEATH THREATS AND BEATINGS ALLEGED

Prosecutors said activists detained after the first mission had reported beatings, injuries, death threats, insults and accusations of terrorism.

Activists involved in the second mission reported even harsher treatment, including beatings in the dark, the use of tasers and rubber bullets, the statement said.

Investigators had identified various individuals forming the military and police chains of command involved in the operations, prosecutors said.

Besides Katz and Ben-Gvir, prosecutors named 12 senior Israeli military, police and prison officials as suspects, including military chief Eyal Zamir.

Zamir also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Prosecutors said they had sent Israel a request for judicial assistance in June, seeking information needed to reconstruct events and establish individual responsibility. They did not say whether Israeli authorities had responded.

The prosecutors said they had also held talks at the European Union's judicial cooperation agency Eurojust because similar investigations into the two flotilla missions were under way in other unnamed European countries.

Under Italian law, crimes committed abroad against Italian citizens can be prosecuted in Rome.

Being placed under investigation in Italy does not imply guilt and does not automatically lead to a trial. However, if the probe determines that charges are warranted, prosecutors could lodge a formal request for trial.

Flotilla organisers say they aimed to break Israel's blockade of Gaza by delivering humanitarian assistance. Israel says its naval blockade on Gaza is lawful.

Russia's state nuclear corporation Rosatom expects the first reactor at Turkey's Akkuyu nuclear power plant to achieve its first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction before the end of this year, Rosatom head Alexei Likhachev said on Friday.

"We remain on track for the planned physical start-up in the second half of December... We hope that before the end of the year the Turkish unit will transition from the construction phase to the start-up phase," he said.

Moscow and Ankara signed an agreement in 2010 to build a nuclear power plant with four Russian VVER-1200 reactors, but the project has faced repeated delays and bureaucratic hurdles.

Rosatom began construction of the Akkuyu plant in 2018. The commissioning schedule has been repeatedly pushed back from its original 2023 target.

After Moscow launched military action in Ukraine in 2022, pressure on the project increased. Although Rosatom was not targeted by Western sanctions, risks related to payments and other issues remain.

Physical start-up involves fuel loading and achieving first criticality, the reactor's first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. The next major milestone is grid connection and the start of electricity generation.

Likhachev also reported progress in talks with potential partners for the Akkuyu.

He said he had discussed the matter the previous day with Turkish Energy Minister Alparslan Bayraktar, who attended the Russian Energy Week forum.

"We have developed a menu of possible arrangements for a Turkish investor. The choice is primarily up to the Turkish government. I hope that following our meeting, Mr Bayraktar will brief the country's leadership and that the right decisions will be taken."

The Akkuyu project, costing more than $20 billion, is financed by Russia. Rosatom, its sole owner, can sell up to a 49% stake to a partner to share the investment burden.

In April, Rosatom said it started new talks with Turkish companies on joint ownership of Akkuyu after the Iran war spurred interest in such assets.

British police said on Friday they were assessing a social media post after the wife of National Security Adviser Jonathan Powell appeared to express support for Palestine Action, a pro-Palestinian group banned as a terrorist organisation.

Journalist and author Sarah Helm, who is married to Powell, responded on X to a post about the Irish novelist Sally Rooney, who this week announced her books would no longer be sold in Britain over her plans to use her royalties to support Palestine Action.

Helm said in the post: "God help us authors who support Palestine and Palestine Action."

In response, a Metropolitan Police spokesperson said the post is "being assessed to determine whether any further police investigation may be required".

Palestine Action was proscribed under terrorism laws last year, so expressing support for the group constitutes a criminal offence.

Asked for comment, a government spokeswoman said: "These views are held by an individual who does not represent the government in any capacity."

Palestine Action has carried out protests including vandalism in support of Palestinian causes, and denies that this amounts to terrorism.

Four members of the group were jailed in June over a 2024 raid on a factory ​operated by Israeli defence firm Elbit which caused more than £1 million of damage.

Amnesty International says more than 3,500 people have been arrested in Britain for alleged support of Palestine Action since it was banned last year, many of them for holding up placards.

Palestine Action challenged the government's decision to ban the group, but the Court of Appeal ruled in June that the proscription was lawful.

An informal poll by the United Nations Security Council on Friday placed former Costa Rican Vice President Rebeca Grynspan as the narrow frontrunner in the race to become the 10th UN secretary-general, two people close ‌to the process said.

But there was no clear winner as all candidates received two or more opposing votes from the ultimately decisive five permanent members of the council — Russia, China, the US, France and Britain — opening the door for new candidates to join the race, diplomats and observers said.

Whoever wins ​will have to tackle multiple crises, including several wars, cutbacks in American contributions to the UN, and the 193-member body's declining political relevance as Washington has pulled out of dozens of its agencies.

This was the sixth secret ballot organized by council officials, who have less than three months to pick the successor to UN chief Antonio Guterres, whose term ends on December 31.

Securing the council's recommendation requires at least nine positive votes of the 15 countries and no "discourage" votes from the five permanent members.

The race has entered a decisive stage, as Friday's poll for the first time used color-coded ballots revealing whether a veto power opposes a candidate.

Four of five polls in recent months showed Grynspan, 70, narrowly ahead, with one poll in August placing Guyana's UN ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett in the top spot.

This dynamic did not fundamentally change on Friday, with Grynspan receiving nine "encourage," five "discourage" and one "no opinion" vote, with two of the five opposing votes coming from the Security Council's permanent members, people close to the process said.

Rodrigues-Birkett received eight votes in favor, six against, and one "no opinion," with two opposing votes from the permanent members.

Rafael Grossi, director general of the UN nuclear watchdog, received a near-identical result to Rodrigues-Birkett, but with one fewer permanent member supporting his bid.

Four more former UN officials and senior diplomats are vying for support, but they have received more opposing than supporting votes, indicating waning enthusiasm for their candidacies.

Diplomats say several senior figures, including former and current foreign ministers and country leaders, ​are considering entering the race. Any new entrant will face a steep challenge of convincing the divided council in short order.

On the question of new contenders joining the race, Washington's envoy to the UN, Mike Waltz, said after the vote: "Countries, if they want to put more candidates in, that's certainly within their sovereign rights."

When Guterres ​was chosen in October 2016, it took six straw polls for the council to reach agreement.

In the more than 80-year history of ​the UN, there has never ​been a female secretary-general.

In an interview with Reuters on Thursday, Grynspan said she "wouldn't be surprised" to receive a veto and said that it would be just the start of negotiations as such blocking votes have been overcome by winning contenders in past races.

"The game is not over -- we will have to continue working," she said.

The Costa Rican economist added that the UN has become too risk-averse and its next leader must be prepared to bear the cost of diplomatic failure and try again.

She also said the UN must cut top jobs, curb bureaucracy and stop agencies duplicating work, arguing that cost-cutting alone would not revive an institution struggling with shrinking resources and declining political clout.

Missiles struck Aden International Airport in southern Yemen on Friday, while a Saudi-led military coalition said it had intercepted a ballistic missile headed for the Red Sea city of Yanbu, a key Saudi oil hub that allows exports to avoid the Strait of Hormuz.

The coalition said it had also destroyed two cruise missiles over the Red Sea and three drones in Saudi Arabia's Southern and Riyadh regions. It did not identify those behind the attacks.

In Aden, two missiles landed on the airport grounds, the Aden Security Department said, blaming the Iran-aligned Houthi group. It said the incident was the second attack on the facility in less than a week. The Houthis did not immediately claim responsibility.

No casualties were reported. A Yemenia Airways flight bound for Cairo was preparing for takeoff when the missiles landed, the security department said.

Yanbu is a key outlet for Saudi oil exports, allowing the kingdom to ship crude to international markets via the Red Sea without passing through the Strait of Hormuz, where heightened regional tensions and security threats have raised concerns over the safety of shipping.

Brent crude briefly touched $110 a barrel on Friday for the first time since May, as worries over escalating Middle East tensions raised concerns about tighter global supplies.

Saudi Civil Defense authorities earlier issued alerts in the Jazan region and the southwestern city of Khamis Mushait, where such warnings have become frequent since fighting resumed last month.

Fighting between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition backing Yemen's government has raised fears of a further deterioration in the country's humanitarian crisis. Aid agencies have warned that conditions are worsening rapidly.

The Yemen conflict has become another front in the wider regional war that began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February. Yemen's war began in 2014, when the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa and forced the internationally recognised government south.

A Saudi-led intervention began the following year, leading to years of stalemate before a 2022 truce that held until this year.

The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Saudi Arabia since the conflict reignited, targeting airports, oil facilities and other infrastructure. In recent days, the group has also targeted sites in government-held parts of Yemen, including Aden airport and the presidential palace in the interim capital.

A spokesperson for the Houthi-run health ministry said on Friday that 124 civilians had been killed and 327 wounded in what he described as "Saudi aggression" since the escalation began on September 3. 

The United Nations aviation agency has found Lebanon's main airport lacks valid certification, according to a report summary, in a setback to US President Donald Trump's move to revive direct US-Beirut flights.

Trump made the announcement in July and signed an order last month for the US government to allow direct flights from the US to Lebanon, reversing a four-decade-long suspension after TWA Flight 847 was hijacked and forced to land in Beirut in 1985.

While the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Transportation Security Administration would still need to conduct safety reviews before flights could resume, the Lebanese embassy in Washington called Trump's order "a significant first step toward restoring direct air service between Lebanon and the United States."

However, the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) technical assistance mission to Lebanon in July identified shortcomings at Beirut-Rafic Hariri International Airport and in the aviation system.

The findings, which two senior industry officials familiar with the matter expect to delay the resumption of service, complicate efforts to follow up on an order Trump signed after meeting Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. Washington has backed Aoun as it pushes for Iran-backed Hezbollah to be disarmed.

The agency sent its internal report, made at the request of the Lebanese Civil Aviation Authority (LCAA), to Lebanon in September.

AIRPORT LACKS EMERGENCY PLAN: ICAO

Beirut airport's firefighting resources are equipped for single-aisle planes, but not twin-aisle jetliners used for long-haul flights, according to a summary of ICAO's report. The airport also lacks an emergency plan, and its conditional certification has expired, the report said.

"This is a serious and time-critical matter that must be addressed immediately to preserve the airport's operational status," the summary said.

The report also found the Lebanese regulator LCAA lacks qualified inspectors to oversee air traffic control licensing, and has no fully established, operational and independent aircraft accident investigation authority with clearly defined roles.

Such concerns were flagged during a two-day workshop last month where officials from ICAO, Lebanon's government, the FAA and others discussed efforts to revive direct air service, according to the industry officials and an agenda of the meeting seen by Reuters.

Lebanon's Minister of Public Works and Transport Fayez Rasamny said Lebanon was taking steps to address the concerns, with efforts to certify the airport starting on Saturday. The LCAA expects to issue conditional certification in the coming days.

"Most of the issues highlighted in the report had already been identified by the LCAA, and corrective action had already been initiated," Rasamny said in a statement, adding that progress had been delayed by war.

Israeli forces remain in southern Lebanon and have continued strikes despite a US-brokered framework agreement signed in June between Israel and Lebanon.

Hezbollah, which was not party to the deal, has rejected it.

The FAA declined to comment. ICAO said it cannot comment on matters concerning specific countries, but said it conducts targeted analyses for member states.

The US State Department advises Americans not to travel to Lebanon given safety concerns. It said the FAA advises caution for flights operating in Lebanese airspace due to heightened military activity in or around Syria, including the risks of errant long-range surface-to-air missiles originating from Syrian territory.

MIDDLE EAST UNREST DISRUPTS AIR TRAVEL

Foreign airlines have avoided large swathes of Middle East airspace because of missile and drone threats since US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February triggered regional hostilities, with an airport in Saudi Arabia the latest site to come under attack.

Lebanon and its national carrier have been praised domestically for maintaining air navigation services and flights, helping to prop up an economy that depends on tourism and remittances.

Reuters reported, citing three US airline officials on the condition of anonymity, they do not think any American carriers would resume flights to Lebanon in the near term due to security concerns.

While there are no direct flights between Beirut and the United States, such service exists between Lebanon and some large European cities.

The European Union Aviation Safety Agency said it was aware of the ICAO report and added that EU airlines must conduct their own assessment of an airport's safety and operational readiness before launching services.

Morocco's King Mohammed VI formally appointed on Friday the members of his country's new government, led for the first time in its history by a woman prime minister, Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri.

Her centre-right Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) came out on top in September elections, and has entered into a coalition with the right-wing Istiqlal party and two smaller left-wing parties. Together they hold 210 of the parliament's 395 seats.

Thirteen out of 31 ministers from the previous government were retained in the incoming cabinet, including Nasser Bourita as Minister of Foreign Affairs and Abdelouafi Laftit as Minister of the Interior.

PAM newcomer Fouzi Lekjaa -- a budget minister in the outgoing government better known as the head of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation -- has been promoted to economy minister.

The new government also includes seven women, counting the prime minister, as did the previous one.

Following her royal audience on Friday, Mansouri touted an "ambitious government programme that can meet citizens' expectations".

September's vote, which saw the lowest turnout in nearly 20 years, was marked by concerns about the cost of living, employment and inequality.

The incoming government will have to address those concerns while also preparing for the 2030 World Cup, which will be co-hosted with Spain and Portugal.