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.

 

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.

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.

Egypt's parliament on Sunday postponed a vote on President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's request to authorise military support for Saudi Arabia, two lawmakers told AFP, with deliberations set to continue on Monday.

The session was convened after Sisi asked lawmakers to approve support for Saudi Arabia's defence if requested by the kingdom, which has come under near-daily attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis since early October.

"The session was extended to give all lawmakers the opportunity to speak and express their views," lawmaker Ibrahim Kholeif told AFP, adding that parliamentarians were mostly in support of the move.

Another member, Maha Abdel Nasser, said proceedings would resume Monday "to allow all lawmakers to be heard".

Egyptian media reported that deliberations would continue into Tuesday.

Both lawmakers said no details were being discussed about what form Egypt's military support for Saudi Arabia could take.

Sisi on Saturday requested parliamentary authorisation to help defend Saudi Arabia "if requested", saying it was "inconceivable" for Cairo to stand by as Saudi Arabia's security and stability are threatened.

The decade-plus war between the Houthis and a Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally-recognised government reignited in July.

The Houthis seized Yemen's Red Sea coastline in September and have since launched attacks on Saudi Arabia, including state oil giant Aramco and Riyadh's international airport, where 13 people were killed a week ago.

On Saturday, Sisi called for an end to the fighting and said Egypt was not seeking to "confront or attack anyone. We are speaking only about defence".

 Houthi threats to Egypt 

Egypt's constitution requires the approval of both parliament and the National Defence Council -- which includes the leaders of Egypt's security apparatus -- before troops can be deployed on combat missions abroad.

Shortly before the parliamentary session, the council, chaired by Sisi, approved providing Saudi Arabia with "all necessary and available forms of support" to help defend its security, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites, the presidency said.

Potential military involvement would constitute a break from Egypt's historically conservative foreign policy, which has prioritised protecting its own national security.

For years Cairo has positioned itself as a regional mediator with channels open across conflict lines, including with Hamas, Israel and Iran.

In response to Sisi's call on Saturday, Houthi parliament speaker Yehia Ali al-Rai addressed a letter of warning to his Egyptian counterpart.

"Egypt's slide down this path would pose a grave danger to its own national security and internal stability before anyone else's," he wrote, according to the Houthis' Saba news agency.

Throughout this year, as its Gulf allies have come under attack in the war between Iran and the US, Cairo has repeatedly preached caution.

The Arab world's largest military did not issue a response even when its own Damietta port was struck by an unidentified drone in July.

It has not joined the Mecca defence pact signed by Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan in August, according to experts to maintain its strategic autonomy.

But Riyadh is one of Cairo's strongest allies, and a key financial backer to Sisi's administration for over a decade.

Egypt joined the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen in 2015, contributing naval and air forces and deploying warships to the Red Sea and Bab al-Mandab Strait.

Along with Saudi Arabia, Egypt is hardest hit by disruptions through Bab al-Mandab, the southern gateway to its Suez Canal, revenues from which have not recovered since Houthi attacks began in 2023.

Military expert Samir Farag told AFP that Egyptian assistance could take several forms, ranging from intelligence, military advisers, ammunition and spare parts to weapons and, ultimately, troop deployments.

 

Palestinians on Sunday held funerals for the bodies of 75 people killed by Israel in the genocide in Gaza, which comes after civil defence teams worked for three years to retrieve the bodies from under the rubble despite a lack of specialised equipment.

The families of those killed gathered in Gaza City in a mass funeral organised by the Martyrs’ Families’ Association and in coordination with the General Directorate of the Civil Defence.

The mass funeral was held inside the al-Daraj Sports Stadium, with prayers offered for the deceased before the bodies were carried to the Sheikh Radwan Cemetery in northern Gaza.

Kamal Hijazi, whose loved ones were among those killed, told The New Arab that being able to hold a funeral was somewhat a relief.

“The rubble formed a barrier between us and giving the dead a proper farewell, in a way that was dignified and befitting of them. The Israeli occupation does not recognise the dignity of Palestinians, whether they are dead or alive- but we will not allow the rubble to be the grave of our martyrs,” he said.

He also called on the relevant authorities in Gaza to preserve and document the data of those killed and recovered in the hopes that “there will be justice in Gaza”.

“We will not ask anything of the international community, as we have no confidence in it,” he continued.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal confirmed that around 8,000 Palestinians remain buried under the rubble, with teams unable to recover their remains due to a lack of resources.

“Civil defence teams are working under extremely difficult conditions without heavy machinery to remove the rubble burying the bodies. Children, women and the elderly are dying, and no one is able to retrieve their bodies from under the rubble, all while the world, human rights groups, all while Arab and Western countries stand by and watch without lifting a finger,” he said.

One of the people who attended the funeral procession, Najat Abdel Aaal, told The New Arab, said 10 of her family members were among those recovered, noting that most of them were women and children.

She said during the time of the bombing when they were killed, she screamed and cried out for help.

“But at the time, crews were only able to pull out a few people from under the rubble, and the bodies of my family and relatives were buried for three years,” she explained.

“Retrieving the bodies after three years has reopened the wounds we all feel. It has brought up a mixture of relief and pain, but families have finally been able to bid farewell to their loved ones and lay them to rest,” she added.

Israel’s war on Gaza, which commenced in October 2023, has killed over 74,000 Palestinians and has been determined to be a genocide by leading international rights groups and scholars.

The war has levelled entire neighbourhoods, devastated the healthcare system, and destroyed many civilian buildings, including residential blocks, places of worship and schools.

Despite a ceasefire agreed in October 2025, with the terms demanding that aid deliveries are made daily, Israel has obstructed scores of items from entering the enclave, including heavy machinery and specialised tools used to find and recover the dead from beneath the rubble.

A report from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitors states there is approximately 68 million tonnes of rubble across the Gaza Strip.

The lack of equipment has raised concerns that without forensic surveys, any efforts to recover bodies could result in the crushing or scattering of remains.

According to human rights group Gisha, Israel continues to define thousands of critical emergency humanitarian items as “dual use”, and blocks them from entering the enclave.

The listed items, ranging from construction materials to wheelchairs, sleeping bags, and portable toilets, have hindered Gaza's reconstruction.

Palestinians on Sunday held funerals for the bodies of 75 people killed by Israel in the genocide in Gaza, after civil defence teams worked for three years to retrieve the bodies from under the rubble despite a lack of specialised equipment.

The families of those killed gathered in Gaza City in a mass funeral organised by the Martyrs’ Families’ Association and in coordination with the General Directorate of the Civil Defence.

The mass funeral was held inside the al-Daraj Sports Stadium, with prayers offered for the deceased before the bodies were carried to the Sheikh Radwan Cemetery in northern Gaza.

Kamal Hijazi, whose loved ones were among those killed, told The New Arab that being able to hold a funeral was somewhat a relief.

“The rubble formed a barrier between us and giving the dead a proper farewell, in a way that was dignified and befitting of them. The Israeli occupation does not recognise the dignity of Palestinians, whether they are dead or alive- but we will not allow the rubble to be the grave of our martyrs,” he said.

He also called on the relevant authorities in Gaza to preserve and document the data of those killed and recovered in the hopes that “there will be justice in Gaza”.

“We will not ask anything of the international community, as we have no confidence in it,” he continued.

Civil defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal confirmed that around 8,000 Palestinians remain buried under the rubble, with teams unable to recover their remains due to a lack of resources.

“Civil defence teams are working under extremely difficult conditions without heavy machinery to remove the rubble burying the bodies. Children, women and the elderly are dying, and no one is able to retrieve their bodies from under the rubble, all while the world, human rights groups, all while Arab and Western countries stand by and watch without lifting a finger,” he said.

One of the people who attended the funeral procession, Najat Abdel Aaal, told The New Arab that 10 of her family members were among those recovered, noting that most of them were women and children.

She said during the time of the bombing when they were killed, she screamed and cried out for help.

“But at the time, crews were only able to pull out a few people from under the rubble, and the bodies of my family and relatives were buried for three years,” she explained.

“Retrieving the bodies after three years has reopened the wounds we all feel. It has brought up a mixture of relief and pain, but families have finally been able to bid farewell to their loved ones and lay them to rest,” she added.

Israel’s war on Gaza, which commenced in October 2023, has killed over 74,000 Palestinians and has been determined to be a genocide by leading international rights groups and scholars.

The war has levelled entire neighbourhoods, devastated the healthcare system, and destroyed many civilian buildings, including residential blocks, places of worship and schools.

Despite a ceasefire agreed in October 2025, with the terms demanding that aid deliveries are made daily, Israel has obstructed scores of items from entering the enclave, including heavy machinery and specialised tools used to find and recover the dead from beneath the rubble.

A report from Euro-Med Human Rights Monitors states there is approximately 68 million tonnes of rubble across the Gaza Strip.

The lack of equipment has raised concerns that without forensic surveys, any efforts to recover bodies could result in the crushing or scattering of remains.

According to human rights group Gisha, Israel continues to define thousands of critical emergency humanitarian items as “dual use” and blocks them from entering the enclave.

The listed items, ranging from construction materials to wheelchairs, sleeping bags, and portable toilets, have hindered the reconstruction of Gaza.

Israel's devastating war and blockade on the Gaza Strip have left many Palestinians struggling not only to find food, but also to afford the variety needed to maintain a healthy diet.

Despite the availability of some products in local markets, soaring prices, diminished purchasing power and restrictions on the entry of goods have left families relying on whatever they can obtain to stave off hunger.

For Umm Hadi al-Arja, a displaced mother of four from Beit Lahia in northern Gaza, feeding her children means baking bread in a clay oven fuelled by scraps of cardboard and making do with whatever supplies she can obtain.

The family lives in a dilapidated tent near Gaza City's coastline, relying partly on canned goods distributed through World Food Programme (WFP) food parcels.

Meat, chicken and fish have become unaffordable luxuries, leaving her struggling to provide her children with a balanced diet.

"I have four children, and I try to provide them with whatever food is available to us," al-Arja told The New Arab. "We bake bread and serve it with oil, za'atar or cheese. We do everything we can to ensure they don't go hungry, but I simply cannot provide everything they need."

Israeli restrictions on food supplies and soaring market prices have further narrowed her family's choices, she said.

"Despite the so-called ceasefire, we cannot obtain healthy, nutritious food. Even when items are available in the markets, they are unaffordable," she said. "We eat whatever we can manage to get, not what our bodies actually require."

High prices deepen the food crisis

Mahdi Shomer, who lives with his six children in a tent in Gaza City, faces the same dilemma.

He visits markets where many essential products are displayed, but often returns without buying what his family needs because he cannot afford the prices.

"When I go to the market, I see many of the items we need, but I cannot afford to buy them," Shomer told TNA. "The issue isn't always the availability of food, but rather our ability to pay for it."

His purchases are increasingly dictated by necessity rather than nutritional value.

"I now only buy enough to stave off hunger, rather than what the body actually needs," he said. "Sometimes we make do with just bread and a few simple items. We are forced to go without meat, chicken and fruit because they are too expensive."

The gap between food availability and purchasing power remains a major obstacle for households already dependent on humanitarian assistance.

According to Gaza's Government Media Office, 74,855 humanitarian aid trucks had entered the Strip out of the 219,000 expected under the ceasefire agreement that took effect on 10 October 2025, representing approximately 34 per cent of the agreed total.

A joint food security analysis by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the WFP and UNICEF found that approximately 1.4 million people, or nearly 67 per cent of Gaza's population, were facing critical or worse levels of acute food insecurity. This compared with approximately 1.6 million people, or 77 per cent of the population, at the end of 2025.

The analysis also found that approximately 212,000 people were experiencing emergency-level food insecurity.

Although some indicators had improved, the agencies warned that the situation remained fragile and that assistance did not always provide sufficient quantities or diversity to meet nutritional needs.

The destruction and restricted accessibility of agricultural land have further undermined local food production.

According to the analysis, more than 70 per cent of agricultural land was inaccessible, leaving only about 3 per cent usable and limiting farmers' ability to supply fresh vegetables and other produce.

Malnutrition risks extend beyond hunger

Palestinian nutritionist Mahmoud al-Saqqa warns that high food prices and limited choices are forcing Gaza's residents to rely on diets lacking essential nutrients.

"Many families depend on canned food and products high in salt, sugar and fat because fresh produce has become too expensive," he told TNA.

"People may eat enough to satisfy their hunger but still lack the proteins, vitamins and minerals their bodies need to stay healthy," he said, warning that poor nutrition could weaken immunity, particularly among children, older people and those with chronic illnesses.

"Malnutrition does not always mean being underweight. A person can consume enough calories but still lack essential nutrients because their diet is not varied," he added.

Children are particularly vulnerable, with some also forced to take on adult responsibilities.

Fourteen-year-old Mohammed al-Yazji lost his mother during the war, while his father was detained by the Israeli army, leaving him to care for his younger siblings.

"Every day, I think about what we will eat and how I will provide food for my siblings," Mohammed told TNA. "They are young and need many things. I try not to let them feel that we cannot meet their needs, but the situation is extremely difficult."

"We need a variety of food, not just bread and a few basic items. I wish I could provide meat and fruit, but sometimes we have to make do with whatever is available," he said.

Al-Saqqa explained that improving nutrition required access to affordable fresh food, including vegetables, fruits and protein-rich products, as well as targeted support for those at risk of malnutrition.

While humanitarian aid remains essential, addressing the crisis also requires allowing sufficient food supplies into Gaza, supporting local agriculture and making nutritious food affordable for families.

Forces loyal to an ousted regional leader captured several key towns in southern Somalia, officials and eyewitnesses said Saturday, dealing a significant blow to the federally backed local government.

Several states in the deeply fragmented country oppose President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud's control, and in March his government sent troops to oust the head of South West State, Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen.

Since then, Laftagareen has repeatedly tried to retake the region and its main city, Baidoa.

On Saturday, military officials said his forces had taken the towns of Berdale, Dinsoor, Buurhakaba, and Qansaxdheere, as well as Awdiinle town, roughly 30 kilometres (18 miles) from Baidoa, leaving the local government and allies without control of most of the state.

"The districts currently held by Laftagareen's forces will be brought back under government control," South West Information Minister Nur Sidow Baba told a press conference in Baidoa.

Meanwhile, in a statement, Laftagareen commended his loyal forces for "successfully recaptured and liberated four districts".

The rapid changes in control, while mostly conflict-free, although clashes were reported during the takeover of Buurhakaba, have left residents worried.

"In Berdale, Darawish forces loyal to Laftagareen arrived on motorcycles, heavily armed, and took control without resistance," resident Suleyman Nurow said.

He said local officials fled to a nearby base hosting the African Union mission (AUSSOM) fighting Islamist group Al-Shabaab, adding that Ethiopian troops remained inside and did not intervene.

"We are confused by what is happening," Dinsoor resident Adow Yusuf said, noting that forces allied to Laftagareen appeared to now be concentrating their efforts on towns surrounding Baidoa.

"They have seized several districts in a short time, encountering resistance in only one," he added.

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa on Sunday appointed Omar al-Halabi as chairman of the country's sovereign wealth fund, created by the transitional authorities but criticised by experts as lacking transparency.

Syria's sovereign fund sits at the heart of the country's efforts to attract foreign capital after 13 years of war, and was created to oversee investment projects and manage state assets.

It also manages assets confiscated from businessmen close to the government of longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad, whom the new authorities ousted in December 2024.

In a decree published by state media, Sharaa appointed Halabi "as adviser for economic affairs to the presidency of the republic" and as "chairman of the board of directors of the sovereign fund".

According to state news agency SANA, Halabi has "more than 20 years of professional experience working with governments, sovereign institutions and the private sector in the Middle East and international markets in the fields of economic policy and institution building and sovereign investment".

It said Halabi previously headed economics and public policy advisory for the Middle East at accounting firm KPMG and also worked with Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund.

After establishing Syria's sovereign fund in June 2025, authorities have not announced its director.

But several people who requested anonymity told AFP in July that they met the director and identified him as Abu Maryam al-Australi, a former jihadist whose surname means "the Australian".

Australi is sanctioned by Canberra and was close to Sharaa when the now-president led a rebel group in northwest Syria that went on to spearhead the offensive that toppled Assad.

Syria's authorities, who inherited an economy shattered by years of war and economic sanctions, have been intensifying efforts to speed up reconstruction, with the sovereign fund a key part of the process.

According to official estimates, the fund controls assets whose value exceeds Syria's GDP.

Experts, however, had previously criticised what they said was the fund's lack of transparency, with economist Karam Shaar calling it "a black box".

The fund also manages assets confiscated from businessmen close to the former authorities, including Mohammad Hamsho, who was sanctioned by the European Union and the United States and who has reached a settlement with the new authorities.

Most Syrians live in poverty, while the World Bank has estimated that rebuilding the country will cost more than $216 billion.

The UN's Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, demanded on Sunday that Israel "immediately allow" the entry of the technocratic committee and the international stabilisation force into the Gaza Strip , in accordance with US President Donald Trump's plan.

Mladenov made the demand in a letter to Yoram Halevi, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories (COGAT), in response to Halevi's announcement of the suspension of goods entering Gaza through private traders—the channel by which most goods enter—"until further notice", according to Haaretz.

Mladenov stated that "Hamas 's extortion of traders and importers  (which the movement denies) is not a new problem," and that if the entry of goods through the private sector were to cease, similar pressure would be exerted on humanitarian aid delivered to Gaza through the United Nations and international organisations.

The UN envoy also called on the Israeli government to immediately approve the implementation of the pilot project, under which the Palestinian technocratic committee and the international stabilisation force would begin operating in a limited area of ​​Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, currently under the control of the Israeli army and where Hamas has no presence.

The new message came after the Israeli Security Cabinet, in late July, on the eve of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's trip  to Washington, approved the deployment of a limited number of international peacekeeping troops to Rafah. However, the decision was later reversed under pressure from ministers of the religious Zionist movement, and Netanyahu announced in late August that the deployment had not been approved.

Mladenov concluded his demands by calling on the Israel to cooperate with the self-styled Peace Board in establishing a new mechanism for managing the supply of goods to the Gaza Strip. According to him, this matter is currently under discussion between the board's staff and Israel.

On Friday, Hamas criticized Mladenov's statements, accusing him of "aligning himself with Israel's pretexts for obstructing the entry of goods into the Gaza Strip and deepening the humanitarian crisis there". This came in a statement issued by the movement in response to what it described as Mladenov's adoption of the Israeli narrative regarding the decision by Netanyahu's government to suspend the entry of goods designated for the private sector into Gaza.

It considered Mladenov's position to be "blatant bias and alignment with the occupation and its pretexts aimed at obstructing the entry of goods, in order to deepen the humanitarian crisis for our besieged Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip".

The movement denied Israeli accusations of interfering in the mechanisms for bringing goods destined for the private sector into Gaza, imposing taxes, and threatening merchants. It asserted that these accusations were "baseless", describing them as "a repeated and blatant Zionist attempt to exacerbate and deepen the humanitarian crisis and evade the obligations of the ceasefire agreement".

Since the beginning of the war, the United Nations and humanitarian organisations have emphasised that the humanitarian corridor, which includes aid organizations and governments, cannot meet the long-term needs of Gaza's population, and that there is a need to strengthen the commercial corridor.

Since the ceasefire, Israel has only allowed eight merchants to submit applications to bring goods into the Gaza Strip, compared to approximately 1,500 before the war.

 

The Israeli army raised its alert level over the past week in anticipation of a possible escalation before the country's upcoming elections, according to Israeli media.

Hebrew-language newspaper Maariv reported that the heightened state of alert includes the occupied Golan Heights and southern Lebanon, with the army deploying two divisions in preparation. 

Meanwhile, Israel Hayom reported on Sunday that the government was holding its weekly meeting in a fortified underground location, without specifying the reasons for this.

According to the newspaper, the heightened state of alert coincides with an assessment by the security establishment published earlier this week, which claimed that Iran would attempt to disrupt Israel's elections. However, the report noted that the assessment remains prelimenary, and lacks specific intelligence to corroborate it. The Israel Hayom report said that the intelligence was based on information indicating that Iran had instructed Hezbollah to prepare for a confrontation with Israel.

On Wednesday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened Lebanon with further attacks and seizure of territory to become part of Israel's "permanent security zone".

Despite ceasefire agreements in Gaza and Lebanon, Israel has continued attacks on both fronts, while continuing to expand the area under its military control.

In Syria, Israeli forces have carried out frequent raids into Syrian territory, while also threatening further attacks.

On Thursday, the Lebanese presidency said on X that a Lebanese military delegation will present Beirut's demands for an end to Israeli attacks in Lebanon at a trilateral meeting in Tampa, Florida, on October 20.

Lebanon and Israel have held a number of direct talks in recent months, aimed at ending hostilities since a new war erupted on March 2 between Israel ​and the Lebanese armed group Hezbollah, triggered by the wider regional conflict.

Under a deal reached through US-brokered Israel-Lebanon talks, Beirut vowed to disarm Hezbollah, which would in turn lead to Israeli troops gradually withdrawing from Lebanon. But Hezbollah has refused to disarm as long as Israeli forces remain on Lebanese land, and Israel has continued striking southern Lebanon.

Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu alleged a 'smear' campaign against Israeli settlers on Saturday, attempting to cast doubt on accounts of a settler attack on European diplomats visiting the occupied West Bank during the olive harvest.

In a statement published on the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) social media account on Saturday evening, Netanyahu’s office described the assault as an "alleged" attack and suggested reporting on settler violence was part of a coordinated effort to discredit Israel.

The delegation included representatives from the French and Belgian consulates and the Polish representative to the Palestinian Authority. Taybeh’s mayor, Khoury, told The New Arab that the visitors had attended an event marking a twinning agreement between the Palestinian town and the French town of Aulnoye-Aymeries.

When members of the delegation accompanied Palestinians to harvest olives nearby, a group of around 10 Israeli settlers attacked their convoy. The attackers reportedly threatened those present and smashed the windows of a Belgian consular vehicle, injuring Aulnoye-Aymeries mayor Bernard Baudoux and two Palestinians.

The PMO referred to the attackers as "masked Israelis in Judea and Samaria", using Israel’s term for the occupied West Bank, and alleged that the diplomats had entered a "sensitive area" without prior coordination with the Israeli military.

Khoury disputed that account, telling The New Arab that the delegation had been taken to an area west of Taybeh, near homes that Palestinians considered safe. The settlers, he said, arrived from several settlement outposts surrounding the town.

Rather than unequivocally condemning the assault, Netanyahu’s office placed the reports "amid concerns about a coordinated campaign to smear Israel and the Jewish residents of Judea and Samaria during the annual olive harvest, relying on sensational headlines before the full facts emerge".

"These images alone do not establish the complete sequence of events or individual responsibility," the PMO said, adding that Israeli police and forensic investigators had opened an investigation.

The statement urged journalists and the public not to turn "unproven allegations" into a "collective indictment" of Israeli settlers.

It also sought to undermine Baudoux’s account by highlighting his support for Palestinians, noting that he had "previously raised the Palestinian flag over his municipal building, prompting French authorities to order its removal". The statement offered no explanation of how that episode cast doubt on his account of the attack.

Speaking after the attack on Saturday, Baudoux said the assault demonstrated Israel’s "tolerance" of settler violence.

"I had on my mayor’s sash with the blue, white and red colours, which clearly represent the symbol of France, in an attempt to protect the people around me. Well that was not enough and I was attacked, violently attacked, and … thrown to the ground," he said.

The attack drew criticism from a number of diplomats, including in Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Saturday that US officials were "very disturbed by those images and what we’re seeing".

He added that Washington had "asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff".

Egypt is ready to provide Saudi Arabia with the support it needs to defend its security and stability, the presidency said on Sunday, as Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis intensify their attacks on the world's largest oil exporter.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi had requested an urgent parliament session to authorise the military, one of the region's largest and most powerful, to help defend Saudi Arabia if the kingdom requested its support.

The Houthis have in recent days attacked Riyadh's international airport and the ​state oil giant Saudi Aramco, amid renewed fighting with the Saudi-backed forces of ​the internationally recognised government following the collapse of a truce.

"Egypt will provide Saudi Arabia with all necessary and possible forms of support to defend its security and stability, protect its resources, territorial integrity and Islamic holy sites," the Egyptian presidency said in a statement.

The statement followed a meeting of Egypt's National Defence Council, chaired by Sisi and attended by the parliamentary speaker, the prime minister and the army chief.

Egypt's parliament postponed a vote on Sisi's request on Sunday, two lawmakers told AFP, extending deliberations to Monday.

One lawmaker said the session was extended "to give all lawmakers the opportunity to speak and express their views", while another said proceedings would continue on Monday "to allow all lawmakers to be heard".

Sisi said in a speech on Saturday that Egypt would act in accordance with guidance from Saudi King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, who visited Sisi on 15 September, after fighting in Yemen reignited.

Egypt and ​Saudi Arabia are close strategic and economic partners. Saudi ​Arabia and other oil-rich Gulf states provided Egypt with billions of dollars in aid, central-bank deposits, and investments after the military ouster of President Mohamed Morsi ​in 2013.

Egypt had previously joined the Saudi-led coalition that intervened in Yemen in 2015 to support the government against the Houthis, but played a limited combat role.

Newly appointed Iranian defence minister Mehrdad Akhlaghi threatened on Sunday to inflict "enormous damage" on the United States and its allies in the Middle East if Washington resumes its military campaign against the country.

"People can rest assured that they will most likely not dare to attack us," Akhlaghi told reporters shortly after securing parliament's vote of confidence. "If they (the US) do, they themselves and the region will suffer enormous damage."

Iran's parliament approved Ketabchi as defence minister on Sunday, ending months of interim leadership and placing a former defence-sector veteran in charge of the country's defence production and procurement apparatus.

Akhlaqi replaces Majid Ebn al-Reza, who took over in an interim capacity after then Defence Minister Aziz Nasirzadeh was killed by US-Israeli strikes in February.

Akhlaqi has spent decades in Iran's defence industry and has held senior roles in its aerospace and missile sectors. The US and EU have imposed sanctions on him over his work in Iran's defence sector.

In a programme presented to lawmakers, Akhlaqi pledged to rebuild the country's military-industrial infrastructure, accelerate defence technology development, and expand cooperation with private-sector companies.

"If the American enemy makes another miscalculation, the response of the valiant Iranian people and the fighters of Islam will be surprising and extensive," he said, adding that Tehran had taken necessary measures to counter the potential use by the US of its "mother of all bombs" against Iran.

CNN reported this week that the US has developed strike plans ​that could include using ‌the GBU-43/B Massive Ordnance Air Blast Bomb, also known ​as the "mother of ​all bombs", against Iranian energy ⁠infrastructure and nuclear sites ​if President Donald Trump ​orders renewed combat operations.

The weapon is the largest ‌non-nuclear ⁠bomb in the US arsenal.

"The US President should focus on ensuring his forces are withdrawn safely from our region. If he drops a single bomb, he will have to see how many of his troops end up being carried out of the region in a horizontal position," Akhlaqi said.

Iran's offer to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days is still on the table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Iranian media outlets on Sunday.

Iran presented its proposal in mid-September after an interim ceasefire collapsed. Tehran later acknowledged receiving a US response, but Iran’s security chief said last week negotiations have stalled because Washington failed to address all seven conditions for reopening the strait.

"Our situation is clear and based on the seven-days proposal presented to the US. They shared comments which we are reviewing, but our proposal is still on the table and if there is any honesty on the US part, which there isn't, the way to reopening the Strait of Hormuz is obvious," Araqchi said while in Baghdad for a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.

An alleged Saudi airstrike in Yemen on Sunday killed at least nine people and wounded 16 others, Houthi media reported, as fighting between the two sides in the country's revived civil war escalates further.

The Iran-backed group's Saba news agency said an airstrike on a home in Saada governorate in Yemen's north "led to the martyrdom of nine and the injury of 16 others, most of them women and children", adding that the toll was not final.