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Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted 11 drones and a ballistic missile as Houthi attacks intensify
Saudi Arabia's air defenses shot down 11 drones and destroyed a ballistic missile aimed at Najran, the Saudi-led coalition said, as near-daily attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement continued into a fourth week. The drones were intercepted over Riyadh, Medina, the Eastern Province and the kingdom's south. The barrage followed a deadly 24 hours in the Eastern Province in which falling debris from an intercepted drone killed two people near an Aramco facility and an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two more. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said earlier strikes in the same week had also targeted Khamis Mushait and Jazan. The escalation follows an ongoing standoff between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognized government that has spilled increasingly into Saudi territory since July.
Read more →Lead Story
Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted 11 drones and a ballistic missile as Houthi attacks intensify
Saudi Arabia's air defenses shot down 11 drones and destroyed a ballistic missile aimed at Najran, the Saudi-led coalition said, as near-daily attacks from Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi movement continued into a fourth week. The drones were intercepted over Riyadh, Medina, the Eastern Province and the kingdom's south. The barrage followed a deadly 24 hours in the Eastern Province in which falling debris from an intercepted drone killed two people near an Aramco facility and an attack on King Fahd International Airport in Dammam killed two more. Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said earlier strikes in the same week had also targeted Khamis Mushait and Jazan. The escalation follows an ongoing standoff between the Houthis and Yemen's internationally recognized government that has spilled increasingly into Saudi territory since July.
Jordan vows "harshest penalties" as investigation into deadly Karak church attack continues
Jordanian authorities are still searching for the gunmen who opened fire inside a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral in the southern city of Karak on October 23, killing seven people and wounding dozens more, according to the Associated Press. King Abdullah II said Jordan "will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties," but the government has not said whether any suspects have been identified or captured, describing the assault only as being carried out by "unknown assailants." The attack, one of the deadliest in the kingdom in years, struck mourners gathered for a funeral service, and authorities have tightened security at churches and other gathering places nationwide while the probe continues.
Read more →Jordan vows "harshest penalties" as investigation into deadly Karak church attack continues
Jordanian authorities are still searching for the gunmen who opened fire inside a Greek Orthodox church during a funeral in the southern city of Karak on October 23, killing seven people and wounding dozens more, according to the Associated Press. King Abdullah II said Jordan "will confront the terrorist act that targeted Karak with the harshest penalties," but the government has not said whether any suspects have been identified or captured, describing the assault only as being carried out by "unknown assailants." The attack, one of the deadliest in the kingdom in years, struck mourners gathered for a funeral service, and authorities have tightened security at churches and other gathering places nationwide while the probe continues.
UN inquiry finds Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine as Kyiv is hit by fresh missile strikes
The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said investigators have found that Russian authorities committed war crimes and, in some instances, crimes against humanity through attacks that targeted civilians and energy infrastructure. The finding, released this week, came as Russian ballistic missiles again struck Kyiv late on October 26, with a paramedic team coming under fire while responding to the strikes, according to the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine's General Staff said it had hit a Russian plant in Yelets that produces components for missiles and bombs in response. Russia has consistently denied targeting civilians, and the renewed strikes came even as Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow would be open to resuming trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States after a Russian holiday on November 4.
Read more →UN inquiry finds Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine as Kyiv is hit by fresh missile strikes
The UN's Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said investigators have found that Russian authorities committed war crimes and, in some instances, crimes against humanity through attacks that targeted civilians and energy infrastructure. The finding, released this week, came as Russian ballistic missiles again struck Kyiv late on October 26, with a paramedic team coming under fire while responding to the strikes, according to the Kyiv Independent. Ukraine's General Staff said it had hit a Russian plant in Yelets that produces components for missiles and bombs in response. Russia has consistently denied targeting civilians, and the renewed strikes came even as Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov said Moscow would be open to resuming trilateral talks with Ukraine and the United States after a Russian holiday on November 4.
US midterms enter final week as Trump offers $1 million bounty for voter-fraud tips amid court fights over rolls
With Election Day eight days away, President Trump closed out a week of rallies in Mississippi, Michigan and other states while offering $1 million for credible reports of voter fraud in the upcoming election or past ones, and the administration separately asked Washington state to sequester ballots it says could be cast by noncitizens. In California, a federal appeals court rejected the administration's bid to force the state to set aside roughly 20,000 ballots over similar noncitizen-voting claims. A Justice Department lawsuit is also complicating the closely watched Alaska Senate race. Democrats and outside watchdog groups say they are planning a large poll-monitoring presence on Election Day, as both parties pour money into the campaign's closing stretch.
Read more →US midterms enter final week as Trump offers $1 million bounty for voter-fraud tips amid court fights over rolls
With Election Day eight days away, President Trump closed out a week of rallies in Mississippi, Michigan and other states while offering $1 million for credible reports of voter fraud in the upcoming election or past ones, and the administration separately asked Washington state to sequester ballots it says could be cast by noncitizens. In California, a federal appeals court rejected the administration's bid to force the state to set aside roughly 20,000 ballots over similar noncitizen-voting claims. A Justice Department lawsuit is also complicating the closely watched Alaska Senate race. Democrats and outside watchdog groups say they are planning a large poll-monitoring presence on Election Day, as both parties pour money into the campaign's closing stretch.
France's Lecornu government faces its own end-of-month deadline on school crisis as unrest continues
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's self-imposed deadline to unveil a government response to weeks of student-led school protests arrives this week, after he pledged in an October 7 televised address to deliver a plan by the end of October. More than 6,500 people, mostly minors, have been arrested since the unrest began, and hundreds of students, police and staff have been injured, according to Euronews. Lecornu has offered students a forum for "internal democracy" but has not committed new education funding beyond a planned 1.2-billion-euro budget increase, far short of the 10 billion euros unions have demanded. The looming deadline comes on top of separate mass protests over the cost of living that drew more than 400,000 people on October 24 and led to over 1,300 arrests the following day.
Read more →France's Lecornu government faces its own end-of-month deadline on school crisis as unrest continues
French Prime Minister Sebastien Lecornu's self-imposed deadline to unveil a government response to weeks of student-led school protests arrives this week, after he pledged in an October 7 televised address to deliver a plan by the end of October. More than 6,500 people, mostly minors, have been arrested since the unrest began, and hundreds of students, police and staff have been injured, according to Euronews. Lecornu has offered students a forum for "internal democracy" but has not committed new education funding beyond a planned 1.2-billion-euro budget increase, far short of the 10 billion euros unions have demanded. The looming deadline comes on top of separate mass protests over the cost of living that drew more than 400,000 people on October 24 and led to over 1,300 arrests the following day.