Ethiopian government forces have retaken the main airport in Mekelle, the capital of the northern Tigray region, according to three sources cited by Reuters on Saturday. The development is a major setback for the opposition alliance in one of its key strongholds. Al Jazeera reported that forces allied with the federal government have also entered the city, and that Washington has urged Ethiopia and Eritrea to engage in dialogue.
The Houthis (Ansar Allah) said on Saturday they targeted an Aramco facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, calling it a response to strikes on Sanaa. Sky News Arabia said it was the second such claim in two weeks. The group's Al-Masirah channel said Saudi Arabia attacked Sanaa early Sunday, while Yemen's army said it carried out strikes on the Houthis in the capital. Yemen's government has also launched a "general mobilization"; the available reports include no independent confirmation of damage and no Saudi comment.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that the co-pilot who stabbed a flydubai captain had earlier been barred from flying in Oman over concerns that he held extremist ideological views. According to Al Jazeera, flydubai has suspended its flights and Israel's El Al has cancelled services meant to bring back stranded passengers, while Israel has resumed evacuation flights from Dubai.
British counter-terrorism police and prosecutors have charged two Iranian nationals on suspicion of planning a terrorist act against the Jewish community in Manchester. According to Al Jazeera, investigators suspect the men tried to obtain materials for an explosive device and scouted locations in the city on the eve of the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Al Jazeera adds that they may have been in contact with an entity in Iran.
The Saudi-led coalition supporting Yemen's internationally recognized government said on Friday that it intercepted and destroyed three ballistic missiles launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait. Sky News Arabia reported that Saudi Arabia's Defense Ministry made the same announcement, placing the city in the south of the kingdom. The available reports gave no details on damage or casualties.
One Palestinian was killed and another wounded on Friday in an Israeli strike on a police checkpoint in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, according to Sky News Arabia. Two other Palestinians, including an elderly woman and a girl, were wounded by fire from Israeli military vehicles northeast of the city. Separately, medical sources told Al Jazeera that four Palestinians were killed early Saturday in a strike on a residential apartment in western Gaza City.
Saudi Civil Defense said a resident was injured and a prayer room inside a building and several vehicles were damaged by fragments of a ballistic missile intercepted over Ahad Rufaidah governorate in the Asir region. RT attributed the missile to the Houthis and said the injured person was Asian, while Sky News Arabia reported that the missile was destroyed after interception. Reports differ on the timing, citing either Friday or early Saturday.
BBC Arabic reported that a tanker was struck by a projectile in the Strait of Hormuz. Separately, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House he believes Iran was involved in the flydubai incident, saying his answer was yes based on what he is hearing and that his administration is still working on the matter. He also suggested a possible strike on Iran if its involvement is established.
Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced on Thursday evening that air defenses intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles and four drones over the southern Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait and Jazan. Sky News Arabia reported that Saudi Arabia attributed the attacks to the Houthis, saying they targeted areas in the south of the kingdom with missiles and drones.
The Washington Post, citing US officials, reported that the US military is preparing to deploy naval reinforcements including thousands of troops to the Middle East in the coming weeks. RT linked the move to preparations for a possible escalation in the region. The available reports did not include official confirmation from the Pentagon.
Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Thursday that Moscow could use every weapon in its arsenal, nuclear arms included, if the Kaliningrad region came under direct attack. He also turned down a proposal for a mutual halt to long-range strikes with Ukraine. CNN Arabic reported that the remarks were a warning to the West against escalating the war.
Yemen's government forces announced air strikes on Sanaa, Saada and Taiz, saying they targeted sites in the capital that they described as high value. The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted Houthi drones and missiles launched toward southern Saudi Arabia. It also accused the Ansar Allah group of attacking the Taiba power station in Medina.
A Houthi military source told the Saba news agency that reports of an attack on a power station in Medina, Saudi Arabia, are false, calling them a fabrication with no basis. The UAE, however, condemned in the strongest terms what it described as a Houthi drone strike on the Taiba electricity distribution station in the city, according to Sky News Arabia. The available material includes no independent confirmation of either account.
Eritrea's foreign ministry announced on Thursday that it was cutting all diplomatic relations with Ethiopia, in response to Addis Ababa's decision to expel ten Eritrean diplomats. The move coincides with renewed fighting in northern Ethiopia, and Al Jazeera reports that Ethiopia had closed its embassy in Asmara. Separately, Egypt expelled an Ethiopian diplomat on Thursday on a reciprocal basis, after Ethiopia had expelled an Egyptian diplomat, according to RT Arabic.
An Israeli airstrike hit a small passenger bus in the Tal al-Hawa district of Gaza City on Wednesday, killing 6 Palestinians and wounding 20, including children and women, according to a medical source and the civil defense. Separately, RT Arabic, citing hospital sources, reported 8 deaths, including a journalist, across strikes and shelling in Gaza City and Khan Younis. The difference in tolls appears to reflect the wider set of incidents covered.
Syria's electricity company said the Deir Ali, Nasiriyah and Tishreen power plants went out of service after an explosion on the gas line at the Tishreen plant cut the fuel supply needed to run them. RT Arabic reported that the blast hit near Hran al-Awamid in the Damascus countryside on Wednesday and that outages spread across wide areas of Damascus and its surrounding province. The cause has not been announced, according to the outlet.
Moscow has signaled it could resort to nuclear weapons if NATO tries to cut off Kaliningrad, according to a Sky News Arabia report on September 30, 2026. Kaliningrad is a Russian region on the Baltic Sea. Russian Arabic-language media carried the same message.
Iran said it has received Washington's official reply to its proposal to end the war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Disagreements persist over the order in which the agreed steps should be carried out, according to the report. Trump said that developments are expected soon in Tehran.
British Prime Minister Andy Burnham said on Wednesday that the UK has strong indications of Iranian involvement in a security incident near RAF Fairford, an air base used by US forces. Tehran denied any connection, and police said they found no explosives. Al Jazeera reported that the US president said things would happen soon regarding Iran.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said on Tuesday that the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam issue will not come at the expense of Egypt's survival or its people. He stressed Cairo prioritizes diplomacy and peaceful solutions while working to boost the country's water resources.
سكاي نيوز عربية2 sources
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