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Yemen's Houthis attack Saudi refinery after kingdom signs defence pact

Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said they had attacked Saudi Aramco's Jazan refinery on Sunday, two days after the kingdom signed a defence pact with Turkey and Pakistan in response to growing regional instability from the US-Israeli war on Iran. With Iran and the United States still arguing over the parameters for peace, the Houthis declared a naval blockade against Saudi Arabia in the Red Sea last month, citing what they said was a Saudi siege on them, an allegation Riyadh denies. The Saudi energy ministry said a fire had broken out at the refinery but was later extinguished with no injuries and authorities were dealing with the incident, without giving a cause. The Houthis used a drone to target the refinery, military spokesperson Yahya Saree posted on X. They had struck Aramco sites before in Jazan, which processes 400,000 barrels of crude oil per day in southwestern Saudi Arabia. They had also hit Yanbu on the Red Sea. Read: Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye s...

Spain checks 200 Italy arrivals in border controls after migration row

Spain checked around 200 travellers arriving from Italy at the country's six largest airports on the first day of border controls reintroduced following a dispute with Italy over irregular migration. Spain's Interior Ministry carried out checks on a total of 199 people on 12 flights from Italy to airports in Madrid, Barcelona, Seville, Bilbao, Alicante and Valencia, it said late on Saturday. Spain said on Friday border controls for flights and ships from Italy would remain in force until September 7 after Rome applied its own measures, which it said were motivated by the mass migration rush by 72,000 people to Spain's North African enclave of Ceuta on July 30. 👮‍♀️ Restablecidos los controles fronterizos a los viajeros procedentes de #Italia. 📌 Ante la persistente presión migratoria irregular que sufre el país transalpino. 🔛 Desde est...

Russia, Ukraine exchange overnight strikes, killing 3, injuring 10

Russia and Ukraine accused each other of overnight strikes Saturday that killed three people and injured 10 others on both sides, authorities said. In Ukraine's capital, three people were killed and three others injured during Russian strikes in three locations in the Brovary district, head of the Kyiv City Military Administration, Tymur Tkachenko, said on Telegram. Falling debris damaged a private residential building, outbuildings and cars, while a fire broke out at a nonresidential building, he said. “Rescuers and all necessary services are working on the ground. The elimination of the consequences is ongoing,” Tkachenko said. Read: 17 Ukrainians killed in Russia missile strikes Russia's Defence Ministry on Telegram confirmed the attack on Kyiv, saying its forces targeted a military-industrial facility and a fuel and lubricants depot in the capital. The ministry also said two dry cargo ships allegedly carrying weapons and military equipment to Ukra...

India's 'cockroach' protest movement keeps heat on Modi

Two weeks after youth-led protests forced India's education minister to resign, Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is grappling with the fallout from one of its toughest political challenges in years. Led by the online Cockroach Janta Party (CJP), the demonstrations spread from New Delhi to other cities, broadening from anger over exam irregularities into a wider movement over unemployment, opportunities for young people and what critics describe as Modi's increasingly authoritarian rule. While demonstrations are largely over after achieving key demands, AFP looks at what the protests revealed - and what could come next. Modi under pressure The resignation of the education minister on July 25 marked a rare climbdown for a prime minister who has spent more than a decade cultivating an image of unwavering resolve. The authorities have since attempted to woo the youth, and parliament has hiked penalties for leaking exam papers. Read: Cockroach movement an...

Explainer: What is the Pakistan-Saudi Arabia-Turkiye defence pact?

Outlining the rationale behind the Joint Defence Agreement between Pakistan, Turkiye and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), security analysts on Friday described it as the natural evolution and formal codification of decades of historic ties among the three countries. According to the analysts, Pakistan's relationship with Turkiye predates its own independence and is rooted in the Khilafat Movement (1919–1924). Likewise, they said Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have long shared close strategic, political, economic and people-to-people contact based on mutual trust and common interests. A changing regional environment Security analysts said the region is undergoing a major strategic transformation and faces multiple threats. Regional conflicts, security challenges and the changing character of warfare, they argued, underscore the need for greater cooperation among countries sharing common aspirations based on stability. According to the sources, a trilateral framework offer...

Trump signs orders to limit US birthright citizenship, despite Supreme Court ruling

US President Donald Trump signed two executive orders on Thursday in a new but narrower attempt to curtail birthright citizenship, once again challenging a provision of the US Constitution even though the Supreme Court rejected his previous effort. Limiting birthright citizenship has been one of the top priorities in the Republican president's crackdown on immigration, with the ‌White House taking particular aim at what it calls "birth tourism," in which pregnant foreigners travel to the US to give birth. After his June 30 setback in the Supreme Court, Trump called on Congress to act, but on Thursday he opted for executive orders, which set policy but do not carry the same weight as laws passed by Congress. The Supreme Court had struck down as unconstitutional Trump's earlier executive order, which targeted a wide swath of immigrants in the country illegally or temporarily. The administration argues the new directive falls outside the pur...