Convicted killer Christa Pike remains in a critical condition, her lawyers said, two days after the US state of Tennessee administered two lethal doses of pentobarbital to the death row inmate but failed to kill her.NASHVILLE, Tennessee - Convicted murderer Christa Pike is unconscious, intubated and receiving breathing assistance from a ventilator after Tennessee’s failed attempt to execute her, her attorneys said on Oct 2, providing the first detailed account of the extent of injuries she suffered during the lethal injection.Hospital staff are working to save Pike’s life and clear the lethal drug pentobarbital from her system, her attorneys said, in an emergency court filing seeking an order requiring Tennessee’s Department of Correction to preserve evidence from the Sept 30 botched execution.Pike remains in critical condition, her lawyers said, two days after the state administered two doses of pentobarbital but failed to kill her.“At no point did any member of the execution team realise that the IV lines were not correctly placed or that the veins had blown and that the pentobarbital was, in whole or in part, entering Ms Pike’s body,” Pike’s lawyers said, in a filing in the Chancery Court for the State of Tennessee Twentieth Judicial District.The filing provides the fullest picture yet of the medical consequences of an attempted execution that Tennessee Governor Bill Lee said followed the state’s established protocol.It was the state’s second botched execution this year and Lee has halted any further state killings for the rest of 2026 and ordered an independent review of what happened.Pike’s attorneys have said the execution team’s difficulties administering the drug were related to intravenous access, an issue they had warned the state and courts about before the execution.Pike, 50, was convicted of killing her 19-year-old classmate Colleen Slemmer in 1995, when Pike was 18.She had been scheduled to become the first woman executed in Tennessee in more than two centuries. REUTERS
Read briefing People attending a vigil in October 2025 for the victims of a deadly knife and gun attack at a synagogue in Britain’s northern city of Manchester.LONDON - Two Iranian men have been charged with plotting a terror attack on the Jewish community in Manchester, UK police said Oct 2.The arrests come nearly a year after a deadly knife and gun attack on the Heaton Park Hebrew Congregation Synagogue in northern Manchester where worshippers had gathered for Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar.“Salam Ahmadyan 36 of Liverpool and Rahman Salehi 34 of Salford, both Iranian nationals, were arrested in Manchester on Sunday, 20 September,” the Oct 2 police statement said.“It is alleged that the two men were in contact with an overseas third-party who may be in Iran in relation to the plot,” it added.Details of the alleged plot have not been released, but police have confirmed its “disruption”.“We do not believe there to be any ongoing threat to the public in relation to this matter,” Deputy Assistant Commissioner Vicki Evans said in the statement.“We would ask that people remain vigilant and contact police with any concerns,” she added.The past year has seen a spate of attacks in the British capital targeting Jewish or Israel-linked locations.
Read briefing US President Donald Trump has openly asserted his desire for hegemony over Latin America as part of what he calls the “Donroe Doctrine”.BOGOTA - China is viewed as a more positive influence on the world than the United States, a major poll of citizens in 17 Latin American countries published on Oct 2 showed.The 2026 Latinobarometro survey showed that for the first time since the annual survey began in 1995, China is seen as a more benign force than the United States.It showed 57% of people in Latin America considering the United States to be a positive influence, down from 60% in 2020.China, meanwhile, was considered a positive influence by 65% of respondents, a jump from the 48% it scored six years ago.Based on the data, “China has more influence in Latin America than the United States,” the report concluded.Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic were the only countries in the region where US influence was deemed more positive than that of China.The growing disaffection towards the US comes nearly halfway through Trump’s second term, during which he has openly asserted his desire for hegemony over Latin America as part of what he calls the “Donroe Doctrine”.The United States as a country remained more popular than China, with 63% saying they had a favourable view of the world’s top economy, compared to 58% for its arch-rival.But US popularity was markedly down compared to 2024, when Democratic president Joe Biden was still in the White House.Two years ago, 73% of people surveyed by Latinobarometro had a favourable view of the United States.The “Donroe Doctrine” blends Trump’s first name with that of James Monroe, the fifth US president, who more than two centuries ago declared Latin America the United States’ exclusive sphere of influence.Trump’s push to restore US dominance in what Washington calls “our hemisphere” was in evidence in January when the United States overthrew Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro.The Latinobarometro poll showed a majority of people in all but one country – Argentina – approving of Maduro’s capture by US special forces.But only 35% considered it benefited Venezuela, compared to 28% who said it harmed the Caribbean country.Citizens of Venezuela itself were, however, among those who viewed US influence most positively.Chile-based Latinobarometro is a non-profit organisation that surveys opinions on a range of issues, from democracy to the economy, security and migration.The 2026 survey was based on some 19,200 face-to-face interviews carried out in 17 countries between May 7 and June 17, with a margin of error of 1%. AFP
Read briefing Former U.S. Congressman David Rivera waits to enter the James Lawrence King Federal Justice Building as he faces trial on charges of illegally lobbying U.S. officials to prevent further economic sanctions against ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government, in Miami, Florida, U.S., March 24, 2026. REUTERS/Marco BelloOct 2 - Former US Congressman David Rivera was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for illegally lobbying US officials to ease pressure on ousted Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's government.• Rivera, a Republican who represented southern Florida in the US House of Representatives from 2011 to 2013, was convicted at trial in May of lobbying US officials on Venezuela's behalf in 2017 without registering as a foreign lobbyist as required by the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).• The sentence was handed down by US District Judge Melissa Damian at a hearing in federal court in Miami.• Prosecutors with the Miami US Attorney's office had urged Damian to impose a "significant term of incarceration." They said Rivera acted on behalf of a "hostile foreign government" and was paid $20 million by the US subsidiary of Venezuela's state oil company.• Rivera, 61, pleaded not guilty, and his lawyers said he should be spared prison time. They argued he had been working to help Venezuela's opposition remove Maduro from power, not benefit his government.• Rivera was charged in 2022, during Democratic President Joe Biden's administration, and defense lawyers noted that Republican President Donald Trump has deemphasized FARA cases since taking office in January 2025. REUTERS
Read briefing LONDON, Oct 2 - Here is what we know, and don't know, about the reported attempt by the copilot of flydubai flight 1073 to crash the plane on September 30 before it landed safely in Saudi Arabia.The flight, carrying more than 170 mostly Israeli passengers and crew, departed Dubai at 0305 GMT, according to flight data reviewed by Reuters.At 0521 GMT in Saudi airspace it made a sudden, sharp turn and plunged towards the ground twice, before stabilising. The plane fell more than 16,000 feet in just over 30 seconds during its most dramatic dive.It then put out distress signals indicating an emergency and unlawful interference. It changed course over Jordanian airspace and diverted to land in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.At one point the transponder was turned off for nearly half an hour, according to an Israeli official.The copilot attacked and wounded the captain during the flight, the captain, Israeli and Saudi officials say.During one of the plane's plunges, the wounded captain who was lying on the floor managed to open the door, he said, allowing passengers to enter the cockpit and overpower the copilot.Israeli officials cite witnesses saying that the copilot was "bashing" the control panel, without elaborating. They say the copilot appeared to be trying to crash the plane.One of the passengers managed to steady the plane after the copilot was subdued, which he knew how to do after watching an air-crash TV show, according to his own account.A second pair of off-duty pilots on board then took the controls and landed, according to witnesses and Israeli officials.Both the copilot and the captain suffered injuries, Saudi officials said. Videos from inside the cabin verified by Reuters show a wounded captain and copilot and blood apparently smeared on walls, and the copilot restrained by the passengers.We don't know the exact timings of events on board, how the copilot overpowered the captain or what weapon he used. One passenger is heard in a video asking about a knife, and another talking about a stabbing.Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has raised the possibility that a crash axe kept on board was used.At its steepest point, the plane was losing altitude at about 544 feet (166 metres) per second. Similar trajectories have resulted in several major crashes.One woman noticed a commotion in the cockpit when the captain opened the door and alerted the rest of the plane. At least four passengers rushed towards the cockpit, attacking and restraining the copilot.The passenger who then steadied the plane before the off-duty pilots could take over said he first pulled the copilot away from the controls with the help of the other passengers.Two other passengers attacked the copilot and tied him up using earphone cables, one of them said. A doctor on board treated the wounded captain.The two off-duty flydubai pilots were likely on board as backup for tired crew, a pilot interviewed by Reuters said. Middle East flights are often having to reroute because of the ongoing US-Israeli war with Iran, the pilot said.Israeli officials say the copilot is an Omani national and that he was trying to crash the plane.Little else is known about his motives or identity. Omani authorities have not commented and there has been no comment from him or a representative.After being treated for his injuries he was taken to Abu Dhabi, according to the Saudi interior ministry.Netanyahu told Fox News that the copilot had undergone "Islamist radical indoctrination", without providing details, and that he was suicidal. Israeli security officials have said he was likely acting alone, though investigation is ongoing.Israel's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates has said no motive has been determined.Israeli security officials say Israel had not identified any Iranian involvement so far. Iran has not commented.The United Arab Emirates has ordered an investigation. UAE judicial authorities have jurisdiction because the aircraft is registered in the UAE and flies under its flag.Netanyahu said Israel, which has a close diplomatic and security relationship with the UAE, will be "possibly participating" in the investigation.Saudi Arabia said it had conducted the preliminary investigation with security teams from the UAE.Pilots undergo background checks and regular psychological assessments, part of stringent measures in place since the 9/11 attacks in the United States in 2001.Israel has strict screening for anyone travelling there. That includes not normally allowing in pilots from countries without diplomatic relationships with Israel, such as Oman. Netanyahu has said Israel will look at the "loophole" that allowed the copilot on board.Israel is set to ramp up security checks on pilots flying into the country, Netanyahu's office said. REUTERS
Read briefing US President Donald Trump speaking to the media on Oct 1, on the South Lawn of the White House, before boarding Marine One.WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Oct 1 that Tehran was likely involved in an attack by a pilot on a flydubai flight to Israel and that Iran would be “hit very hard” if it was.The co-pilot allegedly assaulted the captain before passengers managed to save the plane from crashing.Israel’s prime minister said the man had undergone “Islamist radical indoctrination.”“I would say the answer, based on what I’m hearing, is yes, but we’re working on it right now,” Trump said, when asked by reporters at the White House whether Iran was involved in the incident on the flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv.On whether the United States would retaliate against Iran if it was responsible for the attack, Trump replied: “Oh, they’ll be hit very hard, don’t worry.”The US leader’s threat of retaliation came as he took a harsher tone on the stalled Iran war overall.Trump was quoted as saying in a Time magazine interview published on Oct 1 that it was “possible” he may resume bombing Iran after US midterm elections in November.Republicans fear they could lose control of Congress in the Nov 3 election, with Trump’s approval ratings at near-record lows over the Iran war and a surge in the cost of living fuelled by high oil prices.He also reiterated the threat to “annihilate” Iran that he made in his speech to the UN General Assembly last week, despite having previously cast himself as the “president of peace.”“Yeah, I would do that. It’s possible,” Trump told Time. “Because by annihilating Iran, we’ve created peace in the world. With Iran, I don’t think you could ever have peace.”Iran continues to exert control over the strategic Strait of Hormuz more than seven months after the initial US and Israeli attacks on the Islamic Republic. Trump says the war is about preventing Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.The United States was, meanwhile, set to send a third US aircraft carrier and up to 10,000 extra service members to the Middle East by the end of November, the Wall Street Journal reported.It was not immediately clear if the new carrier, the USS Theodore Roosevelt, would replace one of the two carriers already in the region.Trump had told aides he expected to resume bombing by late November, the Journal quoted him as saying. AFP
Read briefing Oct 1 - Bolivia's Attorney General Roger Mariaca has been arrested two days after the United States revoked his visa and accused him of accepting bribes to facilitate drug trafficking, the country's Interior Minister Marco Antonio Oviedo said on Thursday.Mariaca was arrested along with 13 other people on Wednesday as part of an operation targeting what authorities described as a “criminal organization” embedded within the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, Oviedo told a press conference.The operation followed the circulation of a video and audio recordings attributed to suspected Uruguayan drug trafficker Sebastian Marset."A criminal organization embedded in the justice system and in the administration of a very important institution in our country, the Public Ministry, has been dismantled," Oviedo said. He alleged that the network, led by Mariaca, worked to protect and facilitate drug trafficking activities in Bolivia.Marset was captured in Bolivia in March and later transferred to the US, where he awaits trial.Authorities launched the operation after the release of material in which Marset allegedly referred to Mariaca as a "friend" and claimed he had paid $500,000 to remain in Bolivia and continue his operations.The arrests come at a time of improving relations between La Paz and Washington after years of strained ties. President Rodrigo Paz, who took office in November 2025, has pledged to rebuild relations with the US, as his government seeks to secure a $1.9 billion IMF program approved by Bolivia's congress last month.On Monday, the US State Department accused Mariaca of taking bribes "to facilitate drug trafficking and help violent criminals evade justice." Mariaca denied the accusations, calling the US decision political interference linked to investigations he had overseen.Local media said Mariaca was detained at Viru Viru International Airport in Santa Cruz. During a live broadcast on the Attorney General's Office's social media accounts, an official denounced what he described as an "abduction."Nearly 20 people from Bolivia, Colombia and Ecuador were blacklisted by Washington this week for corruption, links to drug trafficking or plotting against their governments. The United States revoked the visas of 12 Bolivian officials. REUTERS
Read briefing Christa Pike (on screen) survived two lethal injections during a botched execution by the US state of Tennessee and is now receiving “life-saving care.”WASHINGTON - A condemned female murderer who survived two lethal injections during a botched execution by the US state of Tennessee was in critical condition and receiving “life-saving care,” her lawyer said on Oct 1.Christa Pike, 50, was taken to a hospital after the failed attempts to put her to death on the night of Sept 30.“What we have been told is that she is in critical condition, receiving life-saving care,” Randy Spivey said in a virtual news conference.He urged Governor Bill Lee, who had denied a clemency request earlier in the week, to scrap Pike’s death sentence.“After having endured solitary confinement for more than 20 years and a full attempt to kill her by lethal injection, Christa has endured punishment greater than any other person in the history of the American death penalty. The governor must commute Christa’s sentence now.”Robin Maher, the executive director of the Death Penalty Information Centre, called the failed execution unprecedented.“This event is the worst we’ve seen and unlike any other botched execution in the modern era,” she told The New York Times.UN rights chief Volker Turk on Oct 1 urged Tennessee not to make a new attempt to execute Pike.“The case of Christa Pike lays bare multiple reasons why the death penalty should be abolished,” his office said on X.“The prolonged suffering – physical and mental – arising from multiple failed execution attempts is abhorrent, and cruel. And there are key fair trial questions still unresolved.”Pike’s lawyers said earlier that their arguments against the execution had come to pass: “difficult vein access, blown veins, degraded pentobarbital, no emergency medical care available when things inevitably go wrong, all under a protocol that remains veiled in secrecy.”Pike’s case had already attracted scrutiny in the lead-up to her execution date, as she would have been the first woman put to death in Tennessee in more than 200 years.Kim Chandler, a media witness with The Associated Press, told CBS News that “Pike appeared notably awake as the execution began” at Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville.“A couple of times she looked around the room. At one point, she looked towards prison officials and asked if it was supposed to feel that way,” Chandler said.“We just listened... to her snoring and making very loud breathing sounds for almost an hour,” said Catherine Sweeney of WPLN television.The condemned woman was “loudly snoring, clearly very alive” as the journalists were ushered out of the area, Chandler told CBS.During a livestream, an ambulance with its lights flashing could be seen leaving the prison.The Tennessee Department of Correction said it “followed every step of the state’s lawful, established execution protocol,” adding that Pike was subsequently taken to an “off-site medical facility.”Governor Lee called for a “comprehensive, third-party review” of the failed execution.“The remaining scheduled execution will not be carried out this year,” Lee said – apparently referencing the execution of convicted killer Gary Wayne Sutton scheduled for Dec 3.Pike’s case had sparked debate over capital punishment for young criminals. She was 18 when she and her boyfriend beat and killed Colleen Slemmer, 19, at a job training camp for young people.The killing gained national attention after Slemmer’s body was found with a pentagram, often seen as a satanic symbol, carved in her chest.May Martinez holding a photo of her daughter, Colleen Slemmer, at her home in Palatka, Florida, in September 2026.Following a flurry of legal filings by Pike’s lawyers that delayed the start of the execution by several hours, the US Supreme Court on the night of Sept 30 cleared the way for the punishment to go ahead.Pike’s lawyers had argued she should be granted clemency due to her young age and mental health issues at the time of Slemmer’s killing.They said her history of childhood sexual assault, post-traumatic stress disorder and a blood condition meant a lethal injection would cause “needless suffering.”In the United States, only 18 women have been executed since 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Centre. AFP
Read briefing Lindsay Clancy, the Massachusetts woman whose trial on murder charges for killing her three children ended in a mistrial earlier this month, sits during a court appearance in Plymouth, Massachusetts, US, September 29, 2026. Greg Derr/Pool via REUTERSBOSTON, Oct 1 - A Massachusetts judge who oversaw Lindsay Clancy's murder trial rejected a request on Thursday by her lawyers to declare her not guilty of murder, saying prosecutors presented sufficient evidence for a jury to find her responsible for killing her three young children in 2023.Clancy's lawyers had urged Judge William Sullivan in Plymouth to conclude that prosecutors had failed to prove she could be held criminally responsible for her children's deaths despite suffering from what they said was mental illness. Sullivan declared a mistrial on September 4 after the jury deadlocked.No one at that trial disputed that Clancy strangled her three children with exercise bands on January 24, 2023, in the basement of their home in the Boston suburb of Duxbury. She then cut herself with a knife and jumped from a second-story window in an attempt to end her own life, leaving her paralyzed.But on Thursday, Clancy's lawyers contended that prosecutors failed to present any evidence at the trial proving she had in fact killed Cora, 5; Dawson, 3; and 8-month-old Callan. They also argued that the evidence showed Clancy was in the throes of postpartum psychosis at the time and should be found not guilty by reason of insanity.Sullivan, though, said prosecutors had presented enough physical and circumstantial evidence to allow a jury to conclude that Clancy was the one who strangled the children and was criminally responsible for killing them.He cited testimony by the prosecution's expert witnesses who "testified that it was their opinion that the defendant did not lack substantial capacity to appreciate the criminality or wrongfulness of her conduct.""Although the defendant also produced expert witnesses who disagreed with the Commonwealth's experts, it is within the discretion of the fact finder to place little or no weight on that evidence," Sullivan wrote. REUTERS
Read briefing Cybersecurity firm Asymmetric Security said it could not determine whether the AI agents’ cover-up was deliberate.SAN FRANCISCO - Artificial intelligence agents developed by OpenAI tried to erase traces of their activity after gaining unauthorised access to government websites, according to a report published on Oct 1.Cybersecurity firm Asymmetric Security analysed the activity of the agents – AI programs capable of acting autonomously – which targeted Australian government websites and other public bodies between March and September.Asymmetric said it could not determine whether the agents’ cover-up was deliberate.The report adds to investigations by OpenAI and independent researchers into a series of incidents disclosed since July, including the hacking of AI platform Hugging Face.These analyses aim to gauge the capabilities of autonomous AI tools, as their lapses fuel fears of losing control over the technology.According to Asymmetric, the agents were able to refine their techniques in a matter of days, a process that typically takes traditional hackers months or even years.The incidents reviewed in the report appear to have begun with “innocent tasks,” such as gathering Australian health statistics, which then went off course.“Most of the activity we’ve reviewed so far involved routine research tasks, such as accessing public web content to answer questions,” an OpenAI spokesperson told AFP.“Some involved government websites because our models often turn to them as authoritative sources of public information.”Asymmetric’s report found, however, that the agents opened private accounts on a website analytics service, which concealed their searches, and created temporary email inboxes, one of which was set to self-delete after 48 hours.OpenAI acknowledged in late August that its models had sometimes tried, unsuccessfully, to erase or modify their own activity logs during internal tests.The incidents have amplified calls to slow AI development, most notably from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who wrote last month that he feared swarms of agents “taking over the entire internet.”But there is no consensus within the industry or among regulators on how to proceed.The Trump administration opposes any binding regulation that could hinder innovation, amid fierce competition with China.On Sept 29, President Donald Trump met with tech executives, who adopted a voluntary code of conduct.
Read briefing US President Donald Trump addressing a supportive crowd at a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the White House on Sept 30.WASHINGTON - US President Donald Trump said on Sept 30 he has done “a very bad job” of explaining his economic record as his job approval rating sags under the weight of high gasoline prices ahead of the November midterm elections.Trump, speaking to a supportive crowd at a Hispanic Heritage Month event at the White House, made the comment as he prepares to embark on a 32-day campaign blitz for Republican candidates ahead of the Nov 3 elections that will decide whether his party retains control of the US Congress.“I’ve done a very bad job of explaining how good the country is doing,” Trump said, insisting that “the country’s doing better than it has ever done.”Trump noted that the party in power usually loses congressional seats in the first election after a presidential election and urged his supporters to get out and vote.Many American voters, however, increasingly give Trump low marks in public opinion polls for his management of the economy, which has been buffeted by his global tariff policies and a war on Iran that sent energy prices soaring.US consumer confidence plunged to a near 12-and-a-half-year low in September, the Conference Board said on Sept 29, with households expecting a deterioration in business and labour market conditions over the next six months.Consumers have been downbeat on the labour market, despite job growth accelerating in August after hitting a speed bump through much of the summer. Home prices have increased as well, adding to the strain from rising mortgage rates.Trump travels to Texas and Oklahoma on Oct 1 with a stop in Alabama planned for Oct 2 and one in Ohio on Oct 3.The Republican Party is pouring millions of dollars into seats once considered safe but are now viewed as competitive as voters grow weary of the economic fallout of the Iran war.“We’re not getting the word out,” Trump said, referring to what he considers his strong stewardship of the economy.“I’m going out because nobody’s selling it. We’re doing an extremely poor job of promotion, and an extremely great job of running the country. But we’ll get the word out. It should not be hard.” REUTERS
Read briefing FILE PHOTO: Polish Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz speaks following a signing ceremony for Poland's SAFE programme loan agreement, making it the first EU member state to sign the agreement, in Warsaw, Poland, May 8, 2026. REUTERS/Kacper Pempel/ File PhotoWARSAW, Sept 30 - Poland will deploy new rules of engagement to counter threats in its airspace from the beginning of October, Polish Defence Minister Wladyslaw Kosiniak-Kamysz said on Wednesday during a press briefing.He said the new rules, which lift the current requirement for visual identification of an airborne threat by pilots before engaging it, are meant to speed up the decision-making process.• This measure is in response to what the Polish government says is a growing threat of airspace violations in the context of Russia’s war with Ukraine as well as potential hybrid attack threats• Deputy Defence Minister Cezary Tomczyk said this week that the requirement for visual verification of potential threats would be loosened to "positive verification", for instance a radar reading, entry by an object into a no-fly zone and information from the Ukrainian side• "In conversations with soldiers — those operating in air, missile, and anti-defence, whether in ground-based systems or as pilots — it was crucial to achieve clarity and precision of action and interpretation, for the times we find ourselves in today," Kosiniak-Kamysz said. REUTERS
Read briefing HARARE, Sept 30 - A helicopter carrying six people crashed in Zimbabwe's Marondera rural area, east of Harare, on Wednesday, killing all on board, government spokesperson Nick Mangwana said on X.Mangwana said the helicopter was carrying a high-profile businessman, three passengers and two pilots. He had earlier said it was carrying four passengers but later edited his post on X.He said the police would confirm the identities of the victims in due course. Local online media service ZimLive reported that businessman Wicknell Chivayo was among those on board.Police had earlier said an aircraft carrying six people crashed in the area at around 1700 local time (1500 GMT) and that emergency services were attending the scene.Police spokesperson Paul Nyathi said that the bodies were badly burned and authorities needed to formally identify the victims. REUTERS
Read briefing Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (left) meeting a man named Yaniv - said to be one of the passengers who broke into the flydubai aircraft’s cockpit after the pilot was stabbed.TEL AVIV - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met on the evening of Sept 30 with passengers of a flydubai flight diverted earlier in the day, a spokesman for the PM told AFP.A video shared by the premier’s office showed Netanyahu at Tel Aviv airport meeting a man named Yaniv and his family, describing him as one of the passengers who managed to break into the aircraft’s cockpit.According to Netanyahu and eyewitnesses, one of the pilots of the Tel Aviv-bound flydubai flight had tried to crash the plane and kill those onboard, but was subdued by the passengers.The aircraft was forced to make an emergency landing in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia, where passengers were later collected by another flydubai aircraft and flown to Israel.“I see a lion, I see a great hero,” Netanyahu said after hugging the man, who identified himself to the press as Yuval Hayun.“Is that from him (the assailant)?” the premier then asked, pointing at bloodstains on the man’s white shirt.“Yes - unfortunately, we did not manage to kill him, but he will take a while to recover,” Hayun replied.Passengers gave a harrowing account of the incident on board, describing a fight for control after the plane suddenly plummeted, losing around 17,000 feet of altitude in the span of a minute, according to the Flightradar24 website.Flydubai said all the passengers – of whom 166 out of 174 were Israeli, according to media reports – were safe, adding that the reasons for the “altercation” in the cockpit were unknown. AFP
Read briefing BRUSSELS, Sept 30 - Rwanda had held preliminary discussions with some EU member states about potentially hosting facilities for migrants transferred from those countries, two European Parliament lawmakers said on Wednesday, citing discussions with Rwandan officials.During their visit to Kigali last week, the lawmakers, Tineke Strik and Anna Strolenberg of the Greens/EFA and Volt groups, said Rwandan officials told them they are open to the idea but that discussions remained at an early stage and no agreements had been reached.Earlier this month, five European countries said they aimed to strike agreements this year to send migrants without a legal right to remain in the European Union to countries outside the bloc.Germany, Austria, Greece, Denmark and the Netherlands, known as the Group of Five, said they had agreed on concrete steps towards establishing return hubs in a non-EU country as part of a wider European push to increase deportations and curb irregular migration.An EU official told Reuters, on condition of anonymity because he was not authorised to speak publicly, that Rwanda was among the countries being considered by the Group of Five.During their visit, the lawmakers were shown two facilities prepared under Britain's abandoned Rwanda deportation scheme that could potentially be used to house migrants transferred from Europe. One of the sites was a hotel.The five countries are expected to meet again on Thursday on the sidelines of the EU Justice and Home Affairs Council.Rwanda has in recent years positioned itself as a destination for migrants that Western nations would like to remove, despite concerns by rights groups about human rights in the country.Last year, Rwanda received migrants deported from the United States after the two countries reached an agreement for the transfer of up to 250 people.In 2023, the UK Supreme Court ruled that a government plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda was unlawful. Rwanda later asked Britain for a £50 million ($63.62 million) payment after the asylum deal was cancelled.Rights groups have criticised return hub proposals, saying they risk undermining safeguards for migrants and asylum seekers, while supporters argue they could boost returns and deter irregular migration."The deportation plans by these five member states are unrealistic, inhumane and costly," Strik said.Uganda and Rwanda, which host large refugee populations, have also been hit hard by cuts in US foreign aid, forcing humanitarian agencies to scale back food assistance, healthcare and other services for displaced people.“Uganda and Rwanda are one of the few stable countries in the region. Pressuring these countries by sending even more people is tempting fate,” said Strolenberg. REUTERS
Read briefing Sept 29 - UAE Vice President Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Saudi Arabia on Tuesday and met with the Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and the kingdom's defence minister, the first visit by a senior UAE official to the kingdom since a deep rift emerged between the two Gulf powers last year.The visit, following an invitation by Saudi Defence Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman, occurred as Riyadh faces increasing pressure from the Iran-backed Houthis, who have for weeks fired salvos of missiles and drones at the kingdom.Saudi Arabia has been trying to rally international support to confront the Houthis, but it was not immediately clear if that request extended to the UAE.The United Arab Emirates was once Saudi Arabia’s main regional partner in the war against the Houthis.Sheikh Mansour and Prince Khalid discussed topics of mutual interest and ways to enhance cooperation and coordination between the two countries, according to a post by the Saudi defence ministry on X.Sheikh Mansour, in a separate meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Tuesday, reviewed the "fraternal relations" between the two countries and developments in the region, the Saudi state news agency reported.The UAE and Saudi Arabia's years-long disagreements over everything from geopolitics to oil policy came out into the open in December when an advance by a UAE-backed southern Yemeni separatist group brought it close to Saudi borders.Saudi Arabia condemned the UAE’s involvement and carried out an airstrike on a UAE-linked weapons shipment at the port of Mukalla in Yemen.The UAE then announced it had withdrawn all its forces from Yemen but tensions have remained.Yemen has been caught in a 12-year-long civil war since the Houthis seized the capital Sanaa, prompting a Saudi-led military intervention. REUTERS
Read briefing Sept 29 - Russian glide bombs struck homes and a school in the northern Ukrainian city of Sumy on Tuesday, killing two people and injuring six, officials said.President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, speaking in his nightly video address, said one bomb struck a house, killing a woman. A second bomb hit the school."An ordinary school, where children happened to be at the time," he said. "The building sustained considerable damage, but the children and teachers were in a shelter, and fortunately, thanks to that, no one was hurt at the school."Governor Oleh Hryhorov, writing on Telegram, put the death toll at two, with three children among the injured. He said teachers and school officials had managed to evacuate 100 people into the shelter.Sumy has been a frequent target of Russian attacks during its war with Ukraine. Russia's military has said it wants to establish a buffer zone in areas along the border. REUTERS
Read briefing FILE PHOTO: Slovak Prime Minister Robert Fico attends a press conference at Bratislava Castle, Bratislava, Slovakia, September 10, 2026. REUTERS/Radovan Stoklasa/File PhotoSept 29 - A junior party in Slovakia's leftist-nationalist coalition voted with the parliamentary opposition to dismiss a minister on Tuesday, raising the possibility that pro-Russian Prime Minister Robert Fico's government could collapse and an early election be held.• The move raised questions about the government's survival a year before a scheduled election, and Fico said he would gather his Smer-Slovak Social Democracy (Smer-SSD) party's leadership to discuss next steps on Wednesday.• Fico raised the possibility of an early election and said it could take place in January, but that would require supermajority approval by parliament.• The parliament voted to dismiss Deputy Prime Minister and Environment Minister Tomas Taraba, who has fallen out with the leadership of his far-right Slovak National Party (SNS), which is a junior member of the coalition and had demanded his resignation.• The three-party government has been dependent on several loyal independents to control 78 seats in the 150-strong parliament. The motion to remove Taraba won 77 votes.• A government collapse would not automatically trigger an election, as the constitution presumes forming another cabinet.• Slovakia under Fico has diverged from European Union and NATO allies by keeping warm relations with Russia and continuing to import Russian oil and gas.
Read briefing Argentina's former President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner stands on the balcony of her home, where she is currently staying under house arrest, as her supporters gather outside, on the day of a hearing in the \"Causa Cuadernos\" corruption trial after being summoned to testify, following the rejection of defense motions seeking to nullify the proceedings, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, March 17, 2026. REUTERS/Tomas CuestaBUENOS AIRES, Sept 29 - Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who is under house arrest, has asked the United Nations Human Rights Committee to review her corruption conviction and suspend the lifetime ban on holding public office that currently prevents her from running for election in 2027, her lawyer said on Tuesday.Fernández was sentenced in 2025 to six years in prison and a permanent ban from public office following a fraud conviction, a ruling her defense team argues violated her fundamental rights during legal proceedings.• Her lawyer, Rafael Valim, said the team is seeking a committee hearing in October, which could require Argentine courts to review the ruling before year's end.• A recent opinion poll by Zuban Cordoba showed Fernández with a 42% approval rating, surpassing President Javier Milei's 36.1%.• Fernández remains one of Argentina's most divisive political figures but polls as high as Milei in voting-intention surveys, giving her potential prospects in Argentina's October 2027 presidential election if the ban is lifted.• She governed Argentina from 2007 to 2015 and served as vice president from 2019 to 2023.• "We are working so the case is examined in October, at the committee's next session," Valim, a Brazilian lawyer who played a role in leftist Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's defense, told Reuters.• The move invites comparisons with Brazil's Lula who challenged his corruption conviction before the UN Human Rights Committee and was later imprisoned and barred from the 2018 election. Brazil's Supreme Court annulled his convictions in 2021, restoring his political rights and paving the way for his return to the presidency the following year.• Should she be cleared to run, Fernández would still face political hurdles, analysts said, including securing support within Argentina's broader leftist Peronist movement ahead of the presidential election next year. REUTERS
Read briefing FILE PHOTO: Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy addresses the 81st United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) at UN headquarters in New York City, US, September 23, 2026. REUTERS/CAITLIN OCHS/File PhotoKYIV, Sept 29 - Belgium will transfer three F-16 fighter jets to Ukraine by the end of the year to help in its war with Russia, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Tuesday."There is an important agreement with Belgium on the transfer of three F-16 fighter jets by the end of this year," he wrote on X. "We will work to receive these aircraft through an accelerated procedure."Zelenskiy said Ukraine had already received "urgent deliveries" of F-16 ammunition from Belgium and Spain, among other countries.Zelenskiy said later in his nightly video address that Ukraine had received delivery the day before of a "very good" assistance package of a NASAMS air defence system, developed jointly in the US and Norway.He also said that talks were proceeding to ensure that Ukraine has a supply of missiles for the Patriot air defence system, which play a critical role in intercepting Russian ballistic missiles.Zelenskiy said tests were continuing to improve the efficiency of Ukrainian interceptors against Russian jet-powered drones, which fly higher and faster than conventional drones.Of more than 100 Russian drones deployed on Tuesday, he said, 29 were jet-powered and 18 of those had been downed. REUTERS
Read briefing Armed police officers work on a road outside the perimeter of the RAF Fairford airbase, after police declared a major incident at the base, in Fairford, Gloucestershire, Britain, on Sept 28.FAIRFORD, United Kingdom - British police said on Sept 28 five men arrested near an airbase used by the US were released on bail, as officers probed whether a “foreign state” could be involved in a suspected bomb plot.US President Donald Trump, speaking in Washington, said he was “surprised that they released them”, adding that “I wouldn’t have done that”.The release of the five – all London-based Britons in their mid-20s – came as British Prime Minister Andy Burnham announced an emergency meeting of top officials to ensure they have “the full picture”.Earlier, Iran had denied involvement in any plot to target the Royal Air Force (RAF) Fairford base in Gloucestershire, southwest England, following the security scare there early on Sept 27.UK counter-terror police are leading the investigation after authorities received reports on Sept 27 of three “suspicious” white vans near the airbase, which has been used by the US to bomb Iran.Police said in their latest update on Sept 28 that the five men held, who all live in inner London boroughs, were being released on bail.“This does not mean the investigation is over,” Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said, adding the five would be subject to “stringent” bail conditions.He said officers were “considering this from every possible angle, including that this may be activity committed by proxies, or individuals either knowingly or unknowingly, working on behalf of a foreign state”.The men were arrested on suspicion of explosives offences and “preparation of a terrorist act” under UK anti-terrorism laws, according to police.They had been travelling in the three suspect vehicles, which have since been subject to “extensive examination, with the support of military assets and forensic experts”.Amid huge questions about what happened, authorities have not confirmed any details of the threat, but bomb-disposal experts were seen at work at the scene.The Daily Mail and Press Association both reported late on Sept 28 they understood from sources that tests on materials in the back of the vans established they were “not viable explosives”.A farmer living in the village of Whelford near the airbase said she rang the police after seeing the vans blocking a road and a group of masked men.The anonymous woman told media on Sept 28 that she believed the police had “dropped the ball” on the threat.Trump on Sept 27 said the UK and US had the suspects “under investigation” for a while and alleged “they were looking to do big damage to our fort”.On Sept 28, after hearing news of their bail, Trump said the case “might be” linked to Iran but declined to elaborate.Pressed to give details, Trump said: “I’d rather not. I mean I know the answer, I could be very specific, but I’d rather not say. I would not have released them.”Assistant Commissioner Laurence Taylor, the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, said that the five would be subject to “stringent” bail conditions.Iran’s embassy in London said on X that it “categorically rejects and strongly condemns” speculation that Tehran was involved.It criticised “the recent unfounded and malicious speculations published by some British individuals and media outlets attempting to link Iran” to the incident.In March, Britain gave the US permission to use Fairford for “specific defensive operations into Iran” to destroy Iranian missiles at source.Since then, US bombers and other planes have been seen taking off and landing from the base – the only one on Britain’s mainland used for this purpose.Residents in the rural Cotswolds area surrounding Fairford said the site, which hosts a range of US military equipment and personnel, had seen increased activity and security in recent months.Around 85 households were evacuated from the village early on Sept 27, and had to stay elsewhere overnight, but were allowed back to their homes late on Sept 28.Tehran has previously warned London against allowing its bases to be used by the US in operations against Iran.In March, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi accused London of “putting British lives in danger” by allowing the bases to be used “for aggression against Iran”. AFP
Read briefing Pope Leo gives a press conference with accredited journalists on the return flight from France, on Sept 28.ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT - Pope Leo on Sept 28 said concerns that artificial intelligence could destroy the world are not “fake news” and should be taken seriously, in an apparent rebuke of US President Donald Trump.The first US pope, who has warned of the dangers of AI throughout his 16-month papacy, also directly criticised technology CEOs who argued there should be no guardrails on the technology.“I do think that the concerns raised by many of the experts, specialists in AI, should be taken seriously,” the pontiff said in a press conference on his flight back to Rome after a four-day trip to France. “I don’t think that that is fake news, as some have said.”Trump told the UN General Assembly last week that he believed fears about the dangers to humanity from AI were a “hoax”.The pope said he had read on Sept 28 that the head of chipmaker Nvidia had announced there could be a way to insert guardrails into certain AI models. But Leo expressed scepticism, adding: “He’s the same one; however, that says there should be no limits placed and no government regulation.”Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang told CBS News this month that he agreed with Trump that safety concerns about AI were overblown.Trump is to meet with tech CEOs on artificial intelligence on Sept 29 at the White House. Huang, Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei and OpenAI’s Greg Brockman are among those who will meet Trump and House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson, according to sources familiar with the matter. Other possible attendees include Google CEO Sundar Pichai and SpaceXAI executive Elon Musk.Johnson said the talks would focus on finding a balance between innovation and oversight.Leo urged the world “to promote dialogue, study, investigation, to find ways to make sure that AI does not get to a point where it could destroy humanity.”“I think that there are enough people seriously interested in that … but we have to keep working,” said the pope. “We can’t just sit back and pretend nothing’s going to happen.” REUTERS
Read briefing Pope Leo said that the Catholic Church has an obligation to call for peace and respect of human life.ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT - Pope Leo on Sept 28 urged Russia and Ukraine to sit down and discuss how to end their four-year war, hours after he had urged European leaders seeking to end conflicts to make concessions to achieve peace.The first US pope also decried national leaders who he said are “beginning to speak about nuclear weapons and wars that are becoming ever more destructive,” addressing a press conference aboard his flight to Rome after a four-day trip to France.Leo said the Catholic Church has an obligation to call for peace and respect of human life.“The Church has a responsibility to promote these values, continually inviting leaders — from Russia and Ukraine, as well as other countries — to come together, sit down, engage in dialogue,” said the pope.He said leaders must “seek ways to solve problems without continuing these wars, which no longer make sense.”“This is not about being political or non-political, but there needs to be a voice that seeks to promote the values of human dignity, the importance of life, and the possibility of perhaps spending more on health and education and less on weapons,” said Leo.Earlier on Sept 28, the pope said Europe must be willing to sacrifice some positions to achieve peace in a speech in Metz, France, where he laid out his clearest vision yet for the future of the continent. REUTERS
Read briefing UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (left) discussed bilateral relations during a visit on Sept 27 by Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu.CAIRO - UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan discussed bilateral relations during a visit on Sept 27 by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Gulf country, the Emirati state news agency WAM reported on Sept 28.
Read briefing 