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BBC News, with Sue Montgomery.
The Houthis in Yemen say they have attacked sites in the Saudi capital Riyadh and the Red Sea city of Yanbu. The Iranian-backed group said it launched missiles and drones in retaliation for Saudi warplanes striking Houthi positions this week. Earlier on Saturday, a plume of black smoke was seen near the international airport in Riyadh after reports of explosions at a fuel depot. Here's our global affairs reporter Joanna Kean. Residents in Riyadh received an alert on their phones telling them to stay indoors. It was the first time such alerts had been issued since the recent escalation in the conflict with the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen. The Houthis declared a maritime blockade of Saudi ships in July, which the group said was in retaliation for a Saudi blockade of ports and airports that it controls in Yemen. Fighting in southern Yemen between Saudi-backed government forces and the Houthis is continuing, with military sources saying 48 people on both sides have been killed in the past day. The French President Emmanuel Macron has endorsed the deal that Denmark has signed with the U.S. over the future of Greenland, saying it helped reaffirm Danish sovereignty over the Arctic territory. Mr. Macron was speaking from the French archipelago of Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, which is also in the North Atlantic. President Trump said the U.S. has been given permanent control of security in the self-governing Danish territory. Naaja Nathanielsen sits as an MP in Greenland's parliament from the Inuit Ataqatigiit party. "Well, of course we have questions until we all have access to the entire agreement. But you could say when the Danish prime minister and our premier goes out and clearly states that the red lines have not been crossed, that we still have sovereignty of the country and that Greenland can decide their own future [and every] and our rights as an indigenous peoples will be respected. For us that is really, really important." Ed Sheeran is preparing to perform in Philadelphia in his first show since the rapper Macklemore was dropped from the British singer's U.S. tour over pro-Palestinian comments made on stage. Sheeran says the decision was taken by his promoter, not by him. Four other supporting acts have since withdrawn and pro-Palestinian groups have been protesting outside the venue. Carl Nasman is there. Hundreds of thousands of people really starting to file into that large stadium behind us here in Philadelphia as the first show really since this whole controversy unfolded and I think a lot of fans, you know, want to know who will be playing on stage. Macklemore was dropped so there likely is no opening act tonight. In fact the concert was pushed back by two and a half hours so it could just be Ed Sheeran himself. Speaking with a lot of the people that are coming to this concert, they say they're aware of these controversies but they really just hope that they can be here to enjoy the music. BBC News. Police in the Netherlands have clashed with several hundred far-right protesters in the center of The Hague. The authorities ordered a planned anti-immigration demonstration to be broken up after it spiraled into violence. Demonstrators threw fireworks and projectiles at riot police and chanted anti-Semitic slogans. Thousands of Argentines have marched through Buenos Aires against President Javier Milei's labor policies and austerity cuts as left-wing political leaders and activists called for a general strike. Here's Clizia Sala. President Javier Milei won the election in December, 2023 promising to curb Argentina's chronic inflation through austerity measures. While inflation has fallen, hundreds of thousands of jobs have been lost and nearly 30,000 companies have shut down. On Saturday, students, pensioners, unions and human rights groups protested against low wages, job losses and household debt. The march ended with demands for stronger workers' rights and higher pay, with protesters and artists singing "Marcha de la Bronca," or the Great March of Outreach, the song that gave Saturday's march its name. The authorities in Syria say they have arrested a former high-ranking military commander suspected of human rights abuses while serving under the ousted President Bashar al-Assad. They said Major General Ahmed Mohammad Ismail took a commanding role in military assaults in the cities of Aleppo and Daraa. The American footwear company Converse has withdrawn an advert after criticism that it evoked Ku Klux Klan imagery. Social media users said shadows in the photograph resembled a white pointed hood while a pair of dangling shoes was likened to an image of a lynching. Converse has apologized. BBC News. |