At rush hour in Nazareth, the largest Arab-majority city in Israel, students are handing out leaflets by the roadside urging motorists to vote in next week's closely fought, general election. Polls indicate that Arab parties could be left holding a critical balance of power.
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Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia in recent weeks have inflicted severe losses on the kingdom and prompted the U.S. to quietly reduce its military footprint in the region as missiles hit energy infrastructure and civilian airports, killing more than 20 people. Saudi Arabia, despite its size, wealth and a substantial military, has appeared to be on the back foot as it faces the Yemeni rebels. Saudi Arabia spent $83 billion on defense last year, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute — far more than any other country in the Middle East , including Israel.
Time is running out to meet key targets within Stormont's energy strategy by 2030, a committee has said. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) report followed an inquiry into the Department for the Economy's (DfE) delivery of the net zero strategy . The PAC heard that Northern Ireland could lose out on significant economic opportunities if action was not speeded up.
Over the past week, Ukraine has received a stark reminder of its growing dependence on uninterrupted access to Elon Musk's Starlink and Starshield networks in its drone-heavy war against Russia, now in its fifth year. Ukraine has a fraction of Russia's resources, but its aggressive development of drone warfare on defensive and offensive fronts has helped it endure an onslaught from its much bigger adversary, which invaded Ukraine in early 2022. That was true until last week, when Ukraine reported a throttling of the Starshield network that was causing its drones to stop midflight and fall out of the sky.
The US Embassy in Ottawa has accused Canadian officials of election meddling ahead of the November midterms. The embassy said Canadian leaders have brushed off concerns over "potential interference", and that ministers and premiers "openly describe plans to influence American politics in official documents and public appearances". Canadian leaders, including Prime Minister Mark Carney, have dismissed the claims. Relations between the North American neighbours have hardened during second Trump administration.