️Reuters: ️World

📌 OPINION - Mecca Joint Defense Agreement: Reestablishment of regional order and shadow of global power competition ❝The Mecca Agreement is neither a ‘Sunni NATO’ nor a declaration of complete US withdrawal. Rather, it is an early phase in the shift from unipolar security dependency towards a multi-actor, flexible, and interest-driven network of arrangements❞

🇺🇸 Discontent with US grows among Gulf allies as Iran war drags on without diplomatic resolution, according to US media 📍 Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain reportedly question benefits of hosting US military bases

British lawmaker Zarah Sultana criticizes the sale of a minority stake in Liverpool Football Club to a consortium including billionaire Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, urging supporters to denounce the investment

🔎 US Sen. Richard Blumenthal demanded answers from Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao over conditions aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln, which has remained at sea for more than 250 days Sailors aboard the Lincoln have reportedly attempted to jump overboard during the aircraft carrier’s prolonged deployment in the Middle East, raising fresh concerns among military families and lawmakers about the mental health and living conditions of its crew

🇹🇷 Turkish parliament passes the Bill on Strengthening National Solidarity and Social Cohesion after 12-hour debate 📌 Move marks first legislative step under Türkiye's broader 'Terror-Free Türkiye' process 📌 Legislation passed with support of 467 of parliament's 600 lawmakers 📌 It creates conditional framework for certain terrorism-related investigations, prosecutions and prison sentences following verified dissolution, disarmament of PKK/KCK terror group

⚠️ Rift between US and Israel deepens as Washington pushes to wind down fighting in Gaza, Lebanon and Iran, Israeli media reports 📌 US Central Command chief Adm. Brad Cooper reportedly urges Tel Aviv to move toward 'closing the three fronts,' while Israel seeks to preserve freedom to carry out military operations against Iran

🗣️ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian says Tehran’s position toward the US remains unchanged despite recent diplomacy 🖊️ Iran made no concessions under its memorandum with Washington, he says 🚨 Pezeshkian accuses the US of violating the memorandum over shipping arrangements in the Strait of Hormuz

🇹🇷 Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says Israel's attacks on Syria are among the greatest threats to the country's stability 📌 He also accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government of escalating violence across the region and says Israel's continued attacks show Netanyahu ‘does not want peace’

🇺🇸 US President Trump reportedly confronted Defense Secretary Hegseth over weapons shortage 📌 Trump questioned Hegseth over depleted munitions stockpiles that have limited military options against Iran, US media reports ❌ White House and Pentagon deny the report, calling it '100% fake news' and 'fictional'

🚨 Data of around 100,000 UK police officers leaked on dark web 🔓 The breach exposed officers' names, contact details and force affiliations after hackers compromised the Police National Legal Database, raising security concerns for law enforcement personnel

🇪🇸 Spanish premier calls some EU governments' response to Ceuta crisis 'selfish, polarizing, illegal’ 🗣️ Pedro Sanchez says those governments acted contrary to European and humanitarian law, arguing that calls to suspend Spain from the Schengen Area have no legal basis since Ceuta is outside the passport-free zone

🚨Ukraine continues targeting Russia's Wildberries facilities, with drone strikes hitting sites in the Penza region and the Republic of Udmurtia, according to the online retailer 📌Wildberries says one person was injured and its sites were evacuated after air raid alerts 📌The strikes follow a series of attacks on the company's warehouses across Russia this month. Ukraine says the facilities support the Russian military, an allegation Moscow denies

💢 Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander orders fighters to change tactics after Sudanese army advances in North Kordofan state 📌 RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo instructs fighters to stop filming their movements, saying such videos provide intelligence that benefits the Sudanese army

🗣️ Iran says it will not allow US to decide when war or peace takes place 📍 Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei says Washington is ‘stuck in a self-made quagmire’ ⚠️ The remarks come after reports that US President Donald Trump ordered a halt to new strikes on Iran following nearly two weeks of attacks

🇺🇲 US President Donald Trump pauses plans for ‘a major military escalation against Iran,’ the New York Times reports 🔹 Advisers have reportedly warned that expanded operations could further deplete already-drained US air defense munition stocks 🔹 Concerns also include heavier Iranian retaliation, risks to US troops and Gulf allies, and a wider regional war

🧊 Current rate of Antarctic ice loss can help governments plan for sea level rise through mid-century, according to international study in Nature 📌 Researchers say next 3 to 5 decades offer critical window for relatively confident projections before Antarctic Ice Sheet behavior becomes harder to predict 🌊 Study finds near-term projections reliable enough to support coastal planning and climate adaptation through around 2055

💢 Israeli artillery shelled Ali al-Taher hill near Nabatieh al-Fawqa in southern Lebanon, while a drone strike targeted the town on the second day of the Lebanese army’s deployment in Zawtar al-Gharbiyeh 📍 Lebanese media also reported Israeli incursions into Burj al-Muluk and Sarbin, along with house raids and heavy machine-gun fire in southern Lebanon 📍 Overnight explosions were reported in the towns of Baraachit and Hadatha 📍 The developments come amid continued Israeli violations of the country's sovereignty and the framework agreement signed in June

🇳🇮 Nicaragua’s President Daniel Ortega, 80, says South American country will no longer hold elections to prevent the opposition from taking power 📍 Ahead of scheduled elections next year, Ortega says new laws will be introduced to 'build a wall' against opposition groups through the National Assembly, which he controls 💢 The US State Department describes the Nicaraguan government as the 'Murillo-Ortega dictatorship'

Iran hits Gulf states and Jordan after seventh night of US strikes Iran launched more attacks on Washington's Gulf allies and ​Jordan on Saturday after a seventh straight night of U.S. strikes on Iranian military targets, escalating the war one week after a ceasefire collapsed. Kuwait came under sustained attack, with a ‌desalination plant hit and operations at Kuwait International Airport suspended due to repeated missile and drone threats.read more

🇨🇳 Chinese president Xi Jinping calls for secure and controllable AI, says it should remain a trusted tool for humanity 🔹 Xi announces World Artificial Intelligence Cooperation Organization with headquarters in Shanghai and participation from 29 countries 🔹 He urges global AI cooperation, calling for stronger laws, emergency response systems and warning against overstretching national security in AI development 🔹 Chinese leader urges steps to 'prevent creating new historical injustice' in AI development