Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start Saturday, including South African jurist Navi Pillay winning the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize, a US-Russia diesel supply deal, and deadly attacks on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport that killed three people.
South African jurist Navi Pillay, a former UN human rights chief who led a UN commission of inquiry that concluded Israel committed genocide in the Gaza Strip, was awarded the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize for her contributions to peace and international law.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised her decades-long efforts to strengthen international justice and hold perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide accountable, saying she “significantly enlarged the scope and impact of international law.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres congratulated Pillay, hailing her as a “champion” of international law and human rights.
US President Donald Trump said he had a “highly successful” phone call with Russian President Vladimir Putin, resulting in an agreement for Russia to immediately supply over 300,000 tons of diesel fuel to American and global markets, later rising to millions of tons depending on the condition of Russian refineries.
Trump said diesel prices for Americans and the world “will be coming down, in record numbers, and fast,” citing lower fuel prices as a priority for farmers, ranchers and truckers, with fuel costs emerging as a key issue in the Nov. 3 US midterm elections.
The US Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control said it was immediately issuing a temporary general license allowing the sale.
Putin said selling Russian diesel to US and global markets would benefit the world economy.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said easing sanctions on Russia without a de-escalation deal would be an “obvious weakness,” calling for stronger sanctions and more pressure on Moscow.
Saudi Arabia said three citizens were killed in two attacks targeting King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh and a Saudia Airlines.
A number of citizens and residents of various nationalities were also wounded, with injuries ranging from minor to severe, and the attacks caused some property damage.
Officials said activities at the airport later resumed and air traffic returned to normal.
NEWS IN BRIEF
LeBron James made his Philadelphia 76ers debut in a 114-108 preseason loss to the Brooklyn Nets, scoring 10 points as he acknowledged that his new teammates would need time to develop chemistry.
The 41-year-old, who joined Philadelphia in July after eight seasons with the Los Angeles Lakers, played 18 minutes in the first half and had four rebounds, five assists and a steal.
The Turkish Football Federation announced it parted ways with national team head coach Vincenzo Montella following Türkiye’s World Cup group-stage exit and four consecutive UEFA Nations League defeats, the first four-match losing streak in competitive fixtures in 38 years.
The 52-year-old Italian had been in charge since September 2023, when he succeeded Stefan Kuntz, guiding the team to the quarterfinals of UEFA Euro 2024 and qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Excavations have resumed at the Roman baths in the ancient city of Tyana in Türkiye’s central Nigde province, after a 20-year hiatus, under a Culture and Tourism Ministry project.
The work aims to identify earlier phases of the baths, built by the Emperor Caracalla in AD 213, and uncover associated structures such as a palaestra or a gymnasium, with archaeologists also hoping to find evidence of cultural activity dating to well before Roman rule.
Excavation team head Osman Doganay said at least two other baths are believed to exist in the ancient city, but have yet to be discovered.
French police recovered two paintings by Renoir stolen from a museum in the southern French town of Cagnes-sur-Mer last month, BFMTV reported.
The works, recovered Thursday and estimated to be worth between €8 million and €10 million, were taken on Sept. 8 when two burglars entered the Renoir Museum, the artist’s former residence, through a hole cut in the garden fence.
The suspects stole four artworks but abandoned two as they fled when police arrived, according to prosecutors.
OpenAI said it banned accounts linked to covert influence operations originating in Russia and Iran that used its AI tools to shape public opinion abroad, according to a company blog post.
The company said the operations combined AI with traditional influence techniques, with the Russian-linked campaign using a purported research platform focused on Latin America and the Iranian-linked operation using fake journalist profiles to pitch articles to online publications.
OpenAI said the Iranian-linked operation used seven fabricated journalist identities, with almost 100 articles published under their bylines at more than a dozen outlets, and that publication increased sharply after the outbreak of the US-Iran conflict.
Global economic growth is projected to slow to 2.6% in 2026 from 2.9% last year as higher energy prices driven by the Mideast war test economic and financial stability, UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said in its Trade and Development Report 2026.
The agency forecast global growth of 2.7% in 2027, with developing economies expected to grow 4% this year, down from 4.7% in 2025.
Global goods and services trade is projected to expand 4%, after reaching a record $35 trillion last year, partly reflecting higher prices.
The US economy is forecast to grow 2.1% this year before slowing to 1.8% in 2027, supported by AI investment and a stable labor market, while Western Europe remains constrained by weak investment, trade fragmentation, and volatile energy prices.
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