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Here's a rundown of all the news you need to start your Saturday, including Houthi fighters seizing control of the Bab al-Mandab Strait after seizing Perim Island and the city of Dhubab in western Yemen; Iran saying Oman will host a regional meeting to discuss shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz; and the European Commission approving an additional $7.1 billion for Ukraine to procure air and missile defense systems, drones, and other equipment.
TOP STORIES
Houthi fighters seized Perim Island (Mayyun) in the Bab al-Mandab Strait and the city of Dhubab in the western Taiz province on Friday, completing the group's control of the strategic waterway, a Yemeni military source told Anadolu, with Yemeni forces withdrawing to the Lahij province.
Separately, the Houthis claimed Saudi airstrikes hit Mokha airport and said their forces took six districts in Taiz and Al-Hudaydah covering 5,400 square kilometers (2,085 square miles).
Yemeni media reported coalition airstrikes on Houthi positions near Mokha, and the Yemeni army announced its own airstrikes on the western coast a day after declaring the Taiz-Mocha road area a military zone.
Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, shut its East-West Pipeline in Riyadh and Madinah as a precaution after multiple attacks Thursday injured several people.
Iran says Oman to host regional meeting on Hormuz shipping on Monday
Iran's Foreign Ministry said a meeting involving Iran, Iraq and Gulf states will be held Monday in Oman to discuss commercial shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, with the talks to address the outcome of negotiations between Tehran and Muscat on establishing safe routes through the waterway.
Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said Iran and Oman reached an understanding on temporary shipping lanes in the strait, adding that "Iran remains committed to ensuring the security of navigation in the strait."
EU approves additional $7B for Ukraine defense, including drones, Patriot missiles
The European Commission approved an additional €6.1 billion ($7.1 billion) for Ukraine to procure defense products, including air and missile defense systems, ammunition, drones and electronic warfare equipment, aimed at strengthening Kyiv's ability to counter intensified Russian ballistic missile and drone attacks.
"Today, we have approved €6.1 billion to help Ukraine procure different defence products in the field of air and missile defence, ammunition, drones and electronic warfare," European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said on X.
NEWS IN BRIEF
- Interrupted during his Republican midterm convention speech in Dallas by a protester waving a Mexican flag, US Vice President JD Vance told him to go there himself if he loved it so much.
- US President Donald Trump closed out the Republican midterm convention in Dallas by telling attendees they would "go to hell" if they did not vote in November, having them pledge loyalty to him and vow to vote by Nov. 3.
- Iran welcomed the US Navy's admission that Iranian attacks severely damaged its 5th Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying the strikes "blew the hell out" of the base.
- Overnight airstrikes injured at least 8 people in Kyiv, while Ukrainian drones hit a logistics center belonging to e-commerce retailer Ozon in Russia's Saratov region, sparking a fire but no reported casualties.
- OpenAI is considering slowing its advanced AI development, with CEO Sam Altman hoping rival labs adopt similar measures amid growing safety concerns, Bloomberg reported.
- Yemen's UN envoy Abdullah al-Saadi warned the UN Security Council that the Houthis are continuing military escalation and attempting to impose a "new reality" in the Red Sea, threatening navigation through the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
- The death toll from flash floods and mudslides along the Nepal-China border rose to 1,428, with 5,649 still missing more than two weeks after the disaster struck on Aug. 26.
- Greece recorded 324 domestically acquired West Nile virus cases this year, a record high, with the death toll rising to 30 after six additional deaths in the last week.
- Germany's AfD filed a criminal complaint against Chancellor Friedrich Merz for saying its migration policy amounts to "ethnic cleansing" for skilled workers, with the party calling the remarks "criminal in nature."
- The Israeli army launched a surprise military drill in the occupied West Bank, mobilizing all battalions of its division there to test operational readiness ahead of the Jewish holiday season.
- At least 26 students were killed and several injured in two school fire outbreaks in Bukavu in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, with the blaze destroying several residential houses in the Chimpunda district.
- August 2026 was the warmest August on record globally, surpassing the tied 2023 and 2024 records by 0.08C (0.144F) amid all-time peak ocean temperatures, according to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
- The late Princess Diana's "revenge dress," worn the night King Charles III publicly acknowledged his infidelity, is going up for auction for the first time, expected to fetch $150,000-$300,000 at Sotheby's on Dec. 9.
- 5 people were killed and 40 injured when a Dutch tour bus carrying 45 adults veered off the road in a construction area and overturned in eastern Switzerland.
- Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he does not support continuing the war with the US and called for strengthening the country's resilience so it does not have to negotiate with the "enemy" from a position of weakness.
- EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas backed a bloc-wide trade ban on illegal Israeli settlements as a justified "principled stance," saying EU foreign ministers broadly agree the settlements violate international law.
- Türkiye's Akinci combat drone struck a maritime target more than 250 kilometers (155 miles) away in the Black Sea using the domestically developed UAV-300 supersonic ballistic missile.
- At least 46,000 people have been displaced in Yemen since fighting escalated last week, said the UN migration agency, warning that the number is rising "by the hour" and calling for safe humanitarian access.
- US annual consumer inflation stood at 3.4% in August, with monthly inflation accelerating to 0.4% as a 3.9% surge in gasoline prices drove more than one-third of the increase.
- The Israeli army blew up most of a public school and destroyed tunnels in the town of Mansouri, southern Lebanon, despite a US-mediated framework agreement, with nearly 50 fighters reportedly killed.
- Nearly half of the world's 1,843 assessed migratory bird species are facing population declines, with one in nine threatened with extinction, according to BirdLife International's State of the World's Birds 2026 report.
- Princess Astrid, the elder sister of Norway's late King Harald and the country's first lady for 14 years, died at 94, according to the Norwegian royal household.
- The UN Security Council unanimously extended Sudan's sanctions regime and arms embargo for one month until Oct. 9, as the US pushes to broaden the embargo from Darfur to cover all of Sudan.
- Nine detained Assad-era pilots carried out airstrikes over more than 3,200 flight hours since 2011, said Syria's Interior Ministry, using Mi-24 helicopters and Su-22 and MiG fighter jets.
- Nepal said $4.78 billion is needed for reconstruction after flash floods killed 1,385 people and left 5,130 missing, with damage estimated at $1.8 billion.
- US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to "finish this fight" with Iran at a Pentagon ceremony remembering the 9/11 terror attacks, saying Washington had "laid waste" to the "world's most prolific state sponsor of terrorism."
- Twenty-five years since the Sept. 11 attacks were commemorated at the former World Trade Center site in New York, attended by Vice President JD Vance and former presidents Joe Biden, Barack Obama, George Bush, and Bill Clinton, with relatives reading out the names of victims.
- The next round of Israel-Lebanon talks originally planned for Rome next week has been postponed to October, with Israeli and Lebanese ambassadors instead meeting at the State Department in Washington, Axios reported.
- A poll published Friday by Maariv daily showed Netanyahu's Likud party falling to 19 seats, its lowest since May 2025, in what it called a "historic collapse" ahead of the Oct. 27 Israeli elections.
BUSINESS & ECONOMY
Diesel prices hit historic high in US
Diesel prices topped $6 per gallon in the US for the first time, reaching $6.05, according to American Automobile Association data, amid soaring oil prices tied to Middle East tensions.
Crude oil prices jumped about 10% on a weekly basis amid the US-Iran war, with Brent futures at $106 per barrel and West Texas Intermediate trading at $101.
Saudi oil output plunges to lowest since 1990 amid fallout from US-Iran war
Saudi Arabia's crude oil production plunged to 6.24 million barrels per day in August, its lowest reported level since 1990, as the prolonged US-Iran war continued to disrupt energy flows in the Middle East.
The kingdom reported to OPEC that output fell by around 1.9 million barrels per day from 8.1 million bpd in July, after standing at 7.1 million bpd in June before a July rebound that reversed in August, despite OPEC+ plans to raise production during the month.
The decline reflects the war's growing effect beyond the immediate conflict zone, disrupting the Persian Gulf and alternative routes through the Red Sea, where Saudi Arabia's reliance on the Red Sea port of Yanbu has come under pressure since Yemen's Houthis declared a maritime embargo against the kingdom on July 20.
Istanbul Airport's new premium terminal boosts global luxury aviation appeal
IGA Istanbul Airport's new JETEX-IGA terminal has processed 3,600 private VVIP passengers since its May 5 opening, with heavy demand from Russia and the Middle East, the firm's director told Anadolu.
Burcu Gures said the terminal fills a long-standing gap in Turkish aviation as a central hub for frequent luxury travelers, combining luxury aviation with hospitality through private suites, a spa and wellness center, a conference room, dining and entertainment spaces, and lounge areas.
SPORTS
Hull City winger Sorba Thomas escapes injury after car overturns near training ground
Hull City winger Sorba Thomas escaped uninjured after his car overturned near the English Premier League club's training ground in Cottingham, with the 27-year-old Wales international walking away from the crash on Millhouse Woods Lane.
"Hull City is relieved to confirm that Sorba Thomas is unharmed following a road traffic accident near to the club's Cottingham training ground," said the club, adding that Thomas "emerged from his vehicle completely unscathed" despite images circulating on social media showing his grey Land Rover Defender lying on its roof with damaged windows.
North Korean athletes begin arriving in Japan for Asian Games
North Korean athletes started arriving in Japan for the Asian Games, with the first group, including the national football team, landing at Kansai International Airport in Osaka Prefecture, Kyodo News reported.
About 180 North Korean athletes and officials are expected to attend the Aichi-Nagoya Asian Games running from Sept. 19 to Oct. 4, the largest-ever North Korean delegation to a sporting event in Japan, though the two countries do not have diplomatic relations and Japan generally bars North Koreans from entry under sanctions over Pyongyang's nuclear and missile programs.
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