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The Houthi-run Health Ministry said the overnight U.S. strikes killed at least 53 people, including five women and two children, and wounded almost 100 in the capital of Sanaa and other provinces, including Saada, the rebels' stronghold on the border with Saudi Arabia. «We're not going to have these people controlling which ships can go through and which ones cannot. And so your question is, how long will this go on? It will go on until they no longer have the capability to do that,» Secretary of State Marco Rubio told CBS on Sunday. He said these are not the one-off retaliation strikes the Biden administration carried out after Houthi attacks. President Donald Trump on Saturday vowed to use «overwhelming lethal force» until the Houthis cease their attacks, and warned that Tehran would be held «fully accountable» for their actions. The Houthis have repeatedly targeted international shipping in the Red Sea, sinking two vessels, in what they call acts of solidarity with the Palestinians in Gaza, where Israel has been at war with Hamas, another Iranian ally.

Nairobi international airport's departures area. They huddle for selfies in matching T-shirts, discussing how they'll spend the money from their new jobs in Saudi Arabia. Lured by company recruiters and encouraged by Kenya's government, the women have reason for optimism. Spend two years in Saudi Arabia as a housekeeper or nanny, the pitch goes, and you can earn enough to build a house, educate your children and save for the future. While the departure terminal hums with anticipation, the arrivals area is where hope meets grim reality. Hollow-cheeked women return, often ground down by unpaid wages, beatings, starvation and sexual assault. Some are broke. Others are in coffins. At least 274 Kenyan workers, mostly women, have died in Saudi Arabia in the past five years — an extraordinary figure for a young workforce doing jobs that, in most countries, are considered extremely safe. At least 55 Kenyan workers died last year, twice as many as the previous year. Autopsy reports are vague and contradictory. They describe women with evidence of trauma, including burns and electric shocks, all labeled natural deaths. One woman's cause of death was simply «brain dead.» An untold number of Ugandans have died, too, but their government releases no data.

According to State Department spokeswoman Tammy Bruce, the top diplomats «agreed to continue working towards restoring communication between the United States and Russia.» The statement gave no details on when the next round of US-Russia talks, which are being hosted by Saudi Arabia, would begin. Rubio also updated Lavrov on military activity in the Middle East, where US forces carried out deadly strikes Saturday against Huthi rebel targets in Yemen, the statement said. Despite recent tensions between President Donald Trump and his Ukrainian counterpart Volodymyr Zelensky, Kyiv has agreed in principle to a US-brokered 30-day unconditional ceasefire if Moscow halts its attacks in eastern Ukraine.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. A mineral-rights deal that the Trump administration says will make the U.S. vested in Ukraine’s defense has an instructive historical precedent in Washington’s unofficial oil-for-security pact with Saudi Arabia.

Emmanuel Macron on Friday (local time) called on Russia to accept the US-brokered proposal for an interim 30-day ceasefire in Ukraine, emphasizing that «atrocities must stop.» Macron criticized Russia for its «delaying statements» on the proposed deal following his discussion with Ukrainian President Volodymr Zelenskyy and UK Prime Minister Kier Starmer. «I spoke today with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and then with Prime Minister Kier Starmer following the progress made during the meeting between the United States and Ukraine in Jeddah on Tuesday. Russia must now accept the U.S.-Ukrainian proposal for a 30-day ceasefire. The Russian aggression in Ukraine must end. The atrocities must stop. So must the delaying statements,» Macron wrote in a post on X. Macron assured France's unwavering support to Ukraine to achieve peace and informed that all partners will hold a video conference today to discuss the issue.

Meeting at a rustic hotel in rural Quebec, G7 foreign ministers also backed Ukraine's fight for its «territorial integrity» and spoke of Russia's «aggression,» terminology earlier eschewed by Trump as he reached out to Moscow. The consensus on Ukraine came despite mounting tension within the G7 — Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States as Trump slaps punishing tariffs on allies and questions the very sovereignty of host Canada. A G7 statement backed a US-led call for a 30-day truce embraced by Ukraine and «called for Russia to reciprocate by agreeing to a ceasefire on equal terms and implementing it fully.» «They discussed imposing further costs on Russia in case such a ceasefire is not agreed, including through further sanctions, caps on oil prices, as well as additional support for Ukraine, and other means,» such as using frozen Russian assets.

Donald Trump, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, for their efforts in addressing the conflict. Speaking at a joint press conference with Belarus President Alexander Lukashenko on Thursday, Putin said that Russia agrees with the proposals to cease hostilities but «proceeds from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of the crisis.» When asked about Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, Putin said, «As for Ukraine's readiness for a ceasefire, I will tell you how I view it, of course. But I would like to start by thanking the President of the United States, Mr Trump, for paying so much attention to the Ukraine settlement. We all have enough of our own domestic affairs to attend to. But many leaders of states, among them the President of the People's Republic of China, the Prime Minister of India, the Presidents of Brazil and the Republic of South Africa are addressing this issue and give it a lot of their time. We are grateful to all of them for that because this activity is aimed at achieving a noble mission — the mission of ending hostilities and loss of life.» He further said, «We agree with the proposals to cease hostilities but proceed from the assumption that this cessation should lead to long-term peace and eliminate the root causes of this crisis.» He also referred to the recent US-Ukraine discussions in Saudi Arabia, suggesting that Ukraine's willingness for a ceasefire was likely influenced by American pressure.

G7 nations were set to negotiate late into the night over a joint statement to show a united front in Canada on Thursday after weeks of tension between U.S. allies and President Donald Trump over his upending of Western trade and security policy. The Group of Seven ministers from Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States, along with the European Union, convened in the remote tourist town of La Malbaie, nestled in the Quebec hills, for meetings on Thursday and Friday that in the past have been broadly consensual. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio briefed his colleagues on talks on Tuesday with Ukraine in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where Kyiv said it was ready to support a 30-day ceasefire deal. But officials said ambiguous comments by Russian President Vladimir Putin left delegates unclear where things stood. In the run-up to the first G7 meeting of Canada's presidency, the crafting of an agreed all-encompassing final statement had been tough, but diplomats said the atmosphere since had been positive and candid.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Russia said its forces were in the final stages of ousting Ukraine’s army from the Kursk region, where Kyiv had taken Russian territory that it had hoped to use as a bargaining chip in peace negotiations. The Russian military said Thursday it had retaken Sudzha, the biggest town held by Ukraine in the Kursk region, after recapturing a string of villages in recent days.

Donald Trump has warned his Russian counterpart of «doing things» if the nation refuses for a ceasefire deal with Ukraine. He suggested that financial measures could be used to pressure Moscow but emphasised his priority was achieving peace. While responding to the question about pressuring Russia, Trump said, «I can do things financially, that would be very bad for Russia. I don't want to do that because I want to get peace.» He has said that a ceasefire in Ukraine would benefit Russia but warned of potential downsides, without providing further details. According to Reuters, Trump confirmed that US officials were set to visit Russia to discuss a proposed 30-day halt in hostilities and the possibility of peace talks. After extensive discussions in Saudi Arabia, Ukraine agreed to a ceasefire, leaving the next move to Russia. «Hopefully we can get a ceasefire from Russia,» Trump told reporters in the Oval Office, adding that he had received positive signals but remained cautious about the situation. The Kremlin, meanwhile, stated that it was awaiting details from Washington before responding to the proposal.

It is not clear what exactly Moscow included on its list or whether it is willing to engage in peace talks with Kyiv prior to their acceptance. Russian and American officials discussed the terms during in-person and virtual conversations over the last three weeks, the people said. They described the Kremlin's terms as broad and similar to demands it previously has presented to Ukraine, the U.S. and NATO. Those earlier terms included no NATO membership for Kyiv, an agreement not to deploy foreign troops in Ukraine and international recognition of President Vladimir Putin's claim that Crimea and four provinces belong to Russia. Russia, in recent years, also has demanded the U.S. and NATO address what it has called the «root causes» of the war, including NATO's eastward expansion.

Scopely has agreed to buy Niantic's gaming business, including the mobile hit Pokemon Go, for $3.5 billion. Scopely, which is owned by a unit of the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia, will also acquire Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now from Niantic, along with the teams working on them, the Saudi company said in a statement on Wednesday, confirming an earlier Bloomberg News report. Niantic's games encourage players to go outside and explore their neighbourhoods to receive in-game rewards.

mobile gaming industry, has officially acquired Niantic’s gaming division for a staggering $3.5 billion. This deal doesn’t just include Pokémon GO—it also brings Pikmin Bloom and Monster Hunter Now under Scopely’s wing. The acquisition, rumored since early 2025, now awaits final regulatory approval before it’s fully sealed.

Niantic Labs, the company behind the popular game Pokémon Go, is selling its video game division to Scopely, a mobile game developer owned by Saudi Arabia, for $3.5 billion. As part of the deal, Niantic is transferring ownership of several of its mobile gaming titles, including Pokémon Go, Monster Hunter Now, and Pikmin Bloom, to Scopely. Niantic has faced challenges trying to recreate the success of Pokémon Go with its other augmented reality (AR) games.

The latest agency directive comes amid concerns over handling of sensitive records under US President Donald Trump's administration amid its efforts to cut down assistance activities overseas, The Washington Post reported.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Saudi Arabia's upcoming second national airline, Riyadh Air, is expected to start operations in India in 2026. According to Tony Douglas, chief executive officer (CEO) of Riyadh Air, the airline is open to partnering with Indian airlines like Air India and IndiGo and Indian information technology (IT) companies for its digital infrastructure.

Air India and IndiGo, to capitalize on the growing demand in the Indian market, according to a top executive. In an interview with PTI, Riyadh Air CEO Tony Douglas noted the importance of the Indian subcontinent to the airline's expansion plans. «It's not secret for us the importance of India and therefore we'll look to explore see whether its of interest of both parties...we're interested in the opinions that Air India and IndiGo have got. Hopefully, very excited announcements,» he said.

Ukrainian soldiers holding the front line in the war-battered east of the country, the prospect of a 30-day ceasefire with Russia brought little relief — only distrust and suspicion. Senior Ukrainian and US officials walked away from high-stakes talks in Saudi Arabia late Tuesday agreeing to present Russia with a proposal to halt more than three years of fighting for several weeks. But in eastern Ukraine, there was little hope that even if Moscow agreed to a pause, the Kremlin would make good on promises to stop fighting. A 44-year-old serviceman with the call sign «Malchik» («Boy») said Russia would claim to adhere to a ceasefire and then find ways to keep attacking. «They'll say in public that there's no fighting and no shelling. But this scum has always harassed us and it will continue to,» he told AFP in the frontline city of Kramatorsk.

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Wednesday that it's important not to «get ahead» of the question of responding to the 30-day ceasefire proposal. He told reporters that Moscow is awaiting «detailed information» about it from the US and suggested Russia must get that before it can take a position. The Russian missiles killed four Syrian men between the ages of 18 and 24 on a ship docked at the southern port of Odesa late Tuesday, where it was loading Ukrainian wheat for Algeria, Infrastructure Minister Oleksii Kuleba said. Another missile killed a woman in Kryvih Rih, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's hometown in central Ukraine, authorities said. The American help is vital for Ukraine's shorthanded and weary army, which is having a tough time keeping Russia's bigger military force at bay. But for Moscow, more American aid spells potentially more difficulty in achieving its war aims and likely will be a tough sell in Moscow for Washington's peace efforts.

Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. ON THE battlefield Ukraine has more than once turned looming catastrophe into partial success against Russia. It might have pulled off a similar feat in the diplomatic realm on March 11th, when it agreed in principle to an American proposal for an “immediate" 30-day ceasefire.

Speaking at Moscow's Higher School of Economics, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov cautioned against people getting excited about the prospect of Elon Musk cutting off the Ukrainian military from his Starlink communications system or about Trump's decision last week to suspend military aid to Kyiv. «Don't rush to put on rose-tinted spectacles,» Peskov told the audience. «We always need to hope for the best but be prepared for the worst. And we must always be ready to defend our interests.» Peskov issued his warning as U.S. officials prepared to meet with a Ukrainian delegation in Saudi Arabia later on Tuesday, in part to determine whether Ukraine is willing to make material concessions to Russia to end the war. Peskov said that Russia was achieving its aims on the battlefield in Ukraine, regardless of what decisions the U.S. was taking. He said the amount of weapons circulating in Ukraine was so large that Kyiv had enough to keep fighting for many months despite the suspension of U.S. deliveries.