LONDON: Lebanon’s leaders are looking to US-mediated diplomacy in an effort to avert another war with Israel, even as Israeli forces remain in southern Lebanon and Hezbollah refuses to surrender its weapons. This leaves authorities in Beirut with little control over the decisions that could plunge the country back into conflict. Caught between Israeli demands for security guarantees and Hezbollah’s insistence that its arsenal is essential for efforts to resist occupation, the Lebanese government

WASHINGTON: A Syrian man was sentenced to 42 months in prison on Thursday for his role in computer hacking on behalf of the regime of former Syrian president Bashar Assad, the US Justice Department said. Ahmad Umar Agha, 32, and co-conspirators hacked Western media outlets, businesses, non-governmental organizations and US and allied government entities “to spread the former Syrian government’s propaganda,” the department said in a statement. The hacking group known as the Syrian Electronic A

Israel’s Arab parties have emerged as potential kingmakers after securing a record 19 seats in the Knesset, but turning their electoral gains into political influence may prove far harder than winning the votes. A surge in turnout among Palestinian citizens of Israel has complicated the calculations of rival blocs led by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Gadi Eisenkot, neither of which has an easy route to a governing majority. Exit polls on Tuesday night initially put Eisenkot’s anti-Netany

JERUSALEM: There was growing anger among Arab political parties in Israel on Thursday after unsubstantiated claims by Prime ​Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that unprecedented Arab gains in this week’s Knesset elections were driven by foreign funding. Parties representing Israel’s 21 percent Arab minority won 19 seats in the 120-member parliament, Netyanhu’s bloc won 53, and his main rival Gadi Eisenkot won 48 seats. The results mean that neither of the two main coalitions can form a government with

NEW YORK: Viral meningitis is spreading in the Gaza Strip, the UN warned on Thursday. Overcrowding, battered water and sanitation networks and shortages of essential treatments are driving up the risk of transmission across the enclave. Acute respiratory infections remained the most prevalent health condition reported in Gaza in September, UN associate spokesperson Shirin Yaseen said, citing a World Health Organization report. “To scale up services, we once more call for the lifting of restricti

Cartoon by Amjad Rasmi. (Courtesy of Asharq Al-Awsat)

Discover the Wonderverse, an immersive experience at the House of Hype where reality meets trippy worlds, outrageous style and wild games. You can find the theme park at Boulevard Riyadh City and learn more at riyadh.platinumlist.net.

Every Monday, Level Up social hub invites people to enjoy a night of board and card games, laughter and fun. Anyone attending alone as will be grouped with new people, so there is no need to worry about flying solo. For more information, check out riyadh.platinumlist.net.

Enjoy an exceptional Arabian equestrian experience with Abdulaziz Al-Hamimi in Al-Muzahmiyya province near Riyadh on Saturday, Oct. 31. For booking and more details, visit experience.suplift.com.

A creative hands-on program will teach children to make a macrame inspired by Qatt Asiri, a traditional art from the Kingdom’s southern region. It takes place at the Children’s Museum in Ithra until Dec. 30. More details are available on the Ithra app.

NEW YORK CITY: The continuing detention by the Houthis of 71 members of UN staff renders humanitarian operations in parts of Yemen controlled by the militia “untenable,” the UN said on Thursday. It came as more than 800,000 people in and around the besieged city of Taiz remained cut off from deliveries of food and other life-saving aid. Shirin Yaseen, associate spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, told Arab News that the arbitrary detentions “directly affect millions of p

RIYADH: One person was injured after two ballistic missiles fired by the Houthi militia in Yemen toward Riyadh were shot down by Saudi Arabia’s air defenses on Thursday. The missiles were “intercepted and destroyed,” the Coalition to Restore Legitimacy in Yemen said on Thursday evening. Saudi Arabia’s civil defense said one person in the Saudi capital received minor injuries and a house and vehicle were damaged. The civil defense earlier issued warnings for Riyadh, Najran and Al-Kharj, before an

RIYADH: A Saudi medical team successfully completed an operation on Thursday to separate Tanzanian conjoined twins Laitience and Loveness, aged 2 years and 2 months, at King Abdullah Specialist Children’s Hospital in King Abdulaziz Medical City. The surgery took more than 14 hours and involved nine stages, Saudi Press Agency reported. The operation was part of the Saudi Conjoined Twins Program, led by Dr. Abdullah Al-Rabeeah, supervisor general of the Saudi aid agency KSrelief and head of the pr

US President Donald Trump said that Vice President JD Vance's outreach to Iran was about helping the country get medical supplies, after US media reported Vance had written to Tehran's top security official to revive peace talks.

Iran has received a letter from Vance but it has not responded to it yet, the country's semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday, while adding that Tehran wants the US to meet its conditions and "any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable."

Also on Thursday, the US military's senior officer overseeing the Middle East, Admiral Brad Cooper, met Trump at the White House to outline military options in Iran, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials and other people with direct knowledge of the meeting.

Reuters could not immediately independently verify this report.

Vance sent the letter to Iranian Security Council chief Mohsen Rezaei in a bid to revive peace negotiations, the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times reported on Wednesday, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter. Reuters could not immediately verify the reports.

The Wall Street Journal reported that Vance sent the letter at Trump's direction. When asked by reporters later on Wednesday if he directed Vance to reach out to Iran to restart peace negotiations, Trump said: "No."

"What that is is they need help with medical supplies and various things. He (Vance) asked me what I thought. I said, if you want to do that, that's okay. Basically, it's getting supplies in to help people that are not well," Trump told reporters.

Iran's mission to the United Nations in New York did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter and Trump's remark. Vance's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tehran's conditions

Iran's parliament speaker said on Thursday that Tehran's conditions had been repeatedly and clearly communicated to mediators and that progress can only be achieved if Iran's seven conditions are met.

The "carrot-and-stick approach has no effect on Iran," Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf added.

Conditions Iran says must be met before it will reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz shipping route include, among other demands, lifting the US blockade on Iranian ports, lifting US sanctions on Iranian oil exports and ending hostilities on all regional fronts.

The United States and Israel launched a war against Iran at the end of February. The US has also since imposed a naval blockade on Iran to starve it of oil export revenue and escalated efforts to economically isolate Iran.

Iran has long blamed US sanctions for hindering civilian access to medical supplies.

In an August letter to the UN Security Council, Iran accused the US of intentionally depriving civilians "of access to food, medicines, medical equipment, energy and other necessities, with grave consequences for their rights to life, health, food and a decent standard of living."

Qatari mediators presented Iran with a new draft deal on Sunday to end the war, but a senior Iranian official said Doha had only put forward unacceptable ideas that did not amount to an offer.

The war's impact on global energy costs has also weighed on support for Republican candidates and hurt Trump's approval ratings ahead of the US midterm elections that decide control of Congress. Trump's Republican Party holds a narrow majority in both chambers of Congress.

(Reuters)

RIYADH: Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, the Saudi minister of energy and minister of industry and mineral resources, has met in Riyadh Sheikh Jarrah Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, the minister of foreign affairs of Kuwait, the Saudi Press Agency reported on Thursday. The ministers reviewed bilateral relations and discussed ways to deepen cooperation in energy, industry and mineral resources, as well as joint efforts to strengthen energy security and ensure stable supplies. They also discussed the latest

DUBAI: After a tough run of four successive winless games, Al-Kholood were determined to give Al-Nassr a hard time on Matchday 12 of the 2026/27 Saudi Pro League. By halftime, Des Buckingham’s side had scored twice against the defending champions and looked far from losing. But, by the end, the man in search of a record 1,000 career goals ensured Al-Nassr emerged with the three points. Cristiano Ronaldo scored three times in 15 minutes to put Al-Nassr clear of the Al-Kholood pressure that had ke

NEW YORK CITY: The continuing detention by the Houthis of 71 members of UN staff renders humanitarian operations in rebel-controlled areas of Yemen “untenable,” the UN said on Thursday. It came as more than 800,000 people in and around the besieged city of Taiz remained cut off from deliveries of food and other life-saving aid. Shirin Yaseen, associate spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, told Arab News that the arbitrary detentions “directly affect millions of people

The UN political mission in Somalia has ended without an agreed replacement to mediate election disputes, sparking concerns among critics. The Somali government sees this as a milestone in managing its affairs independently.

When the 2026 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group convened in Bangkok from Oct. 12 to 18, most headlines focused on wars, supply chains, and sovereign debt. But buried in one document, the chair’s statement of the 54th meeting of the International Monetary and Financial Committee, issued on Oct. 17, was what may prove to be a defining moment in the evolving relationship among technology, money, and power. Before reading that statement, it helps to remembe

RIYADH: For a generation that has grown up with social media, smartphones and increasingly accessible artificial intelligence, cyberbullying is no longer confined to hurtful comments or anonymous messages. Generative AI has introduced new ways to manipulate images, create misleading content and amplify harassment, making it increasingly difficult for young people to distinguish between what is real and what has been digitally fabricated. For 15-year-old Saudi content creator, public speaker and