Gulf leaders support Palestine – but many would not mind seeing Israel challenge Iran

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The escalating Middle East conflict could create a dangerous vacuum – or an opportunity – for several states

The coincidental timing of an emergency meeting of Gulf foreign ministers in Doha with a visit to the same city by the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, for talks with Qatar’s emir raises questions about how the Gulf states will react if Israel pushes ahead with its plan to use its recent military success not just to weaken Iran, but reorder the Middle East.

This Sunni coalition of six Gulf monarchs is not naturally well disposed to Iran or its Shia proxies, and only in 2016 labelled Hezbollah as a terrorist organisation. But they also oppose further Israeli escalation, and believe it is ultimately only Washington that has the means to restrain the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu.

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Six migrants killed after Mexico soldiers open fire – BBC.com

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  1. Six migrants killed after Mexico soldiers open fire  BBC.com
  2. 6 migrants shot dead near Guatemalan border when Mexican army troops open fire  ABC News
  3. Mexico: Soldiers open fire on migrant truck, killing 6  DW (English)
  4. Mexican soldiers kill six after opening fire on truck carrying migrants  Al Jazeera English
  5. Six migrants die after Mexican soldiers fire on pick-up truck  Reuters Canada
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Terror royalty: Nasrallah’s son-in-law killed in airstrike on Damascus, days after brother – report – The Jerusalem Post

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  1. Terror royalty: Nasrallah's son-in-law killed in airstrike on Damascus, days after brother - report  The Jerusalem Post
  2. IRGC consultant dies from injuries in alleged Israel strike on Damascus this week -- Iranian media  The Times of Israel
  3. Nasrallah's Son-in-law Killed In Israeli Raid In Damascus: NGO  Barron's
  4. Nasrallah's son-in-law killed in Damascus airstrike, report says  Ynetnews
  5. Israel strike on Syria capital kills three, war monitor says  VOA Asia
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Israeli strikes kill six in central Beirut as blasts heard across Lebanon’s capital

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Strike on medical centre is the second attack on the centre of Lebanon’s capital this week and comes after the IDF suffered their deadliest day against Hezbollah since 8 October

Israeli strikes on a central Beirut medical centre have killed at least six people, after Israel’s military suffered its deadliest day on the Lebanese front in a year of clashes with Iran-backed Hezbollah.

Residents in Beirut heard a missile flying above the city before hearing the sound of the explosion. Videos showed the floor of an apartment building burning. Residents living in nearby areas began to flee, driving away quickly in scooters and cars.

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The long-feared Middle East war is here. This is how Israel could now hit back at Iran – The Conversation

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  1. The long-feared Middle East war is here. This is how Israel could now hit back at Iran  The Conversation
  2. Iran Exposed to Israeli Counterattack After Blows Against Its Allies  The Wall Street Journal
  3. Do Israel and Iran really want to go to war? – podcast  The Guardian
  4. A Wider War in the Middle East, From Hamas to Hezbollah and Now Iran  The New York Times
  5. The bloodshed in the Middle East is fast expanding  The Economist
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Iran’s Khamenei warned Nasrallah to flee Lebanon days before he was killed by Israel – The Times of Israel

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  1. Iran’s Khamenei warned Nasrallah to flee Lebanon days before he was killed by Israel  The Times of Israel
  2. Fear, jubilation, jokes: Iranians react after missile attack on Israel  Al Jazeera English
  3. What will Nasrallah’s death mean for the Middle East?  Brookings Institution
  4. After the decapitation of Hizbullah, Iran could race for a nuclear bomb  The Economist
  5. Is Iran's 'axis of resistance' collapsing under Israeli attacks?  NBC News
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Melania Trump’s abortion views baffle both sides: ‘Hard to follow the logic’

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In her memoir, former first lady has voiced support for the procedure, the right to which was overturned by a court of her husband’s justices

The revelation on Wednesday evening that Melania Trump’s forthcoming memoir includes a full-throated defense of abortion rights, an issue her husband Donald Trump has repeatedly flip-flopped on during his presidential campaign, left people on both sides of the issue less than impressed.

“Restricting a woman’s right to choose whether to terminate an unwanted pregnancy is the same as denying her control over her own body,” Melania Trump wrote in her memoir. “I have carried this belief with me throughout my entire adult life.”

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Bird flu outbreak kills dozens of tigers in Vietnam zoos

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The H5N1 virus killed 47 tigers, three lions and a panther at the My Quynh safari park and the Vuon Xoai zoo, according to state media

Forty-seven tigers, three lions and a panther have died in zoos in south Vietnam due to the H5N1 bird flu virus, state media reported.

The deaths occurred in August and September at the private My Quynh safari park in Long An province and the Vuon Xoai zoo in Dong Nai, near the capital Ho Chi Minh City, the official Vietnam News Agency (VNA) reported on Wednesday.

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Nibi the beaver sees dam of unwavering support as rescuers try to stop her release into wild

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Massachusetts court to decide whether internet-famous ‘diva’ beaver will stay with rescuers or be released into wild

Whether a two-year-old beaver named Nibi gets to stay with the rescuers she has known since she was a baby or must be released into the wild as winter approaches in Massachusetts has ended up in court – and caused such an uproar that even the governor has weighed in.

“To literally see people from around the world come together to protect this beaver is one of the most amazing things I have ever seen in my life,” said Adam Teper, an attorney representing Nibi’s rescuers.

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Russia captures key eastern Ukrainian town, exposing Kyiv’s critical vulnerabilities – CNN

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  1. Russia captures key eastern Ukrainian town, exposing Kyiv’s critical vulnerabilities  CNN
  2. Russia advances as war in Ukraine sees Putin's forces adopt new tactics amid uncertainty over U.S. support  CBS News
  3. Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment, October 1, 2024  Institute for the Study of War
  4. Ukraine says its forces have withdrawn from defensive bastion of Vuhledar  The Guardian
  5. Ukraine Loses an Eastern Stronghold as Russia Grinds Forward  The Wall Street Journal
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Full Ta-Nehisi Coates interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes – MSNBC

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  1. Full Ta-Nehisi Coates interview with MSNBC’s Chris Hayes  MSNBC
  2. Ta-Nehisi Coates explores how oppression can breed oppression in 'The Message'  NPR
  3. Ta-Nehisi Coates and Tony Dokoupil sharpen morning TV with Israel debate  The Washington Post
  4. Author Ta-Nehisi Coates talks new book "The Message"  CBS News
  5. The Appalling Attack on Ta-Nehisi Coates Is a Massive Media Failing  The New Republic
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North Korean defector crashes stolen bus in failed bid to return home

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Defectors seeking to cross back into North Korea from the South are rare, though many struggle to adapt to life in their democratic, capitalist neighbour

A North Korean defector living in South Korea has been detained after ramming a stolen bus into a barricade on a bridge near the heavily militarised border, in a failed attempt to return to his isolated homeland.

The man – who fled to the South in 2011 – ignored warnings from soldiers to stop while attempting on Tuesday to drive through the Tongil Bridge in Paju, just south of the heavily fortified demilitarised zone (DMZ) between the two Koreas, according to media reports citing South Korean provincial police.

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