Israel’s military said Saturday it had intercepted a missile fired from Yemen, whose Houthi militants have launched attacks throughout the Gaza war, as well as a drone approaching “from the east.”
“Following the sirens that sounded recently in several areas in Israel, a missile that was launched from Yemen was intercepted” before “crossing into Israeli territory,” a military statement said.
In a later statement, it said a drone “that was on its way to Israeli territory from the east was intercepted” by the air force.
Yemen, large parts of which are under the control of the Iran-backed Houthis, is located to Israel’s southeast.
Other countries to Israel’s east include Iraq, where Tehran-aligned militants have claimed a number of attacks targeting Israel since the Gaza war began.
The Houthis have repeatedly launched missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023 in what they say is a show of solidarity with the Palestinians.
The militants have also targeted ships they accuse of having ties to Israel as they travel on the Red Sea — a vital waterway for global trade.
They had temporarily paused their attacks during a recent two-month ceasefire in Gaza.
According to Israel’s army radio, the missile intercepted overnight was the 22nd fired by the Houthis since they had resumed their attacks as Israel renewed its Gaza offensive on March 18.
Since March 15, Israel’s key ally the United States has stepped up its attacks on the Houthis, targeting militants positions in Yemen with near-daily air strikes.
Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen
https://arab.news/jmw2j
Israel says intercepted missile launched from Yemen

- The Houthis, who control large parts of Yemen, have repeatedly fired missiles and drones at Israel since the war in Gaza
European intelligence officials warn that a Russian sabotage campaign is escalating

- Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov previously said the Kremlin has never been shown “any proofs” supporting accusations Russia is running a sabotage campaign and said “certainly we definitely reject any allegations”
LONDON: It was almost midnight when a truck driver resting in his cab heard the crackling of flames at a warehouse in east London storing equipment for Ukraine. He grabbed a fire extinguisher and leapt out — but realized the blaze was too big and retreated.
When police arrived, they banged on the doors of a nearby apartment building, shouting at residents to evacuate. Parents grabbed children and ran into the street.
About 30 minutes after the fire started, Dylan Earl, a British man who admitted to organizing the arson, received a message from a man UK authorities say was his Russian handler.
“Excellent,” it read in Russian.
On Tuesday, a British court found three men guilty of arson in the March 2024 plot that prosecutors said was masterminded by Russia’s intelligence services — part of a campaign of disruption across Europe that Western officials blame on Moscow and its proxies. Two other men, including Earl, previously pleaded guilty to organizing the arson.
The fire is one of more than 70 incidents linked to Russia that The Associated Press has documented since Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Four European intelligence officials told AP they’re worried the risk of serious injury or even death is rising as untrained saboteurs set fires near homes and businesses, plant explosives or build bombs. AP’s tracking shows 12 incidents of arson or serious sabotage last year compared with two in 2023 and none in 2022.
“When you start a campaign, it creates its own dynamic and gets more and more violent over time,” said one of the officials, who holds a senior position at a European intelligence agency. The official, like two others, spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss security matters.
The Kremlin did not reply to a request for comment on the British case. Spokesperson Dmitry Peskov previously said the Kremlin has never been shown “any proofs” supporting accusations Russia is running a sabotage campaign and said “certainly we definitely reject any allegations.”
Recruiting young amateurs
Most of the saboteurs accused of working on behalf of Russia are foreign, including Ukrainians. They include young people with no criminal records who are frequently hired for a few thousand dollars, the intelligence officials said.
The senior official said Russia has been forced to rely increasingly on such amateurs since hundreds of Moscow’s spies were expelled from Western countries following an operation to poison former Russian intelligence officer Sergey Skripal in the UK in 2018. That led to the death of a British woman — and a major response from the West.
Russia “had to change the modus operandi, from using cadre officers to using proxies, making a more flexible, deniable system,” the official said.
Documents shared during the London warehouse trial offered a rare glimpse into how young men are recruited.
Among those were transcripts of messages between a man prosecutors said was a Russian intelligence operative and his recruit, Earl, who was active on Telegram channels associated with the Wagner group — a mercenary organization whose operations were taken over by Russia’s Defense Ministry in 2023.
Russian military intelligence — acting through Wagner — was likely behind the plot, said Kevin Riehle, a lecturer in Intelligence and National Security at Brunel University in London.
The recruiter — who used the handle Privet Bot — posted multiple times in a Telegram channel asking for people to join the battle against the West, Riehle told the court.
Once connected, the recruiter and Earl communicated predominantly in Russian with Earl using Google to translate, according to screenshots on his phone. Their messages ranged from the deadly serious to the almost comic.
The recruiter told Earl, 21, that he was “wise and clever despite being young,” and suggested he watch the television show “The Americans” — about Soviet KGB intelligence officers undercover in the US
“It will be your manual,” the recruiter wrote.
In one message, Earl boasted of — unproven — ties to the Irish Republican Army, to “murderers, kidnappers, soldiers, drug dealers, fraudsters, car thieves,” promising to be “the best spy you have ever seen.”
Potential for injuries
Earl and another man eventually recruited others who went to the warehouse the night of the fire. Earl never met the men, according to messages shared in court, and it’s unclear whether he ever visited the site himself.
Once at the warehouse, one of the men poured out a jerrycan of gasoline before igniting a rag and throwing it on the fuel. Another recorded the arson on his phone. It was also captured on CCTV.
The warehouse was the site of a mail order company that sent supplies to Ukraine, including StarLink devices that provide Internet by satellite and are used by the country’s military.
Around half the warehouse’s contents were destroyed in the fire, which burned just meters (yards) from Yevhen Harasym, the truck driver, and a short distance from an outbuilding in the yard of a home and the apartment block.
More than 60 firefighters responded.
“I started knocking on everyone’s doors screaming and shouting at the top of my lungs, ‘There’s a fire, there’s a fire, get out!’” Tessa Ribera Fernandez, who lives in the block with her 2-year-old son, told the court.
A campaign grows more dangerous
When Russia’s disruption campaign started following the Ukraine invasion, vandalism – including defacing monuments or graffiti — was more common, said the senior European intelligence official.
“Over the last year, it has developed to arson and assassination,” the official said.
Other incidents linked to Russia with the potential to cause serious injury or death include a plot to put explosive devices on cargo planes – the packages ignited on the ground – and plots to set fire to shopping centers in Poland, Latvia and Lithuania.
Lithuanian prosecutors said a Ukrainian teenager was part of a plan to plant a bomb in an IKEA store just outside the capital of Vilnius last year.
It sparked a massive fire in the early hours of the morning. No one was injured.
More fires and a kidnapping plot
Shortly after the fire in London, Earl and his co-conspirators discussed what they would do next, according to messages shared with the court.
They talked about burning down London businesses owned by Evgeny Chichvarkin — a Russian tycoon who delivered supplies to Ukraine.
Hedonism Wines and the restaurant Hide should be turned to “ashes,” Earl said.
In the messages, Earl vacillated between saying they didn’t “need” any casualties and that if they “wanted to hurt someone,” they could put nails in a homemade explosive device. He noted there were homes above the wine shop.
That reflects a phenomenon the senior intelligence official noted: Middlemen sometimes suggest ideas — each one a “little better” and more dangerous.
While Russia’s intelligence services try to keep “strict operational control” — giving targets, deciding on devices and demanding recruits record the sabotage — sometimes “control does not hold,” said Lotta Hakala, a senior analyst at the Finnish Security and Intelligence Service.
That appears to be what happened in London.
After the fire, the Russian recruiter told Earl he “rushed into burning these warehouses without my approval.”
Because of that, he said, “it will be impossible to pay for this arson.”
Still, the recruiter told Earl he wanted to target more businesses with links to Ukraine.
“You are our dagger in Europe and we will be sharpening you carefully,” the recruiter wrote. “Then we will start using you in serious battles.”
250,000 Pakistanis register for Hajj 2026 as deadline ends today

- Applicants can choose between government and private Hajj schemes after registering
- Registration is mandatory for all intending pilgrims, though no fee is required at this stage
ISLAMABAD: Some 250,000 Pakistanis have signed up to perform Hajj in 2026 as the deadline for mandatory registration ends today, Wednesday, state media reported.
Last month, the Ministry of Religious Affairs announced the launch of the Hajj registration process, which would remain open until July 9. After the deadline, applicants will be able to choose between the government and private Hajj schemes.
Intending pilgrims can register through 15 designated banks, and only those who complete the process will be eligible to perform Hajj next year. No fee is required at the registration stage.
“With just one day remaining for the mandatory registration of Hajj 2026, as many as 250,000 Pakistanis have completed the process,” the Associated Press of Pakistan said in a report on Tuesday.
“It is noteworthy to mention that Wednesday, July 9, is the final date for intending pilgrims to register for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage.”
People may also submit their applications online, it said, adding that the expenses and other terms and conditions of Hajj 2026 will be issued separately as per the Hajj policy.
Registration is mandatory for pilgrims who were left out of the private scheme this year, as well as for Pakistanis residing abroad.
Pakistan had received a quota of 179,210 pilgrims from Saudi Arabia for Hajj 2025, evenly divided between the government and private Hajj operators.
However, a major portion of the private quota remained unutilized due to delays by companies in meeting payment and registration deadlines, while the government filled its full allocation of over 88,000 pilgrims.
Private operators blamed the situation on technical glitches such as payment issues and communication breakdowns.
Pakistan actress Humaira Asghar Ali found dead at Karachi home — police

- Ali’s body was discovered when a court bailiff arrived at her rented flat to get it vacated
- The actress appeared on ARY’s reality TV show ‘Tamasha’ as well as in a 2015 film ‘Jalaibee’
KARACHI: Humaira Asghar Ali, a Pakistani actor and model, was found dead at an apartment in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, police said late Tuesday.
Ali’s body was discovered when a court bailiff arrived at the rented apartment to get it vacated on court orders on a complaint filed by the landlord, according to Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Mehroz Ali.
“The landlord had filed a court case to have the premises vacated. Today, when the bailiff arrived with a court-issued break-and-enter order and forced open the door, the woman’s body was found inside,” SSP Ali told Arab News.
“The woman has been identified as Humaira Asghar Ali who was a TV actress. It has been learned that she was originally from Lahore.”
The deceased actor was best known for her appearances on ARY’s reality TV show ‘Tamasha’ as well as a 2015 action thriller, ‘Jalaibee.’
Following post-mortem, Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed said, the deceased’s body was in a “very advanced stage of decomposition,” which suggested that she died around a month ago.
“We have collected all relevant samples for analysis. Cause of death reserved,” Syed said.
Ali’s death comes just weeks after renowned actress Ayesha Khan was found dead in her apartment in Karachi’s Gulshan-e-Iqbal area, according to police.
Her neighbors reported a foul smell emitting out of her apartment that led to the discovery of the 84-year-old’s body.
FBI launches probes into former FBI director, ex-CIA director, Fox News reports

- A CIA review released last week found flaws in the production of a US intelligence assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to sway the 2016 US presidential vote to Trump, but it did not contest that conclusion
WASHINGTON: The FBI launched criminal probes into former CIA Director John Brennan and former FBI director James Comey, Fox News Digital reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
These probes are over alleged wrongdoing related to past government investigations about claims of Russian interference in the 2016 US elections in which President Donald Trump defeated former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the news report said.
The FBI, the CIA and the Justice Department had no immediate comment. Reuters has not independently verified the probes.
The scope of the criminal investigations into Brennan and Comey was unclear, the report added.
A criminal investigation does not necessarily result in charges.
Fox said its sources were from the Justice Department but did not specify the number of sources.
A CIA review released last week found flaws in the production of a US intelligence assessment that Russian President Vladimir Putin sought to sway the 2016 US presidential vote to Trump, but it did not contest that conclusion.
Macron says France and Britain will ‘save Europe’ as he starts a state visit to the UK

- Macron’s three-day trip, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit
LONDON: French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday urged Britain to stick close to its neighbors despite its exit from the European Union, saying France and the UK will “save Europe” by standing for democracy, law and international order in a dangerous world.
On a state visit that mixed royal pageantry with tough political talks on Ukraine and migration, Macron said Europe must strengthen its economy and defenses and reduce its dependence “on both the US and China.”
Macron’s three-day trip, at the invitation of King Charles III, is the first state visit to the UK by a European Union head of state since Brexit, and a symbol of the UK government’s desire to reset relations with the bloc after Britain acrimoniously left the EU in 2020.
Macron addressed members of both houses of Britain’s Parliament packed into the building’s ornate Royal Gallery. He said the two countries represent “a world order based on law, justice and respect for territorial integrity, an order that is today being attacked on a daily basis.”
“The United Kingdom and France must once again show the world that our alliance can make all the difference,” Macron said, adding that “we will save Europe by our example and our solidarity.”
He said that even though Britain has left the EU, “the United Kingdom cannot stay on the sidelines. Because defense and security, competitiveness, democracy — the very core of our identity — are connected across Europe as a continent.”
Pomp and politics
The French president and his wife, Brigitte Macron, were treated to the full force of British ceremonial charm, a far cry from the chilly relations of 2022, when then-Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said that the “jury is out” on whether Macron was a friend or a foe.
The Macrons were greeted at London’s RAF Northolt air base by Prince William and his wife Catherine — wearing a dress by French design house Christian Dior — before being met by King Charles and Queen Camilla in Windsor, west of London. They were driven to the almost 1,000-year-old royal residence of Windsor Castle in horse-drawn carriages, through streets bedecked in Union Jacks and French tricolor flags.
The king and queen hosted a banquet for the Macrons at Windsor Castle on Tuesday evening, with 160 guests including politicians, diplomats and celebrities such as Mick Jagger and Elton John. They were served summer vegetables, chicken with asparagus and iced blackcurrant parfait, along with Champagne and a gin-infused cocktail called L’entente, after the “entente cordiale” struck between Britain and France in 1904.
As monarch, Charles is expected to be above politics, but he spoke about the support Britain and France give Ukraine “in defense of our shared values,” noted the challenge of “irregular migration across the English Channel” and said the two countries face “complex threats, emanating from multiple directions.
“As friends and as allies, we face them together,” Charles said.
New tactics to stop boats
Politics will take center stage on Wednesday, when Macron sits down for talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer on migration, defense and investment — including a 12.5 percent stake by French energy firm EDF in a new nuclear power plant planned for eastern England.
Macron also came bearing a tantalizing cultural gift: an agreement to send the Bayeux Tapestry to Britain for the first time in more than 900 years. The 70-meter (230-foot) tapestry showing the Norman conquest of England in 1066 will go on display at the British Museum from September 2026 to July 2027.
At talks Wednesday and a UK-France summit on Thursday, Macron and Starmer will discuss ways to stop migrants from crossing the English Channel in small boats and try to advance plans for a post-ceasefire security force for Ukraine, despite apparent US indifference to the idea and Russia’s refusal to halt the onslaught on its neighbor.
Britain receives fewer asylum-seekers than Mediterranean European countries, but thousands of migrants each year use northern France as a launching point to reach the UK, either by stowing away in trucks or — after a clampdown on that route — in small boats across one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.
The UK has struck a series of deals with France over the years to increase patrols of beaches and share intelligence in an attempt to disrupt the smuggling gangs.
It has all had only a limited impact. About 37,000 people were detected crossing the English Channel in small boats in 2024, and more than 20,000 people made the crossing in the first six months of 2025, up by about 50 percent from the same period last year. Dozens of people have died trying to cross.
British officials have been pushing for French police to intervene more forcefully to stop the boats, and welcomed the sight of officers slashing rubber dinghies with knives in recent days.
France is also considering a UK proposal for a “one-in, one-out” deal that would see France take back some migrants who reached Britain, in return for the UK accepting some of those in France.
Macron said the leaders would try “to fix today what is a burden for our two countries.”
“France and the UK have a shared responsibility to address irregular migration with humanity, solidarity and fairness,” he said.
Keeping Ukraine in focus
Starmer and Macron have worked closely together to rally support for Ukraine, though they have taken contrasting approaches to US President Donald Trump, with Macron more willing to challenge the American president than the emollient Starmer.
Britain and France have led efforts to form an international peacekeeping force for Ukraine to reinforce a future ceasefire with European troops and equipment and US security guarantees.
Trump has shown little enthusiasm for the idea, however, and a ceasefire remains elusive. British officials say the “coalition of the willing” idea is alive and well, with Macron and Starmer due to join an international videoconference on Thursday to discuss planning for the force.
Macron said the coalition was a sign that “Europeans will never abandon Ukraine – never.”