Israeli air strikes have hit the Yemeni capital of Sanaa, a Houthi-affiliated media outlet reports.
“Israeli aggression on the capital Sanaa,” Al Masirah television posted on Telegram on Wednesday.
Anees al-Asbahi, a spokesman for Yemen’s Ministry of Health, and Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree confirmed Wednesday’s strikes. There was no immediate comment from Israel.
Sanaa residents told the Reuters news agency the attack was on a hideout between two mountains that is used as a command and control headquarters. The extent of any damage was not immediately clear.
Meanwhile, the Yemen Oil and Gas Corporation said Israeli jets targeted a medical station on al-Sitteen Street in Sanaa.
Israel has been bombarding Gaza, Lebanon and Syria as well as carrying out daily attacks in the occupied West Bank.
Two radical Algerian writers – a novelist who championed independence and a playwright whose work cost him his life.
How two eminent figures in Algerian literature used the written word to contribute to their country’s struggle for independence, justice, dignity, and national identity.
Mohamed Dib (1920-2003) was one of Algeria’s most celebrated novelists who wrote in French to reclaim his people’s literary voice. His novels exposed poverty and injustice under French colonial rule and embraced people’s aspirations for freedom. He was exiled from Algeria by the French authorities in 1959, and though he spent the rest of his life in Paris, Dib always carried his homeland in his heart and his work.
US President Donald Trump has added his voice to the chorus of condemnation over Israel’s attack on Hamas’s political office in the Qatari capital Doha.
Kitty O’Brien, a 25-year-old Irish pro-Palestine protester who was recently punched and assaulted by German police in Berlin, fears their injuries may be life-altering.
On August 28, they joined a rally in what they thought was “really a normal Thursday for people protesting in Berlin”, said O’Brien, who uses they/them pronouns.
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But as footage of the incident shows, the demonstration got heated.
O’Brien belongs to the Irish Bloc Berlin, a group of Irish expatriates who regularly attend rallies in support of Palestine in the German capital.
“As I arrived, it was just basically twice as many police officers as protesters,” they told Al Jazeera. That was usual, O’Brien said. “There was really not a lot of us.”
During a shouting match in which O’Brien participated, an officer punched them several times. When they were removed from the crowd, blood pouring from their nose, the same officer broke their arm, O’Brien said. “I just heard a loud crunching and kind of knew that something wasn’t right.”
O’Brien’s job as a costume designer relies on their handwork. Doctors have assessed that their right hand may have permanent radial nerve damage.
“I’m lucky, really lucky to have a job in what I love doing,” they said. “I’m not sure if or when I will regain feeling in my hand.”
Reflecting on the protest in Berlin’s Mitte district, which was held without prior authorisation to condemn Israel’s killing of journalists in Gaza, O’Brien said the police “were telling us to get back and to leave but also not really letting us leave, and that’s a classic move because then they use that as an excuse to basically brutalise you”.
Micheal Martin, Ireland’s prime minister, condemned the “unacceptable” assault on O’Brien.
Ninety-four people were detained and 96 investigations were launched, including on O’Brien, who is accused of insulting and resisting law officers. The police said they are also investigating the incident to gauge whether the officer accused of violence against O’Brien “acted proportionately”.
Throughout Israel’s genocidal war against Palestinians in Gaza, Germany, one of Israel’s strongest European allies, has backed the onslaught through its military and political support.
According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany accounted for 30 percent of Israel’s imports of major arms from 2019 to 2023. It continued to send weapons to Israel that could be used in its war on Gaza until early August when Berlin announced a halt to exports as the global outcry against the war got louder.
Germany’s police units are often accused of brutality against pro-Palestinian protesters. In April, Germany tried to deport a group of Western activists over their alleged behaviour at demonstrations, which campaigners said was an attempt to silence pro-Palestinian voices.
Police brutality is “definitely specific to protests that are for Palestinian liberation”, O’Brien said. “The large majority of the violence is obviously targeted at Palestinian and Arab and other brown and Black comrades who are on the streets with us and myself and the Irish bloc. We have felt the brutality, but it’s not because we’re white. It’s because we are standing beside brown people.”
Despite their injuries, O’Brien plans to keep protesting.
“There’s nothing that’s not worth risking to stop this genocide,” they said.
O’Brien fears their injuries may be life-changing [Ilkin Eskipehlivan/Anadolu]
The latest round of qualifiers for the FIFA 2026 World Cup has come to a close, with a clearer picture of who can make it to the global showpiece event next year.
Morocco, who became the first African team to reach the semifinals of a World Cup in 2022, can no longer be caught for top spot in Group E of their Confederation of African Football (CAF) qualifiers. Tunisia have also made it through as table toppers in Group H, the pair being the first two African sides to confirm their progress for next year’s competition.
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South Africa are on the verge of qualifying, following their 1-1 draw with Nigeria, while the Super Eagles now need to topple Benin, whom they play in their final group game.
The European qualifiers have seen some of the top-tier teams just beginning their four-team groups, while England and Norway are well-positioned in their five-team groups.
Below is the breakdown of how the qualifying process stands around the globe:
Which teams are in the FIFA World Cup 2026?
After the latest round of qualifying matches, here is a breakdown of the confirmed contenders from each of the six regions:
Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan, South Korea, and Uzbekistan.
South America: Argentina, Brazil, Ecuador, Uruguay, Paraguay, and Colombia.
Africa: Morocco and Tunisia.
Europe: None of the 54 European teams vying for 16 qualification spots have confirmed their berths as their first-round matches will run until November 18.
North, Central America and the Caribbean: Canada, Mexico and USA. With the World Cup host nations taking three spots, only three are left up for grabs and will be decided on November 18.
Oceania: New Zealand. With one spot up for grabs and 11 nations fighting for it, New Zealand emerged victorious, taking the spot by winning the third-round playoff final against New Caledonia on March 24.
South Africa’s Mohau Nkota celebrates after Nigeria’s William Troost-Ekong scored an own goal in the teams’ latest CAF qualifier [File: Siphiwe Sibeko/Reuters]
Which major teams have been eliminated from qualification for the FIFA World Cup 2026?
Peru are the latest big name to be eliminated from the qualification process, following on from Chile, who were third-place finishers in 1962, already missing out in the South America qualifiers. Venezuela have also been eliminated.
While China are not considered among the football powerhouses in Asia, their focus on building the game at home and seeing themselves in another World Cup, following their 2002 appearance, was crushed on June 5.
Which teams can still qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026?
Apart from the seven African and 16 European spots still up for grabs, the others that are still in the race for a World Cup spot are:
Asia: Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, Iraq, and Oman are vying for the two direct qualification slots for the World Cup and one intercontinental playoffs spot. The next stage of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) qualifiers begins on October 8.
South America: Bolivia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs, having missed out on one of the six automatic qualifying positions.
North, Central America and Caribbean: Honduras, Bermuda, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, Curacao, Haiti, Panama, Nicaragua, Jamaica, Guatemala, Suriname and El Salvador have all advanced to the third round, from where three teams will directly qualify for the World Cup. The three second-placed teams from each group will then fight for the intercontinental playoffs spot.
Oceania: New Caledonia have qualified for the intercontinental playoffs.
When will all the teams for the FIFA World Cup 2026 be confirmed?
As late as March 31, 2026. With the European qualification rounds stretching to March and the intercontinental playoff final also scheduled for the same month, we will not know our final 48 teams for the World Cup until less than three months before the tournament.
When and where is the draw for the FIFA World Cup 2026?
US President Donald Trump confirmed, in August, that the draw for the World Cup will take place on December 5 at the Kennedy Center in Washington, and didn’t rule out that he himself might oversee the event.
“It’s the biggest, probably the biggest event in sports, I guess,” said Trump, who made the announcement in an Oval Office event where he was joined by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and Vice President JD Vance.
When is the FIFA World Cup 2026 scheduled?
The tournament begins in Mexico City on June 11 and ends with the final in New Jersey on July 19.
Argentina’s Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after receiving the Golden Ball award as he celebrates the 2022 World Cup victory in Qatar [File: Kai Pfaffenbach/Reuters]
Soldiers have been patrolling the streets of Nepal’s capital to enforce a curfew after days of mass protests in which at least 19 people were killed and parliament was set on fire.
