Sunday’s vote in the state of Saxony-Anhalt could produce the strongest showing in the history of the Alternative for Germany party, and potentially a far-right government in the statehouse.
SANAA: A major offensive by Yemen’s Houthis to seize control of the gateway to the Red Sea has left more than 120 people dead, sources told AFP Friday, the country’s deadliest clashes in years.
Fighting erupted on Thursday, after the Iran-backed Houthis launched a ground assault along with rocket and drone attacks near coastal areas, vying for control of the narrow Bab al-Mandab strait at the Red Sea’s southern entrance.
Yemen, embroiled in more than a decade of civil conflict, in July became the latest country to be drawn into the Middle East war as the Houthis upended a 2022 truce with the Saudi-backed government.
Since then, the Houthis have imposed a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and repeatedly attacked its ships in the Red Sea — a vital alternative route for oil exports after Iran all but halted Gulf shipments by blockading the Strait of Hormuz.
The rebels are now trying to tighten their hold over the Red Sea, one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes, which they have disrupted with attacks on passing vessels since the Gaza war broke out in 2023.
The Houthi offensive aims to cut off the government-held port city of Mokha, under fire for weeks, and advance towards areas bordering the Bab al-Mandab, military sources told AFP.
The rebels have seized elevated sites overlooking government positions near the Red Sea and the city of Taiz further inland, a military source and a Taiz official told AFP, requesting anonymity.
The Houthis could target ships from these elevated positions, they said.
The toll rose to 129 on Friday, according to an AFP tally compiled from several sources, up from an earlier count of 81.
A Yemeni military official speaking on condition of anonymity told AFP that 66 of his men had been killed, while medical and military sources close to the Houthis said at least 62 militants had died.
Another medical source said a civilian had also been killed.
Although the Houthis do not control areas bordering Bab al-Mandab, they hold the key port city of Hodeida north of Mokha.
“They are going for Bab al-Mandab,” said Mohammed al-Basha, of the US-based risk advisory Basha Report.
The Houthis want to control the hills overlooking Bab al-Mandab and Mokha before attacking the coast, a Yemeni official in Aden, the government’s base since it was ousted from the rebel-held capital, Sanaa, in 2014.
The government has sent reinforcements to Taiz from Aden on Saudi orders, he said.
“The Houthis feel that if they capture Bab al-Mandab or Mokha port they will be in a better position of power to negotiate with the government and the Saudis,” Basha added.
With Iran’s closure of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab chokepoint has gained increased importance as a transit route for oil from Saudi Arabia, the world’s biggest exporter of crude.
The narrow waterway connects the Red Sea — and, via the Suez Canal, the Mediterranean — to the Indian Ocean.
In July, a fragile truce between the Houthis and the government fell apart after the rebels welcomed an Iranian plane to Sanaa, setting off a spate of attacks.
They later announced a maritime blockade of Saudi Arabia and began hitting its ships and territory.
One of two workers rescued from a hydroelectric plant said he had recited prayers over and over while trapped deep underground. “How many days has it been?” he asked.
LAHORE – Pakistan secured a bronze medal in the 8×8 tug-of-war competition at the 6th World Nomad Games 2026 after defeating Iran in the bronze-medal contest, marking an impressive performance by the national team, said Nawab Furqan Khan. He said the Pakistani players demonstrated exceptional strength, discipline, determination and teamwork throughout the various stages of the event. Their victory over India was particularly significant, reflecting the team’s unity and fighting spirit. Captain Yasir Abbas Awan led the team with confidence, keeping the players united and motivating them at every stage, while coach Malik Imdad Hussain provided effective strategies and guidance throughout the competition. Furqan said the bronze medal was the result of the players’ hard work, Awan’s leadership and Hussain’s coaching, adding that the team had brought pride to Pakistan by raising the national flag at the international event.
The ruling arrived before the Supreme Court could decide whether to intervene but appeared certain to set off yet another round of appeals.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump said Friday that he was sending envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff to Moscow and Kyiv with a plan to end the four-year-old Ukraine war.
It will be the first time that Trump’s son-in-law Kushner and businessman friend Witkoff have visited war-torn Kyiv since Trump returned to office last year with a vow to solve the conflict.
Both US envoys have previously visited Moscow, leading to accusations that they have taken Russia’s side in negotiations.
“They’re bringing with them a proposal to end the war,” Trump told reporters when asked about the trip.
Trump would not say whether the plan involved Ukraine ceding territory as he has previously suggested but added: “We have an idea for peace.”
“I sent Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, two great negotiators. They’ve done a great job, and we sent them over to see whether or not we can get something done. And there may be a good chance that we’ll do it,” he said.
Also read: At least 37 dead after Russian strike on depot near Kyiv
The US leader blamed the war that began with Russia invading Ukraine in February 2022 on a “personality problem” between Russian President Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
Zelensky earlier said he had proposed observing a ceasefire with Russia while the US envoys visit Moscow and Kyiv.
“There will be no airstrikes on our part, and Russia must reciprocally ensure a ceasefire – without its own airstrikes – for the duration needed to conduct these talks,” Zelensky said in his evening address.
A senior Ukrainian official told AFP the two envoys would visit Kyiv on Sunday. The Kremlin declined to comment on the matter.
A report in the US news outlet Axios said Kushner and Witkoff would travel on Friday, meet Putin at the Kremlin on Saturday, and then Zelensky in Kyiv on Sunday.
The two men have also been involved in negotiations for ceasefires in Gaza and Iran.
Trump meanwhile played down Germany’s move earlier this week to blame Russia for an attempted drone attack on an airport.
“I speak to him. I know him very well. Putin’s not looking to attack NATO territory,” Trump said in the Oval Office when an AFP reporter asked him about the German allegation.
Trump has long been skeptical about maintaining support for Ukraine and had a televised row with Zelensky in the Oval Office in February 2025. With Putin, he has veered between friendliness and frustration.
The US leader said on Thursday that he would ask Europeans to repay the American aid provided to Ukraine under the administration of his predecessor Joe Biden.
Trump has long demanded that Europeans shoulder more of the cost of Western support for Ukraine.
An Australian engineer advising the effort described how two men were freed after nine days trapped in a tunnel at the Upper Trishuli 3A hydropower plant.
Empowered by an international court order, Norway captured the vessel as part of a global effort to seize Russian assets. The Russians called it “piracy.”
Advisers to the Reform U.K. leader Nigel Farage were captured on film apparently arranging contributions from a man posing as a foreign donor.
The attack came as the American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were said to be planning imminent visits to Kyiv and to Moscow.
