Bilig's Daily Brief: Turkiye and Pakistan to send forces to Saudi Arabia

Welcome to your Tuesday brief from Bilig. The war in Yemen widened on Monday as Turkiye and Pakistan agreed to deploy forces to Saudi Arabia under a three-nation defence pact, while Yemeni government troops said they had retaken the port of Mocha. Elsewhere, a grain ship sank off Romania, Wall Street closed near record highs and separatists won power in Quebec.

Turkiye and Pakistan to deploy forces to Saudi Arabia

Turrkiye and Pakistan agreed on Monday to send military forces to Saudi Arabia after Houthi attacks on the kingdom, the three countries said after an emergency meeting in Riyadh. The two will "provide military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment", their joint statement said. It gave no numbers. The Mecca Joint Defence Agreement, signed on 7 August, treats an attack on one member as an attack on all. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said they also discussed a peaceful resolution, Reuters reported.

Yemen says it retook Mocha; Houthis strike back

Yemen's internationally recognised government said on Monday its forces had retaken the Red Sea port of Mocha, captured by the Houthi movement last month, Reuters reported. A Houthi official denied this, Al Jazeera reported. Saudi-led coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki said 100 fighter jets were supporting the offensive. Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said the group struck Riyadh's King Khalid International Airport and an Aramco refinery in Rabigh. Saudi Arabia did not confirm this.

Trump remark on California cities draws condemnation

US President Donald Trump said at a campaign rally in Grand Island, Nebraska, on Monday that an attack on a US city would be a "small price to pay" for keeping the country safe. "Let them take out Los Angeles, let them take out San Diego," he said, according to CBS News. California Governor Gavin Newsom called Trump "deranged and dangerous". Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass said: "The role of a president is to protect the country, not to actively threaten it."

Iran's president calls US talks "meaningless"

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that negotiations with the United States were "meaningless", state news agency IRNA reported. "So far, they have attacked us three times after talks, and this shows that they are not seeking dialogue; rather, their goal is to overthrow the Islamic Republic of Iran," he told visiting Armenian Foreign Minister Ararat Mirzoyan. Talks between Tehran and Washington have been stalled since June.

Grain ship sinks off Romania, two dead

A Turkish-owned cargo ship carrying Ukrainian corn caught fire and sank in Romania's exclusive economic zone in the Black Sea on Monday, killing two people. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said two Russian drones had struck the Royad Mammadov in "neutral waters". Romania's interior ministry said 11 crew were rescued. It gave no cause for the fire. Russia did not comment. The vessel had left the Ukrainian port of Izmail for Ravenna in Italy.

Nasdaq hits record as Treasury yields climb

The Nasdaq Composite closed at a record high on Monday, up 1.1% at 27,477.31. The S&P 500 rose 0.7% to about 7,774, the Associated Press reported. The 10-year US Treasury yield rose to about 5.31%. The euro touched $1.116, its lowest since May 2025, on concern over French public debt, Reuters reported. In Asia on Tuesday, Japan's Nikkei gained 1.1% and Brent crude slipped 0.8% to $99.48 a barrel.

US Supreme Court opens term with climate case

The US Supreme Court opened its new term on Monday with arguments on whether local governments can sue oil companies in state courts over climate damage. Boulder County in Colorado is seeking damages from Suncor Energy and Exxon Mobil. The companies, backed by the Trump administration, say federal law bars such claims. Several conservative justices sounded sceptical, US media reported. Justice Samuel Alito has recused himself, which could leave the court tied 4-4. A ruling is expected by late June.

French teenager loses hand as school protests grow

A 15-year-old student lost a hand on Monday after picking up a police grenade during clashes in Lens, northern France, as school protests entered a third week. Francois-Xavier Lauch, prefect of the Pas-de-Calais department, said 200 to 250 protesters had been throwing objects at officers. About 5,000 people, mostly teenagers, have been arrested and 24 schools burned or ransacked, officials said. Students called nationwide demonstrations for Tuesday.

Separatist Parti Quebecois wins Quebec election

The Parti Quebecois, which wants Quebec to leave Canada, won Monday's provincial election but fell short of a majority. It took 59 of 127 seats, five short of the 64 needed, with about 28% of the vote, preliminary results showed. The Liberals won 40 seats. The governing Coalition Avenir Quebec lost every seat. Parti Quebecois leader Paul St-Pierre Plamondon has pledged an independence referendum in his first term, but not before US President Donald Trump leaves office in 2029.

Optogenetics pioneers win Nobel medicine prize

Karl Deisseroth of the United States and Peter Hegemann and Georg Nagel of Germany won the 2026 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine on Monday for developing optogenetics, a method that uses light to switch nerve cells on and off. "Optogenetics has fundamentally altered our understanding of the brain," the Nobel Assembly said. They share 12 million Swedish crowns ($1.2 million).

OpenAI to test visual adverts in ChatGPT

OpenAI said on Monday it would begin testing visual advertisements that appear while users of its ChatGPT chatbot generate images. The test starts later this month in the United States. "Ads will be clearly labeled, and remain separate from the image being created," the company said. It said advertising does not influence ChatGPT's answers. OpenAI said ChatGPT reaches 1.2 billion people a week.

US monitors suspected plague death in Siberia

The US State Department said on Monday it was monitoring reports of a fatal case of suspected pneumonic plague in Russia's Irkutsk region. A 28-year-old worker at an anti-plague research institute in Shelekhov died on 2 October. Regional governor Igor Kobzev said tests found no microorganisms linked to her work. About 200 contacts are under observation. The World Health Organization said no cause of death had been confirmed and the risk to the public appeared low.