Oct 12, 2026
5 min read
In today's Bilig Daily Brief, a projectile struck Riyadh's main airport for a second day running, and Iran called Washington's reply on reopening the Strait of Hormuz "insufficient". US President Donald Trump announced an "energy ceasefire" between Russia and Ukraine that neither side confirmed. South Korean stocks slumped and North Korea fired ballistic missiles.
Projectile hits Riyadh airport for second day
A projectile struck King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh on Sunday evening, killing a Pakistani resident and injuring 11 people, Saudi Arabia's General Authority of Civil Aviation said. It hit near terminals 3 and 4 and started a fire, Reuters reported. India's embassy said one of its citizens had died of wounds from Saturday's attack, raising that toll to 13. Saudi authorities also said King Fahd International Airport in Dammam was targeted. Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey jointly called the attacks a "blatant violation of international law".
Iran calls US reply on Hormuz "insufficient"
Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Sunday that the US response to Tehran's proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz was "insufficient", Reuters reported. Iran has set seven conditions. Rezaee said Washington had accepted some, while others remained unclear, and that Iran was "no longer in the process of responding to the Americans". He warned that "cables, data centers and artificial intelligence centers" in the region could come within range if fighting resumed, Fox News reported.
Tankers struck off Oman and in Hormuz
A drone hit the Nicaragua-flagged tanker Petro Dolphin at Oman's Sohar anchorage on Sunday, India's shipping minister, Sarbananda Sonowal, said. Nine of its 11 Indian crew were rescued and two are missing. A separate tanker, the Marshall Islands-flagged Valthera, caught fire after an unknown projectile struck it in the Strait of Hormuz, he said. All 11 crew were safe. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) centre reported both incidents. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said tankers had hit mines on "unauthorised" routes.
Trump announces Russia-Ukraine "energy ceasefire"
Trump said on Sunday that Russia and Ukraine had agreed to stop attacking each other's energy facilities. "Effective immediately, there is an ENERGY CEASEFIRE," he wrote on social media. "Do not break it!" Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said Kyiv welcomed the move and would hold fire if Moscow did. He said Russian drones and glide bombs kept striking, and that a Kharkiv power plant was hit after Trump's post. The Kremlin did not immediately comment. Ukrainian officials said the toll from Saturday's strikes on Zaporizhzhia had risen to 23.
Seoul stocks slump 3.65% on chip sell-off
South Korea's benchmark KOSPI index fell 241.69 points, or 3.65%, to 6,384.24 on Monday, its fourth straight loss and its first close below 6,400 in two months. Samsung Electronics dropped 4.39% and SK Hynix 4.52%, Korea JoongAng Daily reported. Foreign investors sold a net 2.02 trillion won ($1.5 billion) of shares. Analysts cited inflation worries, high oil prices and the renewed attacks on Saudi Arabia. The sell-off came two days before US inflation data.
Oil eases, European shares rise
Brent crude fell about 1% to around $103.50 a barrel in Asian trade on Monday, Reuters reported, after briefly topping $105 overnight. Traders weighed Trump's energy ceasefire claim against the Gulf attacks. US crude slipped 1.2% to $90.73. Europe's STOXX 600 index rose 0.4% to 634.25 by 0709 GMT, led by banks. Gold gained 0.3% to $4,206 an ounce. The 10-year US Treasury yield stood near 5.24%. Japanese markets and the US cash bond market were closed for holidays.
North Korea fires ballistic missiles toward sea
North Korea fired at least two ballistic missiles from the Pyongyang area toward the sea off its east coast on Monday morning, Japan's defence ministry and South Korea's military said. The first flew about 220 km (137 miles). The second flew more than 900 km (559 miles), and Japan said it was examining whether it followed an irregular trajectory. Both fell outside Japan's exclusive economic zone. The launch came days after South Korea disclosed its first test of a domestically developed hypersonic glide vehicle.
Djibouti boat disaster kills at least 139
At least 139 migrants, including children, died when an overcrowded boat capsized off Djibouti, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday. At least 84 people were missing. The boat had left Djibouti for Yemen on 8 October carrying 305 people and sank near Obock late that night or early the next day. More than 80 people survived, all of them Ethiopian. "No one gets into a boat like that unless they believe there is no other safe way," IOM Director General Amy Pope said.
Hurricane Simon floods Mexico's Pacific coast
Hurricane Simon weakened to Category 3 on Sunday as it moved slowly along Mexico's Pacific coast, flooding homes in Manzanillo, Reuters reported. It had maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour (about 200 kph) at 6 p.m. local time, about 110 miles (175 km) west-northwest of Manzanillo, the US National Hurricane Center said. Up to 30 inches (76 cm) of rain could fall in parts of Michoacan, Colima and Jalisco. President Claudia Sheinbaum urged residents to stay indoors.
Taiwan monitors Chinese live-fire drills
Taiwan's Defence Minister Wellington Koo said on Monday that the military was watching Chinese live-fire drills in five sea areas this week. China's Maritime Safety Administration issued no-sail notices from the South China Sea to Liaoning province, Reuters reported. None lies around Taiwan. The drills follow President Lai Ching-te's National Day speech on Saturday, which Beijing condemned. China's defence ministry said military training was meant to deter "Taiwan independence". Koo said the drills appeared to involve coastal artillery units.
Delhi locked down for third day of protests
Thousands of police were deployed in central New Delhi on Monday, the third straight day of security measures, as opposition parties planned a march to the Supreme Court, Al Jazeera reported. Opposition leader Rahul Gandhi and Congress party leader Mallikarjun Kharge are seeking a meeting with Chief Justice Surya Kant, the Free Press Journal reported. Protesters want Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar to resign over a voter-list revision. Reporters Without Borders said at least 16 journalists were detained over the weekend. The commission denies wrongdoing.
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