Iran says four tankers on fire after hitting mines in Strait of Hormuz, a day after US said routes were cleared

The daily briefing

Friday 30 October 2026

INTERNATIONAL

The IRGC says the vessels ignored warnings and used an “unauthorised” route, while US Central Command insists the main shipping lanes have been cleared of mines.

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SAUDI

Houthis claim six attacks on Saudi airports and oil sites days after Tehran talks

The group says it targeted Ras Tanura, Abqaiq, Rabigh and airports in Riyadh and Dammam; Saudi air defences intercepted two missiles over the capital, wounding one person with shra…

ECONOMY

SIFC lines up projects to attract $40 billion, from mining to refineries, Senate panel told

The investment facilitation council said projects across mining, energy, transport, IT and food security were in the pipeline, with five refineries signing deals worth about $6 bil…

NATIONAL

Visa-free entry deals with 25 countries within six months, Naqvi says, as blue passports face cut to 25,000

The interior minister told MNAs that countries want Pakistan’s 70,000 official blue passports reduced to 25,000 before granting travel concessions, and that the green passpor…

CULTURE

Sir Patrick Stewart, Star Trek’s Captain Picard and X-Men’s Professor X, dies at 86

The Royal Shakespeare Company actor, who found global fame in his late forties as Jean-Luc Picard, died at his Los Angeles home after a short illness with Alzheimer’s disease…

INTERNATIONAL

French gunman admits targeting Muslims and Africans in Trappes attack, charged with terrorism

The 39-year-old who killed one person and wounded seven near Paris said he chose the area as “a hotbed for Islamists”, prosecutors say, as Macron calls it a “raci…

INTERNATIONAL

Israel election final result: Netanyahu bloc falls to 53 seats, eight short of majority, as Arab parties win record 19

With all votes counted, Netanyahu’s bloc is down 11 seats on 2022 and Eisenkot’s has 48, leaving neither side a clear route to the 61 needed to govern.

The argument

EDITORIAL

Four fiefdoms and a flag

Pakistan's four provinces are not an administrative map. They are four estates, kept intact by the men who profit from the distance between citizens and the state.