Morning Briefing Oct.18, 2026

By Fatma Zehra Solmaz

ISTANBUL (AA)- Here's a rundown of the key news to start your Sunday, including the Saudi-led coalition saying it intercepted two Houthi ballistic missiles headed for southwestern Saudi Arabia; US Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying Washington was "very disturbed" by reports of an attack on an American photojournalist in the occupied West Bank and urged Israel to curb the violence; and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth saying Iran faces a choice between abandoning its “nuclear ambitions” and reaching a deal or facing devastating military action.

TOP STORIES

- Saudi-led coalition says it intercepted 2 Houthi ballistic missiles headed for southwestern Saudi Arabia

The Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted and destroyed two ballistic missiles launched by Yemen's Houthi group toward Khamis Mushait in southwestern Saudi Arabia.

Coalition spokesman Turki al-Maliki announced the interceptions in a statement on US social media platform X.

Shortly before the announcement, Saudi Civil Defense issued "potential danger" alerts in the capital, Riyadh, and the southwestern cities of Abha and Khamis Mushait through its national early warning system.

The agency later announced that the danger had passed.

- US 'very disturbed' by attack on American journalist in occupied West Bank: Rubio

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Washington was "very disturbed" by reports of an attack on an American photojournalist in the occupied West Bank and urged Israel to curb such violence.

"We've asked the Israelis and continue to ask them to crack down on that stuff," Rubio said, referring to the attack on photojournalist Heidi Levine.

He said that US President Donald Trump "has been very clear" that he did not want to see "friction" or a new crisis in the West Bank.

Rubio said the US contacted its embassy to gather more information about the incident. He added that media reports indicated that Heidi Levine had been beaten after being caught in an attack by groups of Israeli occupiers.

"It didn't look good," he said, describing the incident as "disturbing."

Asked about Trump's decision to lift sanctions against Israeli occupiers on his first day in office last year, Rubio said the move did not mean the president supported such attacks.

- Hegseth says Iran has choice between deal or ‘devastation’

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Iran faces a choice between abandoning its “nuclear ambitions” and reaching a deal or facing devastating military action.

“Iran’s going to have a choice to make real quick about whether they’re going to give those up at the table or face the kind of devastation that America can bring and will bring swiftly if necessary,” Hegseth told Reserve Officers’ Training Corps cadets and military recruits at the University of Tennessee.

He accused Tehran of building a large conventional missile arsenal to deter military action while pursuing “nuclear ambitions,” arguing that US military strength was essential to forcing adversaries to negotiate.

Hegseth also said that Iran “funds the proxies in Hezbollah, funds the proxies in the Houthis in Yemen,” adding that Washington had sought to deter attacks on US forces and shipping.

NEWS IN BRIEF

- Yemen's Houthi group claimed it shot down a Saudi Apache military helicopter near the Najran region in southern Saudi Arabia while it was targeting Houthi positions.

- Eight Yemeni soldiers were killed in the southern province of Lahj, the army announced amid continued fighting with the Houthi group.

- Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said his country will hold US-backed trilateral meetings with Israel in Tampa, Florida, on Oct. 20.

- Moscow said the first tanker carrying Russian oil to world markets has departed its point of origin.

--The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said its forces intercepted and destroyed four drones.

- Belgian Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot strongly condemned an attack by masked Israeli occupiers against Palestinians, diplomats and Catholic representatives in Taybeh in the occupied West Bank.

- At least 17 people were killed in a stampede at a religious festival in north Kolkata in India's West Bengal state, officials said.

- Five members of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces were injured when a stockpile of damaged ammunition exploded at one of the group's facilities in Baghdad, the group said.

- Israeli occupiers attacked a diplomatic delegation comprising representatives from France, Belgium and Poland visiting the town of Taybeh, central occupied West Bank, causing injuries.

- A small boat carrying seven persons approached and opened fire on a LNG tanker 140 nautical miles southeast of Al Yemen's Al Mukalla, according to the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) Center.

- Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy said a second supertanker had struck a naval mine and caught fire in the Strait of Hormuz.

- President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi said his presidential term will end in 2030, stressing that Egypt’s Constitution will not be amended to extend his tenure, according to state-run Al-Ahram newspaper.

- A second tanker attack was reported in the same area off Saudi Arabia, the UK Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said.

- US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee urged Israel to prosecute and imprison those responsible for attacking an American photojournalist in the occupied West Bank.

- The defense of US Rep. Ilhan Omar has challenged the legality of a search of her Washington, DC home, demanding that federal prosecutors immediately return all seized property and provide recordings made during the operation, The Wall Street Journal reported.

- Thousands rallied in Portugal against rising living costs, demanding higher wages, better pensions and affordable housing.

- Yemen’s Houthi group released 159 people it recently detained, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said.

SPORTS

- Inter come from behind to beat Bologna 3-1, stay atop of Serie A

Inter Milan came from behind to beat Bologna 3-1 away in matchday seven of the Italian Serie A, continuing to top the standings.

Bologna took an early lead in the 10th minute when Tommaso Pobega dispossessed Luis Henrique before surging toward goal and firing a powerful left-footed shot past goalkeeper Josep Martinez.

Pobega nearly doubled the hosts' advantage in the 40th minute, but his effort struck the crossbar with Martinez out of position.

Inter equalized in the 44th minute as Marcus Thuram rose to head home Nicolo Barella's cross from the right, sending the teams into halftime level at 1-1.

-Dembele atones for penalty miss with goal, assist in PSG's late comeback win over Strasbourg

Ousmane Dembele recovered from a missed penalty to score a goal and provide an assist as Paris Saint-Germain staged a late comeback to beat Strasbourg 3-1 away in matchday seven of the French Ligue 1.

Strasbourg took the lead in the 17th minute when Giovanni Reyna's deflected shot beat PSG goalkeeper Matvey Safonov, giving the hosts a 1-0 advantage at halftime.

Dembele came off the bench in the 63rd minute, replacing Khvicha Kvaratskhelia as PSG searched for an equalizer.

- Luis Diaz hat-trick fires Bayern Munich to 6-1 win over Leipzig

Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick as Bayern Munich thrashed RB Leipzig 6-1 at the Allianz Arena in matchday six of the German Bundesliga, moving to the top of the standings.

The Colombian winger opened the scoring in the 12th minute, controlling Joshua Kimmich's lofted pass before firing a low shot past goalkeeper Maarten Vandevoordt.

Aleksandar Pavlovic doubled Bayern's advantage in the 26th minute, finishing at the near post after being set up by Diaz.

Michael Olise made it 3-0 in the 34th minute, exchanging passes with Harry Kane before curling a low effort into the bottom-right corner.

CULTURE AND LIFE

- Cosmic Breath: Global calls to prayer answer rising Islamophobia in London

Amid rising anti-Muslim sentiment in London, Joe Namy’s installation creates a sanctuary through a global chorus of Muslim calls to prayer.

Tucked away just a stone's throw from the relentless hum of Oxford Street, a new sonic sanctuary has taken root in central London.

Joe Namy, an American-born Lebanese artist and composer whose practice encompasses sound, its history and its physical effect on the built environment, has brought his multi-channel sound installation, Cosmic Breath, to the UK capital.

Cosmic Breath brings together historic and contemporary adhans from Mecca, Jerusalem, Singapore, Khartoum and beyond.

BUSINESS AND TECHNOLOGY

- Meta denies political bias in Brazil after court ruling

Meta denied politically favoring Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro after a court ordered the company to treat him and incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva equally ahead of their Oct. 25 presidential runoff.

The Folha de S.Paulo, citing internal messages it reviewed, reported that Meta employees acknowledged restrictions had hindered Lula's Instagram accounts and that the platform recommended Bolsonaro's profile and WhatsApp channel.

Lula's campaign alleged that some of his posts lacked sharing options, received reduced reach and had technical issues affecting audio and user interactions.

- Meta revises commercial terms following concerns over AI scraping of news websites

Meta has revised its commercial terms to remove language that raised concerns about the potential use of news websites to train artificial intelligence models.

The revised terms, scheduled to take effect on Oct. 30, specify that automated website crawling is intended to develop, improve, research and maintain advertising and business products.

The provisions still allow Meta to use automated tools, including web scrapers, bots and crawlers, to access and collect content from websites associated with businesses using its platforms.

An earlier version of the proposed terms included language about using collected material to "train" Meta products, prompting concerns among publishers and legal experts over the potential use of copyrighted news content for AI development.