The Saudi Pro League moved three games. Al Ahli v Al Nassr, Cristiano Ronaldo’s team, is now set for 6 March 2027, and two other games move to 19 December. The league cited rest time between matches, not security.
The Young Global Citizen Daily
Saturday 17 October 2026 · No. 173
Top Story Saudi Arabia and Yemen
“Airports for Airports”: Yemen’s War Targets Air Travel
Fighting Between Saudi Arabia and Yemen’s Houthis Hits Airports
Saudi officials counted at least 20 deaths at airports between October 6 and 11.
🧵 New to this story? Read the story so far →Saudi Arabia is now in open conflict with the Houthis, a group that has held Yemen’s capital, Sanaa, and parts of the north-west since 2014. A United Nations-brokered truce, in place since 2022, had largely held until it collapsed. The Houthis are aligned with Iran; the Saudi-backed Yemeni government fights them.
The Houthi leader has described a tit-for-tat policy of “airports for airports, ports for ports, and a blockade for a blockade,” after Sanaa’s airport was hit. The Yemeni government says that strike was meant to stop an Iranian plane from landing there. The Houthis have declared Saudi airports and airspace “legitimate targets,” except Mecca and Medina.
Saudi civil aviation authorities report at least 20 deaths and 356 injuries at airports between October 6 and 11. The deadliest strike, on Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport on October 10, killed at least 12 people, including an American. Dammam, Abha, Jazan and Najran airports were also hit. On Wednesday the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted a missile launched toward Riyadh. Many Houthi claims could not be independently verified.
Saudi Arabia is now fighting the Houthis. The Houthis are a group in Yemen that is allied with Iran. They have held Yemen’s capital city, Sanaa, since 2014. A truce is a deal to stop fighting. One had mostly held since 2022, but it has now broken down.
First, Sanaa’s airport was hit. The Houthi leader then said his side would hit back in the same way. He used the words “airports for airports” to describe this. The Houthis now say Saudi airports are targets, except in Mecca and Medina.
Saudi officials say at least 20 people died at airports between October 6 and 11. The worst attack, on King Khalid airport in Riyadh, killed at least 12 people. Many Houthi claims could not be checked by others.
The fight matters beyond Yemen. A narrow sea passage called the Bab el-Mandeb strait is an important route for ships.
World Albania
Albanian Students Press Their Prime Minister to Resign
Students in Albania Protest and Ask Their Leader to Quit
Protests reached a third day, and a fire broke out at the Education Ministry.
Albania is a small country in south-eastern Europe whose capital is Tirana. This week students there protested for a third straight day. Police said demonstrators broke into the Education Ministry overnight and lit a fire inside. Police used tear gas and water cannon and made 16 arrests.
The students say their complaints are about university conditions, the cost of higher education, a lack of financial support and few jobs after graduating. They also want Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign.
Rama’s Socialist Party still holds a majority in parliament after winning a fourth consecutive term last year, so the protests have not changed the government.
Reuters reported that a nearby bank branch also caught fire. Deputy Prime Minister Albana Kociu said on Facebook that protest is a legitimate right but cannot be an excuse for violence. Reports differ on the size of the crowd, with Al Jazeera describing hundreds of students and a Reuters-based report describing tens of thousands.
Albania is a small country in south-eastern Europe. This week, students there protested for three days in a row. Police said some protesters broke into the Education Ministry at night. A ministry is a government department. They lit a fire inside. Police used tear gas and water cannon, and arrested 16 people.
The students are unhappy with their universities. They say studying costs too much and there is little money to help. They also worry about finding jobs after they finish. They want Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign, which means quit his job.
Rama’s party still has a majority in parliament. That means it holds more than half the seats. So the protests have not changed the government. The deputy prime minister said people have a right to protest, but not to use violence.
🗺️ Where in the world?
India Delhi
Delhi Ends Jantar Mantar as a Protest Site
Delhi Police Move Protests Away From Jantar Mantar
Police named three new places for protests as a court fight begins.
Jantar Mantar in New Delhi has long been where people gather to protest. A Delhi Police standing order dated October 11, signed by Commissioner Anurag Kumar, says it is no longer a designated protest site. Ramlila Ground, Burari Ground and CBD Ground in East Delhi replace it.
The order says it follows a committee set up by the Home Ministry. Indian Youth Congress president Uday Bhanu Chib has asked the Delhi High Court to overturn it. Police told the court they acted on a Supreme Court order of October 9, and a separate plea against the standing order is pending before the Supreme Court.
The change came as protests over the Election Commission’s revision of voter lists grew. The Supreme Court linked a petition by Rahul Gandhi and other INDIA bloc leaders to another pending case; both are to be heard on October 27. The petition seeks an independent audit and a temporary halt to the revision.
Jantar Mantar is a place in New Delhi. For a long time, people have gathered there to protest. Now Delhi Police say it is no longer an official protest site. Instead, they named three new places in the city.
Not everyone agrees with the change. Uday Bhanu Chib leads the Indian Youth Congress. He has asked the Delhi High Court to cancel the police order. Police told the court they were following an order from the Supreme Court.
The change came as protests grew over voter lists. These lists show who can vote. The Election Commission is revising, or updating, them. Some political leaders have asked the Supreme Court to pause the changes.
Where people may protest affects how easily they can be heard. Courts will now weigh the police order against people’s right to protest.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Did you know?
Brent crude, the oil price benchmark in the news, is named after the Brent oilfield in the North Sea.
United States Elections
Three Weeks to the Midterms as Prices Weigh on Voters
Rising Prices Worry Americans Three Weeks Before Big Elections
All 435 House seats and 35 Senate seats are on the ballot on November 3.
SEATS ON THE BALLOT Out of the seats in each chamber
Midterm elections are held halfway through a president’s four-year term. This year’s is on November 3, 2026. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election, along with 35 of the 100 Senate seats. The vote decides which party controls Congress.
Cost of living is a central worry. On October 14 the Labor Department reported consumer prices 3.7% higher than a year earlier, up from 3.4% in August, with gasoline the main driver, according to Reuters.
The Federal Reserve, the US central bank, meets October 27 and 28, and higher inflation puts pressure on it to raise its key interest rate.
The United States will hold midterm elections on November 3. Midterms happen halfway through a president’s four-year term. All 435 seats in the House of Representatives are up for election. So are 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate.
The vote decides which party controls Congress. Congress writes laws and decides how the government spends money.
Many voters are worried about the cost of living. That means how much everyday things cost. A new government report showed prices were 3.7% higher than a year earlier. Gasoline was the main reason.
The Federal Reserve is the US central bank. It meets later in October. Rising prices are called inflation. Higher inflation puts pressure on the bank to raise its key interest rate.
🗺️ Where in the world?
Sport
FOOTBALL
In brief
More news
- Ukraine: Russia attacked all three of Kyiv’s heat and power plants, and President Zelenskyy said at least 600,000 people had no power.
- Oil: Brent crude was about $108 a barrel on Friday as attacks on ships near the Strait of Hormuz continued.
New words
Words from this issue
- Truce
- An agreement to stop fighting, at least for a time. Today: A UN-brokered truce in Yemen since 2022 has collapsed.
- Tit-for-tat
- Hitting back in the same way you were hit. Today: The Houthi leader describes an “airports for airports” policy.
- Standing order
- A rule issued by an authority that stays in force until changed. Today: Delhi Police’s standing order ended Jantar Mantar’s role as a protest site.
- Senate
- The part of Congress with 100 members, two from each state. Today: 35 of its seats are on the ballot on November 3.
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