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Ballistic missile shot down over Riyadh as fire breaks out near King Khalid airport

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 The Saudi-led coalition fighting Yemen’s Houthis said Saturday that the Iran-backed group fired a ballistic missile at Riyadh at dawn, after a fire broke out near the Saudi capital’s international airport.

Firefighters extinguished a blaze on a fuel tank bearing the logo of Saudi oil giant Aramco at a fuel depot near Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, an AFP journalist saw. Footage shared online and verified by AFP showed a column of black smoke above airport buildings.

In recent weeks, Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi movement has staged a lightning offensive, seizing swathes of territory in one of the world’s poorest countries and leaving the internationally recognised government, which is backed by Saudi Arabia, scrambling to respond.

Saudi Arabia’s air force ‘successfully intercepted and destroyed a ballistic missile launched by the Houthi terrorist militia towards the city of Riyadh at dawn on Saturday’, coalition spokesman Turki al-Malki posted on X.

He said the Houthis also tried to target ‘civilians and civilian infrastructure in Bisha, Taif, Farasan, and Yanbu’, adding that the attacks ‘were thwarted by the Gulf monarchy’s air defences’.

Saudi Arabia has responded with scores of airstrikes on Houthi-held areas but failed to stop the advance.

The Houthis said they had responded to recent Saudi attacks by carrying out ‘two successful military operations using a large number of ballistic and cruise missiles and drones’, Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree said in a statement on Telegram.

‘The first targeted sensitive sites in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, and the second targeted Aramco facilities in Yanbu.’

Saudi authorities had earlier issued an overnight air raid alert.

Hours after the early morning alert, residents told AFP on condition of anonymity that they heard what sounded like a series of explosions echoing through parts of the Saudi capital.

Tracking website FlightRadar24 reported ‘major problems’ at Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport, listing it for a while under its maximum disruption index, before normal traffic began to resume.

The US State Department and its embassies around the region issued a security alert Saturday, warning of conflict that ‘has the potential to escalate rapidly’.

‘Iranian-supported Houthis have engaged in hostilities against Saudi Arabia, including civilian airports,’ it said.

Lightning offensive

This is the first time since Yemen’s civil war resumed that strikes have threatened the Saudi capital, piling further pressure on a global economy already rocked by seven months of war between the US and Iran.

‘The area is under a hostile aerial threat,’ according to a message received just before 3am by Riyadh residents, urging them to stay indoors.

AFP journalists then heard two explosions before the Saudi Civil Defence agency lifted the alert half an hour later.

‘I heard the alarm, then my windows shook,’ a 27-year-old Riyadh resident living in the city’s north told AFP. ‘It was definitely scary. I was not expecting this.’

Another resident described the attack as ‘terrifying’.

The incident comes days after Riyadh accused the Houthis of targeting Makkah on Wednesday, denouncing it as a ‘cowardly terrorist attack’ on Islam’s holy city, which welcomes millions of pilgrims each year. The Houthis strongly denied the accusation, calling it a ‘worn-out lie’.

The group has reported scores of retaliatory strikes carried out daily by Riyadh since their offensive this month to take over the country’s entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The United States, according to US news platform Axios, last week refused a Saudi request to strike the Houthis.

On Thursday, Washington approved a $24.3 billion sale of 48 F-35 fighter jets to the kingdom to help Riyadh ‘deter current and future threats’, the US State Department said.

‘Escalation trap’

Anna Jacobs of the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington told AFP that Saudi Arabia was entering into a phase of escalation with the Houthis, ‘but they know the only way this ends is through negotiations’.

‘But both sides have a say in when that can happen and both sides seem locked in the escalation trap at this stage.’

The United Nations said the renewed fighting had displaced more than 112,000 people, while nearly 3,000 others had fled across the sea to Djibouti.

War in Yemen broke out in 2014 when the Houthis seized control of the capital Sanaa and other regions, triggering a military intervention led by Saudi Arabia in March 2015.

The fragile truce reached in 2022 between the warring parties collapsed in July, when the Houthis defied Riyadh’s control of Yemeni airspace by allowing an Iranian aircraft to land in Yemen.

The apparent attack came as the Houthis improve their defences in newly conquered territory along Yemen’s Red Sea coastline, with members of the group telling AFP they have been installing radar and digging tunnels.

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Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by four wickets as Farhan, Sadaqat star in Rawalpindi

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Pakistan beat Sri Lanka by four wickets in the first T20 International at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday with captain Sahibzada Farhan’s dominant 89 and Maaz Sadaqat’s half-century leading the home side to a successful chase of 183.

Sri Lanka elected to bat and made 182/8 in their allowed 20 overs, and Pakistan completed the mark despite a late wobble to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Farhan scored 89 off 53 balls and Sadaqat made 50 off 29 balls as they accumulated 92 runs for the second wicket to put Pakistan in the driving seat for victory.

Sadaqat, Farhan at the helm

Pakistan made a fast start to their chase with Farhan and Fakhar Zaman contributing 54 runs in the first five overs. Sadaqat came to the crease when Fakhar was removed by Eshan Malinga, 21 runs off 13 balls.

The left-hander joined Farhan in a fiery partnership that put Sri Lanka’s bowlers under pressure. Sadaqat scored 50 off 29 balls with three sixes and four fours until Maheesh Theekshana had him leg before wicket.

Farhan’s fifty off 33 balls came up as he continued to anchor the innings, routinely striking the boundaries as Pakistan advanced near the objective.

Sri Lanka’s hopes were briefly renewed in the 16th over as they took three wickets in short succession to take Pakistan from 144/1 to 156/4. Dushmantha Chameera and Theekshana scalped the wickets of Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub respectively.

Farhan was the main man in the chase hitting 6 sixes and 10 fours before getting out for 89 with only 4 runs to get.Pakistan overcame Sri Lanka by four wickets in the first T20 International at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday, with captain Sahibzada Farhan’s dominant 89 and Maaz Sadaqat’s half-century leading the hosts to a successful chase of 183.

Sri Lanka elected to bat and made 182/8 in their allowed 20 overs, and Pakistan completed the mark despite a late wobble to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match series.

Farhan scored 89 off 53 balls and Sadaqat made 50 off 29 balls as they accumulated 92 runs for the second wicket to put Pakistan in the driving seat for victory.

Sadaqat, Farhan at the helm

Pakistan made a fast start to their chase with Farhan and Fakhar Zaman contributing 54 runs in the first five overs. Sadaqat came to the crease when Fakhar was removed by Eshan Malinga, 21 runs off 13 balls.

The left-hander joined Farhan in a fiery partnership that put Sri Lanka’s bowlers under pressure. Sadaqat scored 50 off 29 balls with three sixes and four fours until Maheesh Theekshana had him leg before wicket.

Farhan’s fifty off 33 balls came up as he continued to anchor the innings, routinely striking the boundaries as Pakistan advanced near the objective.

Sri Lanka’s hopes were briefly renewed in the 16th over as they took three wickets in short succession to take Pakistan from 144/1 to 156/4. Dushmantha Chameera and Theekshana scalped the wickets of Hasan Nawaz and Saim Ayub respectively.

Farhan was the man of the chase, smashing four sixes and 10 fours before he departed for 89 with four runs to go.

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Isaias weakens to Category 1 hurricane after Florida landfall, NHC says

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Hurricane Isaias weakened quickly Friday, losing windspeed and dropping to a Category ​1 storm after making landfall in Destin, ‌Florida, the US National Hurricane Center said. But it warned of danger from storm surges and floods as power ​links severed.

The storm was about 65 miles (105 ​km) west-northwest of Panama City, Florida, with maximum sustained winds of 90 mph (150 kph), the NHC stated in its last statement.

The agency warned of a life-threatening storm surge along the Gulf Coast as catastrophic hurricane conditions and flash floods pushed inland.
The organization said the hurricane is likely to move across Alabama and into the Tennessee Valley this weekend.

When the hurricane touched land, Poweroutage.us showed nearly 380,000 ⁠people in Florida and more than 210,000 in Alabama without power.Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said on X that emergency declarations have been issued in Florida and Alabama to ensure government resources are ready to respond to Isaias.

Emergency services in Florida told citizens to take shelter and wait for hurricane conditions across the northern part of the state as Isaias made landfall as a category 2 storm.

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Petrol price cut by 66 paisa, diesel rises 52 paisa per litre

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The daily pricing method has resulted in more frequent revisions in petroleum rates. In the current revision of fuel prices, the federal government has decreased the petrol price by 66 paisa per liter but increased the rate of high-speed diesel (HSD) by 52 paisa.

Petrol would be available for Rs398.30 a liter after the amendment as compared to Rs398.96, while high-speed diesel will be sold at Rs396.24 a liter against Rs395.72.

The revised tariffs will be effective from October 10 to 12, 2026, according to Petroleum Division announcement. The revision comes amid instability in international oil markets and a move toward more frequent evaluations of domestic fuel pricing.

Price reviews daily

The government has initiated a daily review of petroleum pricing to respond more rapidly to the changes in international oil prices.

Under the new framework, OGRA will fix petrol and high-speed diesel prices on daily basis on the basis of the average rates in the international market during the prior seven days on an ex-depot basis.

Petroleum Minister Ali Pervaiz Malik said the daily estimates will be based on a seven-day average of international pricing, in line with international traditions.

OGRA has also started releasing daily petroleum prices on its website to provide transparency and allow for changes in foreign markets to be reflected in domestic rates faster.

The regulator can announce revised rates without having to have the previous consent of the prime minister or the federal government for each and every change. But the pricing announced Friday will not change over the weekend.

The switch to daily pricing comes as global oil markets swing with increasing tensions in the Middle East and worries over energy supplies.

After the outbreak of hostilities between Iran, Israel and the United States on 28 February, the government moved to weekly gasoline price reviews. In the past, petroleum products were amended on a fortnightly basis.

Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have created uncertainty in energy markets. The key canal handled approximately a fifth of the world’s oil and other energy supplies before the conflict and any disruption is a huge issue for worldwide markets.

As per the new structure, OGRA will be bound to post Platts daily reference prices. The procedure also limits the scope for modifications in petroleum levies: the ceiling on levies is determined by the federal cabinet and the levy’s rate requires the permission of the Finance Division.

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