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Israeli Protests Erupt as Govt. Pushes Through Major Reform

Israelis demonstrate against the contentious judicial overhaul, near the house of Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who supports and leads the judicial changes, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Modiin, Israel March 9, 2023. (Reuters)
Israelis demonstrate against the contentious judicial overhaul, near the house of Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who supports and leads the judicial changes, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Modiin, Israel March 9, 2023. (Reuters)
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Israeli Protests Erupt as Govt. Pushes Through Major Reform

Israelis demonstrate against the contentious judicial overhaul, near the house of Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who supports and leads the judicial changes, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Modiin, Israel March 9, 2023. (Reuters)
Israelis demonstrate against the contentious judicial overhaul, near the house of Israeli Justice Minister Yariv Levin, who supports and leads the judicial changes, as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's nationalist coalition government presses on with its judicial overhaul, in Modiin, Israel March 9, 2023. (Reuters)

Thousands of Israelis took to the streets Saturday to protest the government's decision to forge ahead with its judicial reform package despite widespread opposition.

Demonstrators waving Israeli flags rallied in the country's commercial hub Tel Aviv, keeping up the momentum of months of protests against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's proposals.

"We still love this country and we're trying to fix all the problems," said film composer Itay Amram.

"We're not accepting any of it," the 27-year-old told AFP, railing against what he saw as the government's "constitutional revolution".

From the northern city of Haifa to Eilat on the Red Sea, protest organizers promoted rallies nationwide in the biggest test of public opinion since the government put a key plank of its reforms to a final vote in parliament on Monday.

The vote to scrap the "reasonableness" law, through which the Supreme Court can overturn government decisions such as ministerial appointments, was met with concern from Israel's top allies including the United States.

Israeli medics responded with a brief walkout, while scores of military veterans have vowed to end their volunteer duties and trade unions are mulling further industrial action.

Netanyahu argues the reform package is necessary to rebalance the relationship between elected officials and the judiciary, but the premier's opponents accuse him of a power grab.

"We refuse to serve a dictatorship," warned a placard held by a demonstrator in Tel Aviv.

While an official turnout figure was not available, Israel's Channel 13 estimated more than 170,000 people turned out in the city.

Wrapped in an Israeli flag in Jerusalem, near the prime minister's home, Lotem Pinchover said she felt "heartbroken, helpless" after Monday's vote.

"I'm very scared of what's happening in Israel now and I'm very worried about the future of my daughter," the 40-year-old academic said.

Months of protests since the judicial package was unveiled in January -- including some in support of the government -- have led to fears about widening fissures within Israeli society.

Stationed at a "psychological first aid" stand for protesters in Jerusalem, therapist Pnina Manes said the situation "tears families apart".

"It's started to feel like -- and it's very sad for me to say so -- like two different groups" in Israeli society, the 59-year-old said.

There have been multiple petitions filed at the Supreme Court this week against Monday's vote, with hearings set to be held in September.

The broader reform package includes ambitions to hand the government a greater say in the appointment of judges, as well as downgrading the status of legal advisers attached to ministers.

The legislative process is currently on hold due to parliament's summer recess, with Netanyahu pledging openness in negotiations over future steps.

Opposition chiefs remain sceptical of talks with the government, a coalition which also includes far-right and ultra-Orthodox Jewish parties, after earlier dialogue broke down.

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World

Cyclone Arnab Hits India’s Andhra Pradesh State as Tens of Thousands Are Evacuated

A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)
A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)
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Cyclone Arnab Hits India’s Andhra Pradesh State as Tens of Thousands Are Evacuated

A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)
A vehicle damaged by a fallen tree following Cyclone Arnab, in Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh, India, October 28, 2026. (Reuters)

Cyclone Arnab dumped heavy rain across India ’s eastern Andhra Pradesh state and caused extensive damage in some areas Wednesday after tens of thousands of people were evacuated from vulnerable coastal areas.

Prakhar Jain, head of the state’s disaster management authority, said the cyclone had weakened slightly before landfall earlier in the day but brought heavy to very heavy rainfall to several coastal districts, triggering widespread disruption in affected areas. No casualties were reported and damage was being assessed.

State disaster management officials said late Wednesday morning that wind speeds were up to 135 kph (84 mph).

Officials said the cyclone was expected to weaken further as it moved inland, with wind speeds likely to ease later in the day.

The cyclone left a trail of destruction across the state’s fertile Konaseema district, which officials said was the worst hit so far.

Banana and coconut plantations suffered extensively and a large number of trees and electricity poles were uprooted, disrupting electricity across the district, officials said.

Fallen trees blocked several roads, and disaster management workers rushed to clear roads and restore connectivity. About 6,000 electric poles were uprooted in Konaseema alone, officials said.

The India Meteorological Department said the landfall process was complete and heavy rainfall as well as strong winds would continue under the cyclone's influence in coastal areas of Andhra Pradesh and parts of southern Odisha state. The rainfall flooded several low-lying areas of the port city of Visakhapatnam.

Cyclone Arnab weakened to a "severe" cyclonic storm Wednesday, the department said in an update.

Arnab’s outer bands began lashing parts of the Andhra Pradesh coast first late Tuesday as the storm intensified over the Bay of Bengal and moved toward an earlier-than-expected landfall.

Authorities began evacuating people from low-lying and flood-prone areas ahead of the cyclone's landfall. They also canceled some train services as heavy rain and gusty winds started lashing parts of the coast. At least 89,000 people were evacuated in Andhra Pradesh, according to an official statement.

The state’s disaster management authority said more than 12 million people live along the cyclone’s expected path.

Authorities set up over 2,000 cyclone shelters across 20 districts, while emergency alerts were being sent to the mobile phones of millions of residents, Jain said, according to the Press Trust of India news agency. More than 30,000 fishing boats were secured along the coast, while nearly 1,100 medical teams were deployed across affected areas to provide emergency assistance, he added.

In neighboring Odisha, officials planned to evacuate about 48,000 people from areas likely to be affected by the storm.

World

Hegseth Proposes ‘Ambitious’ US-ASEAN Defense Framework at Philippine Summit

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)
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Hegseth Proposes ‘Ambitious’ US-ASEAN Defense Framework at Philippine Summit

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)
US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth attends the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers' Informal Meeting in Cebu, central Philippines, Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026. (Jam Sta Rosa/Pool Photo via AP)

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth proposed the creation of an "ambitious" new US-ASEAN defense framework on Wednesday, telling the bloc's leaders it could help them navigate "critically important" years ahead.

The United States has been seeking to boost its regional defense partnerships in recent years, citing the need to uphold what it terms a "free and open Indo-Pacific" as China has increasingly flexed its muscles in the region.

Hegseth, speaking before a meeting with defense chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cebu, praised what he called the region's "pragmatism" and "proud nationalism".

"We're not going to agree on everything, nor do we need to," he said, calling for cooperation where shared interests overlap.

"As we look to the future in this region, I'd like us to be even more ambitious... we propose that we work together to develop a US-ASEAN Framework for Defense Cooperation," Hegseth said, without offering details.

"A practical framework that guides our cooperation over the next several years. I will note a critically important next several years."

He added that the United States was ready to begin the project as Singapore assumes the chairmanship of the ASEAN Defense Ministers' Meeting (ADMM)-Plus in the coming year.

The grouping includes not only the bloc's 11 member states but representatives from the United States, Japan, China, Australia and others.

Hegseth also called for the strengthening of "maritime domain awareness" and advanced cooperation among naval forces.

"These are not symbolic things; they are concrete demonstrations of what serious partners do, serious partners train together, learn together, plan together, and build the confidence and competence necessary to prevent conflict," he said.

US ally the Philippines has been engaged in years of confrontations with China over disputed areas of the South China Sea.

China's military and coast guard presence in contested areas of the critical waterway nearly doubled in September, Manila said this month.

Japanese defense chief Shinjiro Koizumi met Hegseth earlier on the sidelines of the Cebu event, where they discussed the need to implement "an effective denial defense in the First Island Chain", a reference to islands that lie between China and the open Pacific.

The two allies also committed to continued "close coordination" on munitions production.

World

ISIS Militants Kill at Least 20 Somali Soldiers in Ambush

FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
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ISIS Militants Kill at Least 20 Somali Soldiers in Ambush

FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)
FILE - Al-Shabab fighters display weapons as they conduct military exercises in northern Mogadishu, Somalia, Oct. 21, 2010. (AP Photo/Farah Abdi Warsameh, File)

Militants killed at least 20 Somali soldiers in an ambush, a military officer who survived the attack said, as the government acknowledged damage to military vehicles but disclosed no troop casualties.

The al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabab group, which has fought Somalia’s government for nearly two decades, claimed responsibility for Monday’s attack near Jameeca village in southern Somalia.

The Defense Ministry said its troops killed about 75 militants and wounded 56 during hours of fighting. Al-Shabab claimed it killed 321 soldiers and captured prisoners and military equipment.

The casualty figures and claims of captured soldiers and equipment could not be independently verified.

Abshir Abdikarim, a military officer traveling with the convoy, told The Associated Press by phone late Tuesday that he saw at least 20 of his fellow soldiers dead after the attack. He said troops had advanced from Leego into Jameeca, in Burhakaba district in the Bay region, where they exchanged heavy gunfire with militants.

Some soldiers previously reported missing reached Baledogle on Tuesday, he said, while others remained unaccounted for.

The ministry described the confrontation as an assault on militant positions.

Al-Shabab said its fighters ambushed a convoy advancing into territory under its control.

The ministry said militants used explosives-laden vehicles to attack army vehicles, damaging some of them. It did not specify how many were damaged or address the claims that soldiers had been captured.

Al-Shabab said it seized Turkish-supplied armored vehicles, armed pickup trucks, supply trucks, weapons and ammunition.

African Union troops pushed al-Shabab out of Mogadishu in 2011, but the group adapted through guerrilla warfare, suicide bombings and targeted assassinations.

Somali authorities have reported territorial gains during a US-backed military campaign, although access restrictions have made those claims difficult to verify independently. The militants have retained the ability to operate across large areas of central and southern Somalia.

The fighting comes amid a separate struggle for control of South West state.

Government troops last month clashed near Baidoa with militias loyal to former regional President Abdiaziz Hassan Mohamed Laftagareen, who resigned after federal forces seized the city in March.

The Defense Ministry said government forces would continue to target al-Shabab positions and disrupt efforts by its fighters to regroup.