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Interior Minister: France Leaning Towards Far-left Suspects Behind Rail Sabotage

SNCF employees look on as a TGV train moves past them at Vald'yerre on the outskirts of Chartres, northern France on July 26, 2024, after the resumption of high speed train services on the line between Paris and Bordeaux. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP)
SNCF employees look on as a TGV train moves past them at Vald'yerre on the outskirts of Chartres, northern France on July 26, 2024, after the resumption of high speed train services on the line between Paris and Bordeaux. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP)
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Interior Minister: France Leaning Towards Far-left Suspects Behind Rail Sabotage

SNCF employees look on as a TGV train moves past them at Vald'yerre on the outskirts of Chartres, northern France on July 26, 2024, after the resumption of high speed train services on the line between Paris and Bordeaux. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP)
SNCF employees look on as a TGV train moves past them at Vald'yerre on the outskirts of Chartres, northern France on July 26, 2024, after the resumption of high speed train services on the line between Paris and Bordeaux. (Photo by JEAN-FRANCOIS MONIER / AFP)

France is leaning towards the likelihood that far-left extremists were behind last week's sabotage of the country's SNCF rail network - which coincided with the Olympic Games opening ceremony, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said.
Saboteurs struck France's high-speed train network on Friday with pre-dawn attacks on signal substations and cables at critical points, causing travel chaos hours before the opening ceremony.
"We have identified the profiles of several people," Darmanin told France 2 TV, regarding the hunt for those saboteurs. He added that the saboteurs' mode of operation bore the hallmarks of far-left extremists, without providing examples.
All trains were back up and running by Monday morning after teams worked around the clock over the weekend to fix the damage, Transport Minister Patrice Vergriete said on RTL radio, according to Reuters.
Overall 800,000 people faced travel disruptions because of the attacks, including 100,000 people whose trains had to be cancelled outright, he said, adding the cost to the state-owned rail operator SNCF would be considerable.

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World

Netanyahu Vows to Eliminate Iran Threat ‘Once and for All’

10 November 2026, Israel, Jerusalem: Caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on the sidelines of the opening session of the new Knesset. (dpa)
10 November 2026, Israel, Jerusalem: Caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on the sidelines of the opening session of the new Knesset. (dpa)
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Netanyahu Vows to Eliminate Iran Threat ‘Once and for All’

10 November 2026, Israel, Jerusalem: Caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on the sidelines of the opening session of the new Knesset. (dpa)
10 November 2026, Israel, Jerusalem: Caretaker Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech on the sidelines of the opening session of the new Knesset. (dpa)

Israel's caretaker prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday reiterated his calls for a national unity government with his opponent Gadi Eisenkot, as well as his vow to eliminate the threat from Iran.

A meeting with Eisenkot on Thursday "only strengthened the conviction that it is essential to form a national unity government" to guarantee Israel's security, Netanyahu said in a video statement, adding that such a government could "eliminate the Iranian threat once and for all".

World

Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Escalates Criticism of SpaceX Over Speed Caps

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds a press briefing in Copenhagen November 10, 2026. (AFP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds a press briefing in Copenhagen November 10, 2026. (AFP)
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Ukraine’s Zelenskiy Escalates Criticism of SpaceX Over Speed Caps

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds a press briefing in Copenhagen November 10, 2026. (AFP)
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy holds a press briefing in Copenhagen November 10, 2026. (AFP)

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy ‌escalated his criticism of SpaceX on Saturday, saying speed restrictions on its military-grade Starshield satellite terminals had dangerous political implications and undermined critical air defenses.

Zelenskiy said Starshield terminals operating in temporarily Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine had been limited to a maximum speed of 161 kph for the past five days, hampering Ukraine's military capabilities.

The Ukrainian Defense Ministry has raised the issue with SpaceX at the ‌institutional level, ‌Zelenskiy said.

"The restrictions have now ‌been ⁠in place for ⁠five days. They say it is some kind of technical issue. We do not believe that is the case," Zelenskiy told reporters in remarks released by his office on Saturday.

"If you impose restrictions there, you are already partially recognizing the temporarily ⁠occupied territories as not ours. And ‌that is why I ‌believe we have the right to raise this ‌issue and restore the speed – so that there ‌are no restrictions at all."

Zelenskiy said the speed restrictions made it more difficult for Ukrainian air defense units to intercept Russian jet-powered drones and made Ukrainian cities ‌more vulnerable. He said he had ordered his top military and foreign ministry ⁠officials ⁠to address the issue and seek clarification.

SpaceX has pushed back against the allegations, denying that it introduced new restrictions or made any changes to its satellite operations.

It is the second such outage in recent weeks. In mid-October, Ukrainian officials said that SpaceX limited the speed of Starlink and its Starshield communication systems to about 160 kph (100 mph) amid tensions with US President Donald Trump's administration over Ukrainian attacks on Russian oil refineries. Service was then restored on October 24.

World

UN Official Urges Iran, US to Let Fertilizers Through Hormuz Strait

Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), and coordinator of the UN Strait of Hormuz Task Force established by the UN Secretary-General, speaks during an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the 31st United Climate Change Conference (COP31), at the media center located on the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya on November 14, 2026. (AFP)
Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), and coordinator of the UN Strait of Hormuz Task Force established by the UN Secretary-General, speaks during an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the 31st United Climate Change Conference (COP31), at the media center located on the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya on November 14, 2026. (AFP)
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UN Official Urges Iran, US to Let Fertilizers Through Hormuz Strait

Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), and coordinator of the UN Strait of Hormuz Task Force established by the UN Secretary-General, speaks during an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the 31st United Climate Change Conference (COP31), at the media center located on the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya on November 14, 2026. (AFP)
Jorge Moreira da Silva, Executive Director of UNOPS (United Nations Office for Project Services), and coordinator of the UN Strait of Hormuz Task Force established by the UN Secretary-General, speaks during an interview with AFP on the sidelines of the 31st United Climate Change Conference (COP31), at the media center located on the Antalya Expo Center in Antalya on November 14, 2026. (AFP)

Iran and the United States should "immediately" allow fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz to ease the crisis in some of the most vulnerable countries, a senior UN official said Saturday.

Jorge Moreira da Silva, head of the UN Office for Project Services, told the COP31 climate talks in the Turkish resort city of Antalya that the lack of fertilizers could push millions into poverty.

The Iranian blockade of the vital waterway, which started after the joint US-Israeli attack against Iran in late February, has choked shipping in the region and beyond. The US blockade of Iranian ports has further complicated matters.

While Iran and the United States are still trying to negotiate an end to the conflict, Moreira da Silva said he had the same message for both countries.

"They should continue their negotiations about the comprehensive deal -- but that deal should not avoid an immediate, exceptional, limited, and time-bound solution for the fertilizers," he said.

"Basically, what we need is five vessels a day with fertilizers," he added.

- Millions at risk -

Moreira da Silva heads up the UN task force dedicated to facilitating the safe passage of fertilizers during the crisis.

Before the conflict, a third of the world's fertilizers passed through the Strait of Hormuz, and since the blockades, their prices had risen by 30 percent, he said.

"But what I think is not sufficiently recognized is the disproportionate impact on the most vulnerable countries," he added.

Sudan's finance minister recently told him that the price of food there had doubled in six months, he added. In Nepal, they had told him that farmers could no longer afford to buy fertilizers.

"So, it's very important that we are aware that countries such as Mozambique, Kenya, Sudan, Somalia, Nepal, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka are facing very significant impact."

The effects of this shortage could be catastrophic, he warned.

"If we continue missing the planting seasons in different parts of the world we may have 45 million people facing severe and acute food insecurity," he said.

"We may have 30 million people being forced into poverty."

The UN had a system ready to get fertilizer shipments moving within seven to 10 days, he said.