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Jalili Announces Intention to Run in Iran’s Presidential Elections

Ahmadinejad speaks to Jalili on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Leadership Council of Experts in Tehran on Monday. (ILNA)
Ahmadinejad speaks to Jalili on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Leadership Council of Experts in Tehran on Monday. (ILNA)
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Jalili Announces Intention to Run in Iran’s Presidential Elections

Ahmadinejad speaks to Jalili on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Leadership Council of Experts in Tehran on Monday. (ILNA)
Ahmadinejad speaks to Jalili on the sidelines of the opening ceremony of the Leadership Council of Experts in Tehran on Monday. (ILNA)

Saeed Jalili, the representative of the Iranian leader in the Supreme National Security Council, confirmed his intention to run in the presidential elections scheduled for June 28, to choose a successor to late President Ebrahim Raisi.

The Fars new agency reported that Jalili told four deputies from the city of Mashhad that he seriously intends to join the electoral race. The politician was a candidate in the previous elections, but withdrew in favor of Raisi.

The Iranian hardliner will be the first candidate in the early elections, following the death of Raisi in a helicopter crash, on his way back from a trip to the Azerbaijan border.

Jalili was responsible for the nuclear negotiations when he was Secretary-General of the Supreme National Security Council under the rule of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

The powers of the negotiations were then held by the Council before they were transferred to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs soon after former President Hassan Rouhani came to office in 2013.

Confirmations of Jalili running in the elections came the day after statements made by his ally, Ahmadinejad, whose candidacy was rejected by the Guardian Council in 2021, and before that in 2017.

Ahmadinejad told a group of supporters on Saturday that he was mulling whether to run for president or not.

The Nournews agency, the platform of the Supreme National Security Council, expected that Ahmadinejad would submit a request to run for the presidency, “even though he is sure that the Guardian Council will reject his eligibility to run again.”

The conservatives are also discussing the possibility of nominating two generals in the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), Mohsen Rezaei and Saeed Mohammad, in addition to the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, as well as the Mayor of Tehran, Ali Reza Zakani.

The Tasnim news agency pointed to the potential candidacy of Parviz Fattah, who heads the Imam’s Implementation Committee, which reports to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s office, as well as the Minister of Roads and Urban Development, hardliner Mehrdad Badrbash, who has close ties to the IRGC.

Other media reports stated that the supporters of former reformist president, Mohammad Khatami, are pushing towards the nomination of one of the following political figures: former diplomat Mohammad Sadr; Majeed Ansari, Rouhani’s Vice President; Reza Ardakanian, Minister of Energy in Rouhani’s government; and Ali Akbar Salehi, former head of the Iranian Atomic Organization and former Foreign Minister.

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World

Israeli Officials: Co-pilot Planned Flydubai Attack before Joining Airline

30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
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Israeli Officials: Co-pilot Planned Flydubai Attack before Joining Airline

30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa
30 September 2026, Israel, Tel Aviv: A replacement Flydubai plane lands at Ben Gurion Airport. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/dpa

The flydubai co-pilot who stabbed his captain in a suspected attempt to crash the plane has told UAE interrogators he planned the attack before he was hired by the Dubai state-owned airline, according to two Israeli officials with knowledge of the probe.

A third source briefed on the UAE probe said the co-pilot, an Omani national, had planned to crash last Wednesday's flight into Ben-Gurion airport near Tel Aviv. He had also operated a flight to Tel Aviv earlier this year and intended to hijack and crash the plane then, but opted not to, the source added.

It was not immediately clear why the co-pilot changed his mind on that previous flight, although the co-pilot ‌is thought to have ‌known someone onboard, the source said.

All of the sources spoke on condition of ‌anonymity ⁠to discuss the investigation.

The co-pilot of flydubai flight FZ1073, which had been bound for Israel from Dubai, attacked the pilot with an emergency crash axe, the United Arab Emirates prosecutor general has said, calling the incident a "terrorist attack".

Two sources have said the co-pilot is an Omani national named Hamam al-Hammami. Israeli officials have not named the co-pilot but have said he is from Oman. UAE authorities and flydubai have not publicly disclosed the co-pilot's identity.

The UAE has ⁠not announced any formal charges against him and it is not known if he ‌has appointed legal counsel. Oman has not commented on the incident.

The two Israeli officials said the co-pilot told interrogators that he had applied for ‌a job at Dubai state-owned flydubai after searching for airlines that fly to Tel Aviv.

A multi-agency Australian counterterrorism unit is also investigating links to Australia of the co-pilot, who was once enrolled at RMIT University in Melbourne, Victoria. A fourth source said the co-pilot had studied there around a decade ago.

Disaster on board flight FZ1073 was averted after passengers and crew subdued the co-pilot. The pilot, Indian national Smit Machchhar, survived the attack and has been hailed as a hero for managing to open the cockpit door. The plane was carrying more than 170 passengers and crew, most of them Israeli.

A reserve flydubai pilot travelling on the ‌flight took control of the aircraft and landed it at a regional airport in northwestern Saudi Arabia, where the co-pilot was detained by Saudi authorities and later transferred ⁠to the UAE on Thursday.

World

Germany Announces $1.5 Billion in Military Aid for Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pay tribute at the makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 4, 2026 (EPA) 
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pay tribute at the makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 4, 2026 (EPA) 
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Germany Announces $1.5 Billion in Military Aid for Ukraine

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pay tribute at the makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 4, 2026 (EPA) 
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz pay tribute at the makeshift memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, at the Independence Square in Kyiv, Ukraine, October 4, 2026 (EPA) 

Ukraine and Germany have signed a $1.5 billion arms deal to help counter a surge in Russian drone attacks, as a solidarity visit by German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Sunday coincided with fresh strikes and air-raid sirens in Kyiv.

The aid for weapons includes combat drones and supporting Ukraine's battered energy sector, which Russia is targeting to cut off heating and power during the freezing winter months, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky wrote on his X account.

The new package was announced after Merz arrived in Kyiv on Sunday, where he reaffirmed European support for Ukraine.

Air raid sirens blared across the Ukrainian capital throughout the morning, as Kyiv's mayor announced one of the city's bridges had been hit by a Russian drone.

Speaking alongside Ukrainian President at the badly damaged building of Ukraine's Academy of Sciences, where at least two people died in a drone strike last week, Merz said, “We are ‌ready to discuss bringing this war to an end, but these barbaric attacks on the civilian population of Ukraine must stop. I can only repeat once again: Mr Putin, put an end to this senseless war.”

Russia Attacks Bridge in Kyiv

One of the Russian strikes on Sunday hit the Northern Bridge across the Dnipro River, damaging its roadway, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. The explosion injured two people and damaged a hot water supply system in the area, he said.

Klitschko has said the capital – largely spared from the devastation wrought near the front line in more than four years of conflict – should now be on a war footing.

Round-the-clock attacks have hit residential areas, petrol stations, schools, rail and communications infrastructure, while the near-constant air raid sirens disrupt daily life and put people on edge.

Zelensky said US peace envoy Steve Witkoff has messaged him to urge a return to ⁠trilateral talks as soon as possible. He said Ukraine was willing to meet this month and hoped Russia would join, but he said Western allies needed to apply more pressure to Moscow to bring the war to an end.

Upon arrival, Merz said Germany remained Ukraine's strongest backer.

“We do this not only to protect Ukraine's territorial integrity; we do it ⁠deeply in our own interest, for it is a matter of Europe's security,” he said, noting that Russia was carrying out cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns that struck at Europe's democratic order.

“If Russia is not stopped, it will turn its war machine against us sooner or later,” Merz added.

Joint Drone Production

The latest deal provides for the joint production of anti-jet drones, Merz told a joint news conference with Zelensky.

“Significant technical breakthroughs have already been achieved in this area in recent weeks,” he added.

“Production is now being ramped up. This strengthens Ukrainian air defense quickly and significantly. We are supplying standoff weapons, combat drones and satellite technology so that Ukraine can also target Russian launch sites,” the German chancellor said.

Last week, Merz called for NATO and European unity against Russia, as well as in his own country, where the far-right, Moscow-friendly AfD opposition is on the rise.

Russia’s Ministry of Defense said Sunday it would intensify its strikes against military-industrial facilities and related infrastructure in Kyiv and other regions of Ukraine, in response to Zelensky’s comments in an interview with Reuters published Saturday that Ukraine would escalate its attacks on Russian oil refineries.

Also, Russia warned foreigners and diplomats to leave Kyiv, saying “massive” new airstrikes would hit the city.

Leaders from countries allied to Ukraine have continued to make visits despite a similar threat made in May.

“The EU Delegation is staying,” European Union ambassador Katarina Mathernova wrote on X on Sunday.

“Threatening us will not stop Europe's support for Ukraine,” she added. “It only reminds us why that support matters!”

Merz told reporters he was unfazed by the threat but did not know if it had been made to coincide with his visit.

In Kyiv, home to some three million people, residents are mulling what to do if that happens again, and there have been calls for the vulnerable and disabled to consider leaving.

Merz said Berlin's winter support program will help provide generators, transformer stations and for grid repairs.

World

UN Says 5.8 mn Refugee Children Out of School

Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki
Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki
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UN Says 5.8 mn Refugee Children Out of School

Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki
Syrian refugee children attend a class at a school in Mount Lebanon, October 7, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamed Azaki

Some 5.8 million refugee children were out of school in 2025, the United Nations said Friday, warning that funding cuts threatened to make the situation worse.

UNHCR, the UN refugee agency, said 44 percent of the world's 13.1 million school-age refugee children were out of school last year.

"Education is protection. But it is also a pathway to opportunity and self-reliance," said Barham Salih, the UN high commissioner for refugees, AFP reported.

"At a time of severe pressure on humanitarian and development financing, cuts to education risk reversing decades of collective investment and closing opportunities for a generation of young people."

The former Iraqi president, who was a refugee, said that looking back on his own life, "education gave me opportunities that displacement might otherwise have denied me".

"Displacement should not determine the limits of a child's life."

UNHCR said that while 65 percent of refugee children of primary school age were enrolled in education in 2025, only 32 percent were enrolled in secondary.

Refugee tertiary education enrolment reached a record 11 percent in 2025.

Earlier this week, UNHCR said its available funding had fallen from $5.2 billion in 2024 to $3.9 billion in 2025, while the number of people it is mandated to protect is hovering around historically high levels.

UNHCR said it needed $8.5 billion this year to protect refugees, but by the end of July had received only 32 percent of that amount ($2.7 billion).

UNHCR said nearly 8.3 million refugees and other forcibly displaced people faced losing vital assistance from the agency as protection services crumble due to the "severe" funding cuts.