Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia ignite fires at oil facilities and wound 73 people, officials say

CAIRO (AP) — A wave of Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia Tuesday wounded more than 70 people and ignited fires at several oil facilities and utilities in the kingdom's southern region, authorities said, a major escalation in the renewed conflict between an important U.S. ally and the Iranian-backed rebels in Yemen.

The attacks come after weeks of escalating clashes between the Houthis and Saudi-backed government forces in Yemen, which shattered a four-year truce in the country’s civil war.

The flare-up delivered a new jolt to a region already destabilized by nearly three years of wars and brings more uncertainty for the global economy. The fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis threatens to squeeze shipping through the Bab al-Mandeb strait, a critical route of the Arabian Peninsula for oil and global trade. It also comes at a time when the Iran war has nearly halted shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway that moved about one-fifth of the world’s oil before the war.

Fighting has raged on multiple fronts including Yemen’s west coast, with government forces saying they have made territorial gains in the provinces of Hodeida, Taiz and Baydah. The Houthis have also launched attacks on Saudi oil facilities and tankers in the Red Sea.

The attacks early Tuesday hit “civilian and economic facilities” in the Saudi cities of Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, said Maj. Gen. Turki al-Malki, a spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting in Yemen.

An Iranian port city feels the pain of Washington's tightening economic measures

BANDAR ABBAS, Iran (AP) — In the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas on the Strait of Hormuz, a waterfront once busy with boats, trucks and workers has fallen quiet. It's a front line of the economic pain that the United States now hopes to intensify after six months of war.

The Associated Press visited the city shaken by new U.S. airstrikes targeting coastal areas in the past week, and found anger along with growing anxiety about simply getting by as a U.S. blockade of Iranian ports continues.

A taxi driver, Hamid Hajizadeh, said he does not understand Americans. “They are heroes in movies, but here they killed people in schools, wedding ceremonies and other places. They bombed roads and bridges," he said.

In this city of over 700,000 people, residents have a closer view than almost anyone of events on the strait that have seized global attention. They say their location has brought little but danger and discomfort over the past half year.

Mohammad Torabian works at the dock providing services to passengers. Before the war, he said, as many as 50 trucks carrying food and meat would unload there every day. Now, with the U.S. blockade that's aimed at keeping Iran from exporting its oil, much of the dock is empty.

What to know about Canada’s escalating trade war with the US as Carney retaliates with tariffs

TORONTO (AP) — Canada struck back at U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday with tariffs on about $20 billion worth of U.S. goods, in response to the latest round of tariffs on Canada.

The outcome could resonate far beyond Canada, showing other governments whether a smaller U.S. ally can withstand Trump’s economic pressure.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney says U.S. demands could hollow out key Canadian industries and limit the country’s independence, while Trump’s threats to Canadian sovereignty have rallied the public behind him.

“Carney and Canada have become symbolic of resistance to him,” Canadian historian Robert Bothwell said. “And what he’ll want to do is make an example of Carney and Canada and theoretically terrify everybody else while in fact showing them that they need to remove themselves even further from the United States.”

The tariffs hit hundreds of American products, including steel, aluminum, cheese, appliances, clothing, cosmetics and farm equipment, at rates of 15%, 25% or 50%.

Trump wants voters to pretend he’s on the ballot. The Republican Party is going along for the ride

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is embracing his inner cowboy, seeking to gallop into this week's Republican convention in Dallas and save the midterm elections for his party just in the nick of time.

As first-of-their-kind festivities open Wednesday, Trump wants to stoke his core supporters' enthusiasm by making Election Day on Nov. 3 all about himself — a referendum on his record at an event he conceived to help his party, even if he's not actually on the ballot.

The question is whether he'll do more to fire up Republicans or Democrats at a moment when his popularity has reached historic lows.

The president is planning to take the stage both nights of the convention, giving a keynote address Wednesday and then closing remarks after Vice President JD Vance gives his own speech the following night.

That means effectively staging a two-day Trump show with a supporting cast that includes some of the party's most vulnerable lawmakers.

The GOP was confident about keeping its Senate majority. Now the fight for control is wide open

WASHINGTON (AP) — Republicans appeared to have a firm grip on the Senate heading into the final two years of President Donald Trump’s term. But with less than two months until Election Day, control of the chamber is now up for grabs.

Democrats have found themselves competing in states that once seemed beyond their reach as President Donald Trump’s slipping approval ratings and voters' dissatisfaction with the economy create a difficult political environment for Republicans. But races Democrats once counted on winning have also become more complicated.

It's a battle that's expected to exceed $3.4 billion in spending across all races during the midterm campaign. The implications are huge for Trump’s agenda and his ability to fill administration jobs and open court seats for the remainder of his term, as the Senate is empowered to confirm or block presidential nominees.

Republicans say it's unlikely for everything to break in Democrats' favor, but they acknowledge they're facing a difficult landscape. Senate Majority Leader John Thune told South Dakota's KELOLAND News last week that he does “worry” about losing the chamber.

“I’m a realist," Thune said. "I don’t ever try and sugarcoat things. I think it’s a competitive environment right now.”

German vote shows rise of far right in Europe, but it hasn’t been a steady march

BRUSSELS (AP) — The stunning victory of the Alternative for Germany in a state election has renewed fears of an ascendant far right in Europe, as voters repeatedly vent discontent and mainstream leaders grapple with myriad crises, from affordability to Russian aggression and scraps with China and the United States over trade.

But while anti-immigrant, pro-Russian parties have made inroads across the continent in recent years, there have also been notable reversals, and some have softened their views to build coalitions with moderates.

The AfD fell short of an absolute majority in Sunday’s vote in Saxony-Anhalt that would have allowed it to form the first far-right state government since the Nazi era — though it may still manage to do so.

Far-right leaders from Portugal to Austria celebrated the win as they ready for elections across Europe in the coming months. These will show whether the vote was a watershed moment in the demise of an anti-fascist consensus dating back to World War II, or the latest in a series of elections worldwide in which frustrated voters simply cast out incumbents.

The far right's biggest success in recent years was the rise of Giorgia Meloni, who became prime minister of Italy, one of Europe's most influential countries, at the helm of a party with neo-fascist roots.

EU warns of a chilling new terror menace 25 years after 9/11 as online youths seek violent thrills

BRUSSELS (AP) — A quarter of a century after the Al-Qaeda attacks on the United States, jihadist groups still pose a major threat to security in Europe, but a new menace has surfaced that is driven mostly by young people online and the authorities are worried.

The exact size of the network behind what is being called nihilistic violent extremism is unclear. But police investigators from nine European countries found about 4,340 URL web addresses linked to “The COM,” as the online community has become known, during a campaign to disrupt it in June and July.

“It’s violence for the sake of violence,” European Union Counter-Terrorism Coordinator Bartjan Wegter told The Associated Press in an interview, ahead of the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington in 2001.

Overall last year, 45 terrorist attacks were reported across 10 of the 27 EU countries, although none of them were major, mass-casualty incidents. About half were foiled or failed, but six people were killed. A total of 486 people suspected of terror links were arrested in 21 member countries, according to the EU police agency Europol.

Jihadist groups — often guided or inspired by networks outside Europe — were behind 24 of the attacks and accounted for more than 70% of the arrests.

Nepal endured months of political upheaval. Devastating floods are now testing its new government

NEW DELHI (AP) — The flash floods two weeks ago swallowed settlements and swept away roads and bridges in Nepal's mountains and river valleys. Roughly 7,500 homes were destroyed, another 20,000 need rebuilding and at least 12 hydropower projects were damaged. The damage estimate so far of $2.56 billion is a staggering bill for a country with a total budget of $14 billion for the current fiscal year.

The losses come at a challenging time for the Himalayan nation, which is emerging from a year of political upheaval after an uprising toppled the previous government. The new administration must now repair damaged infrastructure and restore political stability. At the same time, it faces a bigger challenge in developing a more resilient country as climate change increases Nepal’s exposure to extreme weather events.

“It is a wasteland out there. The rebuilding is not going to be easy,” said Sumnima Udas, a member of Parliament and chairperson of a committee on international relations and tourism.

The disaster is an early test for 36-year-old Prime Minister Balen Shah, who took office in March after months of political turmoil.

The upheaval began last September, when youth-led protests over corruption and a social media ban spiraled into violence. Security forces opened fire on demonstrators, killing dozens, while government buildings and politicians’ homes were set ablaze. Prime Minister K.P. Sharma Oli resigned, and the country entered a period of uncertainty under a caretaker government.

US sinks an Ecuadorian boat in the Pacific it alleges is tied to drug trafficking

QUITO, Ecuador (AP) — The U.S. Southern Command on Monday sank another Ecuadorian vessel that the U.S. alleged was linked to the criminal group Los Choneros.

It was the latest action by the U.S. against boats and vessels in Latin America that it said were involved in drug trafficking.

The joint task force intercepted a floating refueling station that supported illicit drug trafficking operations at sea in the Eastern Pacific, the Southern Command said in a statement.

It added that the people on board the vessel were removed and will be transferred to Ecuadorian authorities.

A video accompanying the announcement showed military personnel boarding a boat, followed by a helicopter flying overhead and finally a projectile striking and sinking it.

China's Huawei Technologies faces racketeering trial in New York

NEW YORK (AP) — Huawei Technologies, a leading Chinese tech company, faces a criminal racketeering trial in New York over charges that it stole technology, plotted to steal U.S. trade secrets and committed wire and bank fraud, among other crimes.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Tuesday.

The indictment alleges that, besides stealing trade secrets, Huawei and some of its subsidiaries did business in North Korea despite U.S. sanctions there and installed surveillance equipment that helped Iran spy on protesters during 2009 anti-government demonstrations in Iran.

Huawei’s lawyers have tried to get the broad criminal case dismissed, arguing in court filings that the U.S. allegations were too vague, that some were ”impermissibly extraterritorial,” and did not involve domestic wire and bank fraud.

Huawei is the world's biggest supplier of gear for wireless telecom networks but the company is banned from selling equipment to U.S. carriers over fears it poses a security risk. It has also been blacklisted by other Western allies like Canada and Britain.