Macron to send French troops to Saudi Arabia

Riyadh says it intercepted six ballistic missiles as Yemen’s Houthis claimed attacks on “sensitive sites”

Published 24 Sep, 2026 23:12

France will deploy troops, radar and air-defense systems to Saudi Arabia to protect a key Red Sea oil hub as Riyadh struggles to contain escalating Houthi missile and drone attacks, President Emmanuel Macron has announced.

Macron claimed that French forces would not join the fighting but would merely protect the strategic energy facility under an agreement finalized with Riyadh. The announcement came hours after the Saudi-led coalition said it had intercepted six ballistic missiles heading toward Taif, which hosts a key Saudi air base, and the strategic port city of Yanbu.

“We are going to send military resources, that is to say, soldiers, radar systems and defense systems, to protect the site of Yanbu,” Macron told TF1 and France 2 on Thursday.

Macron said the Yanbu hub, which handles several million barrels of oil, had been “very badly damaged” in previous attacks. The Red Sea port has become increasingly important for Saudi exports as the US-Iran war severely restricts tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.

The Houthis claimed on Thursday that they had launched missile and drone strikes against several “sensitive targets” in the kingdom, specifically naming Saudi Aramco infrastructure in Yanbu. A Greek-operated Patriot battery already deployed in Saudi Arabia also intercepted a ballistic missile and a drone in the wider Yanbu area on Thursday, according to Reuters.

The Houthis have framed their campaign as a fight to drive Saudi-backed government forces out of Yemen, end Riyadh’s blockade and restore the country’s sovereignty, warning foreign powers against joining the Saudi campaign.

France is the latest country Riyadh has turned to for military assistance after Washington stopped short of the direct intervention sought by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Earlier this month, the Saudi leader asked US President Donald Trump to order strikes against the Houthis, but Trump reportedly refused.

Trump later noted that the Houthis were “letting most ships go through” the Red Sea and were focused on “just one country.”Washington instead offered intelligence sharing and targeting assistance, while American forces remain focused on Iran.

Riyadh has consequently sought additional support from France, Britain, Pakistan and Egypt as its stocks of missile interceptors come under pressure.

Britain has already agreed to deploy an RAF Voyager tanker to provide air-to-air refueling for Saudi operations, adding to UK air-defense equipment and personnel already stationed in the kingdom. Pakistan, which has a mutual-defense agreement with Saudi Arabia, has pledged to defend the kingdom “to any extent,” although Islamabad has not announced a new combat deployment.

Egypt has offered Riyadh “unwavering”political support but has not announced military assistance. Italy also maintains an air-defense mission in Saudi Arabia; an Italian Eurofighter stationed at King Fahd Air Base was damaged during a Houthi attack last week.

The renewed Saudi appeals come as the Houthis have made major territorial gains along Yemen’s Red Sea coast, seizing Mokha and strategic islands around the Bab al-Mandeb Strait. The group has also targeted Saudi oil infrastructure and shipping while demanding an end to the Saudi blockade of Yemen.

The fighting threatens Saudi Arabia from both sides of the Arabian Peninsula:Iran has severely disrupted the kingdom’s traditional export route through Hormuz, while the Houthi advance and attacks are putting mounting pressure on its alternative Red Sea corridor through Yanbu and Bab al-Mandeb.

https://www.rt.com/news/646220-france-troops-saudi-arabia/

Xi and Trump discuss AI cooperation

The leaders have addressed the technology as Washington and Beijing remain at odds over advanced chips and critical minerals

Published 24 Sep, 2026 19:20

US President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart, Xi Jinping, have discussed cooperation on artificial intelligence during talks in Washington, stressing the technology’s growing global importance.

The meeting came as the two countries compete for leadership in AI while negotiating over advanced chips and critical materials, which became key bargaining points in their trade dispute last year.

Welcoming Xi to the White House for a state visit, Trump said the talks would cover security, technology and “superintelligence”– his new term for AI.

“The decisions we make in these areas today can promote peace and prosperity for decades and decades to come,” the US president said.

Xi said China and the US “bear a historic responsibility to promote human development and progress.”

Both China and the United States are leading nations in artificial intelligence; we have both the capability and responsibility to develop and manage AI for good, and ensure that the development of AI is always under human control and serves the well-being of the people,” the Chinese president said.

Beijing and Washington stand to benefit from cooperation and lose from confrontation, Xi added, stressing that competition between the two countries should be a “race” rather than a fight “in which one either wins or loses.”

Earlier this month, Trump singled out China as Washington’s main rival in the AI race, declaring that “whoever wins AI, wins.”

Technology has increasingly become a source of friction between the two powers. Washington restricted exports of advanced chips to China last year before later allowing some sales to resume in exchange for a 15% share of the revenue. Beijing, meanwhile, imposed export controls on several rare earths and restricted their supply for foreign military use.

China has agreed to suspend some of the restrictions for a year following a Trump-Xi meeting in South Korea last October.

Ahead of Thursday’s summit, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent announced that Washington and Beijing had agreed to extend their tariff truce by another two months. The arrangement has kept tariffs well below the peaks reached during last year’s trade war, when US duties on Chinese imports climbed as high as 145% and Beijing’s levies on American goods reached 125%.

https://www.rt.com/news/646216-xi-trump-discuss-ai/

Merz government wants ‘secret police’ – opposition

German lawmakers have warned that sweeping new powers for intelligence agencies would undermine fundamental rights

Published 24 Sep, 2026 18:46

Germany’s opposition lawmakers have accused Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s government of seeking to create a “secret police” by dramatically expanding the powers of the country’s intelligence agencies.

The accusations came during the first parliamentary debate on the reform on Thursday, with lawmakers from the Alternative for Germany (AfD), the Left and the Greens raising concerns over surveillance and fundamental rights. The government argues that the changes are needed to counter growing security threats.

Under a reform approved by the cabinet last month, the BND foreign intelligence agency and the BfV domestic security service would gain broader operational powers, allowing them to move beyond primarily gathering and analyzing information.

Among the proposed changes, the BND could sabotage foreign companies, penetrate foreign IT systems and disable weapons deemed a threat to Germany. The BfV, meanwhile, could secretly enter homes and access computers and mobile phones under certain circumstances.

German Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt said the reform would usher in a “new era” by turning the country’s intelligence services into “genuine intelligence agencies” capable of actively countering threats. He said Germany must bring its services to the level of its European partners.

AfD MP Gottfried Curio branded the proposed overhaul of the BfV “Stasi 2.0,”referring to East Germany’s notorious secret police, and called the reform a “coup against the rule of law.” The AfD, however, supports granting the BND greater operational powers.

The BfV has itself been locked in a legal battle with the AfD. In 2025, the agency designated Germany’s most popular party a “confirmed right-wing extremist”organization, but a Cologne court in February barred it from applying that classification while the case proceeds.

The ruling came months before the AfD scored major gains in regional elections. It won 43.8% in Saxony-Anhalt earlier this month and 38.3% in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania on Sunday.

Green MP Konstantin von Notz said granting the BfV such extensive powers would be a “grave mistake” and questioned whether parts of the reform would survive scrutiny by the Constitutional Court. He nevertheless backed giving the BND greater powers.

Left Party MP Clara Buenger went further, warning that the BfV could become a “new German secret police.”

“Fundamental rights are being trampled on here,” she said, arguing that the agency would gain powers traditionally reserved for police.

The debate comes as Merz’s government braces for growing AfD influence at the regional level. The Telegraph and Die Welt reported in July that Berlin was developing a “secret plan” to counter potential “obstructionism” by regional authorities, allowing the federal government to bypass them in a crisis.

The German government wants the intelligence reform to take effect at the beginning of 2027. It still requires approval from both the Bundestag and Bundesrat.

https://www.rt.com/news/646215-merz-government-secret-police/