Turkey, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia sign a mutual defense deal, and other Middle East news

Pakistan, Turkey, and Saudi Arabia have signed a mutual defense agreement. The deal means an armed attack on one is considered an attack on all. It was signed Friday during a meeting in Saudi Arabia. The agreement aims to strengthen collective deterrence against aggression. Meanwhile, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have increased attacks on Saudi-linked targets. They were blamed for an attack in Marib province in Yemen and struck the Najran region in Saudi Arabia on Thursday. The attacks have escalated tensions since a 2022 truce. Separately, an Israeli strike wounded a Lebanese soldier in the village of Mansouri.

Blanche wins support for attorney general from GOP Sen. Cassidy, likely paving way for confirmation

WASHINGTON – Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana says he’ll vote for Todd Blanche as attorney general, likely paving the way for Blanche to be confirmed to lead President Donald Trump’s Justice Department. Cassidy announced his support Friday on the Senate floor, saying Blanche isn’t perfect but no one is. Blanche’s confirmation had been thrown into doubt over opposition from two other Republican senators, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Susan Collins of Maine. Blanche’s path to confirmation has been complicated over a settlement of Trump’s lawsuit against the Internal Revenue Service that has drawn intense scrutiny by Republicans and Democrats alike.

Rights group warns Israel’s policies are pushing the West Bank healthcare system to collapse

IKTABA, West Bank – A new report by Physicians for Human Rights Israel warns that Israel’s policies in the occupied West Bank have pushed the territory’s health system to the brink of collapse. The rights group said in the report released Thursday that health workers are not being paid and 75% of government hospitals, clinics and pharmacies have reduced functioning to once or twice a week. Since the war between Israel and Hamas erupted nearly three years ago, Israel has withheld billions of dollars of tax and customs revenue collected on behalf of the Palestinian Authority. That has impacted the Palestinian Authority’s ability to support public services, including the health sector.

As blackouts stretch for days, life in Cuba revolves around small bursts of electricity

HAVANA – Cuba’s power blackouts have been stretching sometimes for days, so Cubans are planning their lives around the lights turning back on. Those small gasps of relief may be for just a few minutes or hours – and at any time of the day or night. The crippling blackouts are fueled by an oil blockade imposed by the Trump administration to pressure the adversary government. But the move transformed the lives of average Cubans suffering one of the worst crises the island has had since the Cuban revolution. Daily life has turned into a tangle of compounding crises families have to work to unravel.

– The Associated Press