regional

HIGH SCHOOL GIRLS VOLLEYBALL
CIF SOCAL REGIONALS
TUESDAY’S RESULTS
First Round

DIVISION I
#1 Harvard-Westlake d. #16 Francis Parker, 25-17, 25-19, 25-19
#8 San Juan Hills d. #9 Newport Harbor, 25-22, 25-22, 23-25, 25-19
#5 Murrieta Valley d. #12 Corona Centennial, 25-20, 20-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-12
#4 Redondo Union d. #13 Corona del Mar, 25-23, 25-17, 21-25, 25-23
#14 Coronado d. #3 Long Beach Poly, 19-25, 25-19, 25-27, 25-22, 15-11
#11 Sherman Oaks Notre Dame d. #6 Frontier, 15-25, 25-17, 25-18, 21-25, 15-13
#7 San Luis Obispo d. #10 Orange Lutheran, 21-25, 21-25, 25-15, 25-22, 15-12
#15 Bishop’s d. #2 Marymount, 25-18, 25-19, 23-25, 22-25, 15-13

DIVISION II
#16 Mission College Prep d. #1 Bakersfield Centennial, 20-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-21, 15-11
#8 Bakersfield Liberty d. #9 Cerritos Valley Christian, 25-20, 25-22, 25-23
#5 Santa Fe Christian d. #12 Arroyo Grande, 25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 26-28, 17-15
#13 Vista Murrieta d. #4 La Jolla Country Day, 25-17, 12-25, 25-18, 25-30
#14 Glendora d. #3 San Dieguito Academy, 19-20, 27-25, 25-14, 20-25, 19-17
#6 Newbury Park d. #11 Mission Vista, 25-17, 25-21, 25-22
#10 Westview d. #7 Crescenta Valley, 25-23, 25-15, 25-23
#2 North County San Marcos d. #15 Portola, 25-13, 25-18, 25-23

DIVISION III
#1 Santa Barbara d. #16 Villa Park, 25-20, 25-16, 22-25, 25-15
#9 Steele Canyon d. #8 Venice, 25-15, 25-22, 14-25, 23-25, 15-5
#5 Woodland Hills Taft d. #12 Oceanside, 21-25, 25-20, 21-25, 25-23, 15-11
#4 Helix d. #13 Palisades, 25-22, 25-17, 19-25, 25-23
#3 Sage Creek d. #14 La Serna, 25-11, 25-21, 25-23
#6 Cleveland d. #11 El Toro, 19-25, 25-12, 28-26, 25-19
#10 Westridge d. #7 Atascadero, 27-25, 25-20, 25-19, 22-25, 15-13
#2 Point Loma d. #15 Winchester Liberty, 25-16, 22-25, 26-24, 25-21

DIVISION IV
#1 El Camino Real, bye
#8 Placentia Valencia d. #9 Sherman Oaks CES, 25-21, 25-19, 25-21
#5 Chatsworth d. #12 Tri-City Christian, 26-24, 25-14, 25-15
#4 Granada Hills d. #13 Tustin, 28-26, 23-25, 16-25, 25-14, 15-11
#3 Castaic d. #14 San Pedro, 25-19, 25-22, 25-20
#11 Fullerton d. #5 Eagle Rock, 3-1
#7 Capistrano Valley d. #10 Granada Hills Kennedy, 25-10, 25-16, 20-25, 25-19
#2 Lakewood d. #15 Northview, 26-24, 25-22, 25-14

DIVISION V
#1 Rio Mesa, bye
#8 San Diego Hoover d. #9 Narbonne, 27-25, 25-11, 25-23
#5 Bakersfield North d. #12 San Fernando Arroyo, 3-0
#4 Strathmore d. #13 El Monte Arroyo, 25-15, 25-10, 25-13
#3 Desert Christian Academy d. #14 Tarbut V’ Torah, 25-11, 25-17, 25-15
#6 Maywood CES d. #11 Orange, 3-0
#7 Rancho Mirage d. #10 Huntington Park, 25-15, 25-22, 25-11
#2 San Gabriel Academy d. #15 La Quinta, 25-22, 25-21, 14-25, 25-19

WEDNESDAY’S SCHEDULE
First Round

OPEN DIVISION
#8 Los Alamitos at #1 Mater Dei
#5 Mira Costa at #4 San Diego Cathedral
#6 Santa Margarita at #3 Torrey Pines
#7 Oaks Christian at #2 Sierra Canyon

Note: Quarterfinals (Divisions I-V) Nov. 12 at higher seeds; Semifinals (all divisions) Nov. 14 at higher seeds; Finals (all divisions) Nov. 17 at higher seeds; State Finals Nov. 20 at Santiago College.

SOUTHAMPTON Airport is set to undergo a massive expansion and it is good news for travellers.

The airport has announced plans to expand its passenger terminal by 800 square metres, to handle nearly three times as many passengers per flight.

The expanded terminal would allow the airport to host larger aircrafts, capable of carrying around 200 passengers.

Planes at the airport currently, have around 70 seats.

The bigger planes would include Airbus A320s and Boeing 737s and could lead to new routes from the airport in the future.

Currently, inside the terminal up to 200 passengers may need to wait in a pre-controlled boarding area while other passengers get off the plane.

Read more on travel inspo

SO FLY

Our fave beach hols under 5 hours from UK with Caribbean dupes & £2 bottles of wine

ALL IN

I found the best value all inclusive London hotel… just £55pp with free food & booze

The expansion would also help with this, creating more space for passengers to move around.

The extension would be built in the area next to the existing terminal building.

Previously plans suggested that a passenger walkway would also be added to the airport, as well as a new domestic baggage reclaim.

The airport already underwent a runway expansion of 164 metres in 2023.

The airport currently serves between 800,000 to 900,000 passengers a year and heads to 15 destinations including Paris, Mallorca and Barcelona.

Airlines that operate from the airport include Aer Lingus, Easyjet, KLM and Loganair.

The chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces has laid out five conditions for what he calls a roadmap to lasting security, as Qatar said it was “hopeful” that Tehran and Washington could reach a deal paving the way for future negotiations, despite overnight US strikes on Qeshm Island.

Major-General Ali Abdollahi’s plan calls for an end to hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon and the Gaza Strip, the complete lifting of sanctions and the unfreezing of Iranian assets and war reparations, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported on Tuesday.

The plan also calls for recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, and a guarantee against future aggression under a regional security framework for West Asia.

The plan comes as Qatar steps up mediation efforts amid fears the US-Israel war on Iran, launched in late February, could escalate after the midterm elections in the United States on Tuesday.

Qatar’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Majed al-Ansari said in his weekly briefing in Doha on Tuesday that a Qatari delegation held a meeting with Iranian officials in Tehran for more than three hours on Monday, before returning to Doha that evening. Both sides are now reviewing Qatar’s proposal, he said, with mediators exchanging proposals between them in real time.

“If there were no glimmer of hope, there would be no negotiations,” al-Ansari said, adding that Qatar would not speculate on whether an agreement or a military escalation was more likely.

He warned that any escalation, whether attacks on Iranian territory or on shipping, “will have an impact on the negotiations”, and said continuing the Qatari-Pakistani mediation remained a priority. He reiterated that freedom of navigation in Hormuz was nonnegotiable, referring to Doha’s condemnation of the targeting of the Qatari tanker Al-Mayda.

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Resul Serdar Atas said mediators were aiming to avert a new round of fighting.

He said a Qatari delegation visited Iran on Friday in response to a letter to Iran from US Vice President JD Vance, and an Iranian delegation travelled to Qatar the following day.

“The Qataris are trying to mediate with Iran, not on a peace deal, but on a framework to restart the negotiations,” he said. Of Monday’s brief visit, he added: “The reading is that the Qataris carried a message to Tehran and immediately left after that.”

“The main issue is the mistrust between the two parties,” Atas said. “The Iranians say that twice previously the US attacked them when they were engaged in diplomacy. That’s why they’re asking for concrete steps, such as lifting sanctions, removing the naval blockade, returning frozen Iranian assets and letting Iran sell oil on the global market.”

US officials reportedly said the military carried out limited strikes on Qeshm Island on Monday that did not amount to a resumption of major combat operations, saying Iran had tried to target a US aircraft and the attack took out the launcher.

One official called it “a defensive measure for Iranians using surface-to-air missiles against US assets”. IRNA reported five explosions on the island, with more blasts heard in Bandar Lengeh. President Donald Trump had said on October 8 that the US would not attack Iran before the midterm elections.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Tuesday it downed two US MQM-170 reconnaissance drones south of Qeshm and destroyed an MQ-9 drone east of the strait.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s lead negotiator, said, “The ball is in America’s court to prevent war.”

Tehran’s Hamshahri newspaper reported that Iran had updated its target bank to include US bases and infrastructure in Europe.

Zeidon Alkinani, the founding director of the Arab Perceptions Institute, said both sides remained open to diplomacy.

“Diplomacy and force are running in parallel,” Alkinani told Al Jazeera. “The diplomatic channel is alive – it has always been since March, but there hasn’t unfortunately been a fundamental breakthrough.”

Vance had said on Monday he was optimistic about reaching a negotiated settlement.

However, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said on Tuesday Iran was neither waiting for the outcome of US midterm elections nor shaping its policies around them.

Start date for AFC Cup 2027 moved from January to December due to ongoing Houthi attacks on host nation Saudi Arabia.

Football’s upcoming Asian Cup 2027 tournament in Saudi Arabia has been rescheduled from a January start to December due to the ongoing conflict in the region, the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) has confirmed.

The 24-team competition, which was due to get under way in Riyadh on January 7, 2027, will now begin on December 23, the AFC said in a statement on Tuesday.

Asian football’s governing body announced the decision following “extensive discussions and close consultation with the Local Organising Committee (LOC) of the AFC Asian Cup Saudi Arabia 2027 and the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF)”.

The tournament will now run from December 23, 2027, to January 21, 2028.

“The organising committee for the AFC Asian Cup approved rescheduling the tournament in light of the current exceptional circumstances arising from developments in the region, including substantial logistical complexities and travel disruptions,” the AFC’s statement added.

Saudi Arabia has repeatedly come under attack from Yemen’s Houthis since September, with capital Riyadh among the cities repeatedly targeted by missiles.

The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen reported on Friday that it “intercepted and destroyed” a drone launched by the Houthis towards Saudi Arabia’s Mecca region.

It was also reported that a missile aimed at western Saudi Arabia was earlier brought down, as hostilities between the Riyadh-backed Yemen government and Iran-backed Houthis continue to escalate.

The tournament’s fate hung in the balance in past weeks, with several participating nations expressing concerns about the security situation.

The AFC said while “exceptional circumstances” had been created for the organisation and delivery of the competition as originally scheduled, the postponement became necessary “in the interest of all participating teams, officials, spectators and other stakeholders.”

The AFC will submit the new tournament dates to FIFA for approval from football’s global governing body.

Gulf countries have stepped up diplomacy with Iran in a bid to de-escalate tensions across the Middle East, amid fears of renewed US strikes on Tehran and intensifying hostilities between Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen and Saudi Arabia.

The three nations that signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August – Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye – and diplomats from Qatar met with high-ranking Iranian officials on Monday in an effort to prevent the resumption of all-out war.

Underscoring the high stakes, the meeting in Tehran was attended by Saudi Minister of Defence Prince Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, just days after Iran-aligned Houthi fighters struck Saudi airports, ports and oil facilities.

Meanwhile, during a diplomatic visit to the United Kingdom’s University of Cambridge on Monday, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi called for a regional security framework, including a “non-aggression pact”, between the Gulf countries and Iran under which the United States would no longer be the primary provider of security.

While Gulf countries appear determined to avoid another round of conflict – which has already restricted passage through the Strait of Hormuz, disrupted global oil and gas supplies and wreaked havoc on energy facilities and infrastructure in Gulf states – questions remain over whether a regional agreement is possible and where it would leave relations between the US and Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

Regional security or de-escalation?

On Friday, US President Donald Trump repeated warnings that Washington may carry out another military operation against Iran as rising fuel prices weigh on the US midterm elections scheduled for November 3. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Iran would respond more forcefully to any renewed US military action, stoking fears of an even wider escalation.

While this week’s talks in Tehran mark the first high-level ‌contact between Iran and the Mecca mutual defence pact nations since the US-Israel war on Iran began on February 28, reports suggest they have stopped short of landing an agreement.

Reuters reported that Qatari mediators ⁠presented ⁠Iran with a draft deal on Sunday, which Tehran was expected to respond to by the end of the week. On Wednesday, the news agency quoted Iranian officials as saying Qatar had put ‌forward ideas that were unacceptable and that Tehran would ⁠show ⁠no flexibility regarding the nuclear ‌issue.

Khaled Batarfi, a Saudi political analyst and academic, said the visit to Tehran indicated that Saudi Arabia was willing to give Iran a “last warning” and “submit to the region’s concerns”, but that Iran has so far refused.

“The gap is [wide] and what makes it worse is that there is no trust,” Batarfi told Al Jazeera.

Observers say diverging views are unlikely to turn the current diplomatic efforts into a lasting infrastructure. “It’s really hard to see a regional security framework coming out in the coming months or even years,” Aniseh Bassiri Tabrizi, an associate fellow at Chatham House in London, told Al Jazeera.

“What we are seeing is more small groups, flexible groups of countries that are taking the lead in trying to reach either bilateral or multilateral solutions,” the analyst said. “A regional security framework would need the same vision for the region, which is not necessarily shared… among the GCC countries themselves.”

Challenges ahead

Hamidreza Azizi, a senior analyst at the International Crisis Group, said Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye share concerns that a prolonged confrontation between Iran and the US could further destabilise the region.

“The main obstacle remains the fundamental disagreement between Tehran and Washington over the sequence of commitments,” Azizi told Al Jazeera. “The US wants Iranian concessions, particularly on the nuclear issue, while Tehran insists that its conditions for ending the war must be met first.”

“Regional mediation could help bridge this gap, possibly through an interim arrangement, but the willingness of regional actors to facilitate an agreement does not necessarily mean that the two principal parties are prepared to make the necessary compromises,” he added.

As for a new security order, Azizi said regional countries do not share a common understanding of what it should look like and what role the US – which has so far been the GCC’s main security partner – would have left to play.

Iran has long advocated for a regional security architecture that would reduce or eliminate the US military presence. “Saudi Arabia and other Gulf states, however, remain deeply integrated into the US security system, and there is little indication that they intend to abandon it,” Azizi said.

“The recent war has certainly raised questions about the reliability of American security guarantees, but this has encouraged these countries to diversify their security partnerships rather than fundamentally redefine their strategic alignments.”

Planned talks to be first high-level contact between Iran and the bloc since Houthi rebels escalated their attacks on Saudi Arabia.

Delegations from the Mecca Defence Alliance countries – Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Pakistan – will visit Tehran for talks, according to Saudi and Iranian officials.

Ali Bagheri Kani, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, was quoted by state-run media as saying Saudi Defence Minister Khalid bin Salman Al Saud, Pakistani military chief Asim Munir and Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin will participate in a joint meeting during their visit to Tehran on Monday.

The Iranian delegation will be led by Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council.

The participating countries could take an effective step towards establishing regional security based on actors in the region, Bagheri Kani said.

Rayed Krimly, the Saudi deputy minister for public diplomacy, also confirmed the meeting, adding that the visit comes as part of the continued efforts by the Mecca Defence Alliance allies “for de-escalation between parties involved in the ongoing crisis and promoting dialogue and diplomatic solutions in support of the mediation efforts carried out” by Qatar and Pakistan.

“The visit underscores the pivotal role of Mecca Joint Defence Agreement countries in reinforcing regional security and stability and working with all countries in the region to achieve that goal,” he wrote on X.

Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia

The planned talks would be the first high-level contact between Iran and all members of the alliance since Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthi armed group escalated attacks on Saudi Arabia last month.

Field Marshal Munir last week visited Tehran, where he met President Masoud Pezeshkian and other senior officials.

During the visit, Iranian officials told him there would be no talks with the United States about ending the US-Israel war on Iran until Tehran’s demands were met, according to Iranian media.

Pakistan has been a key intermediary between Washington and Tehran since the US and Israel launched the war in February.

Earlier mediation efforts helped produce an interim agreement in June, but the deal quickly unravelled as fighting between Iran and the US resumed weeks later.

Saudi Arabia intercepted another wave of missiles and drones on Sunday as fighting with the Houthis continued.

Ministers from the Mecca Defence Alliance countries held an emergency meeting in Riyadh this month and agreed to ensure the “rapid deployment” of military forces and capabilities in Saudi Arabia.

The Houthi attacks have become an increasingly destabilising element in the US-Israeli war on Iran, turning US ally Saudi Arabia into a pressure point ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠in the wider war.

Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia signed the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement in August. Under it, an armed attack on one member is considered an attack on all.

The agreement’s first article says the parties shall use “all necessary means” to eliminate threats to one another’s territorial integrity, sovereignty and internationally recognised borders, according to the text publicised at the time.

Efforts by Turkiye’s parliament to ratify the agreement began last week and are still under way while Pakistan approved the pact last week.

Hundreds of Ethiopians have crossed into Kenya, fleeing ⁠⁠fighting in ⁠⁠the border town of Moyale, which was reportedly prompted by loyalists publicly raising the flag of a neighbouring majority-Somali state.

Kenyan police said on Thursday that hundreds of Ethiopians, mostly women and children, crossed into Kenya through several entry points in Moyale, including the Sessi, Kore, Biashara, Foundation and Miti areas.

The people who crossed the border were fleeing tensions between leaders of Ethiopia’s Oromia and Somali regional states, according to Kenyan police.

The police reported gunfire and chaotic scenes in Moyale.

Ethiopian media reported that the fighting in Moyale started as a dispute over raising the flag of the Somali Regional State, a regional state in eastern Ethiopia, on Sunday.

Tensions escalated into fighting between forces from the Oromia and Somali regions.

Gunfire, chaos

The Kenya Red Cross said it was setting up temporary shelter and distributing essential items including cereal and porridge flour.

“The response will initially reach 1,000 households,” the Kenya Red Cross said in a statement on Thursday.

It added that experts were conducting an assessment to work out how many people were ⁠affected and what their needs were.

The regional clash is hundreds of kilometres away from ‌‌a larger conflict in the northern Tigray region between government forces and a rebel alliance led by the Tigray People’s ‌‌Liberation ‌‌Front.

A 24-year-old man, who was already being held in quarantine, is the latest to test positive, according to the Health Ministry.

⁠Kenya has confirmed ⁠a new Ebola case, bringing the total ‌number of infections in the country to ⁠nine, amid an outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), raising concerns about a regional spread.

A 24-year-old man, who was already being held in quarantine, is the latest to test positive, Kenya’s Ministry of Health said in a statement on Tuesday.

“He was isolated at the first sign of illness, tested and started on treatment immediately upon confirmation of his positive test result,” it said, adding he “was already in quarantine when he fell ill”.

The man was a close family member of Kenya’s first Ebola patient, who had travelled from the DRC, through Uganda and before arriving in Kenya and dying at a Nairobi hospital on ⁠October 5.

“All nine cases belong to one cluster, and as of ‌today there is no evidence of transmission outside this group,” Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth said in a statement on Tuesday.

“Eight patients are stable and responding well to treatment, while 134 of 135 contacts have been traced and quarantined,” Amoth said.

Amoth said a milestone was in sight for the majority of the contacts in quarantine as they had remained well for the 21-day monitoring period and could return home from October 25.

It appealed to communities to welcome them back, saying they “pose no risk of infection”.

The ministry said no infections had occurred within quarantine facilities and that it was continuously monitoring infection-prevention measures to protect health workers.

Despite the nine infections, Kenya has not imposed restrictions on travel, trade or public gatherings, with authorities saying the country remains open for business.

In the DRC, there have been more than 9,000 Ebola cases and 4,000 deaths since May.

The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control says it’s the second-largest epidemic on record.

It has been difficult to contain because there is no licensed vaccine or specific treatment for the Bundibugyo strain of the virus.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has unveiled an updated national security doctrine and displayed a map of rival regional alignments, signalling a security approach that prioritises preemptive military action, the expansion of buffer zones, and the pursuit of new regional partnerships.

The document was developed with the assistance of Israel’s National Security Council and published by the Prime Minister’s Office on Sunday, just nine days before Israel’s parliamentary elections that could spell the end of Netanyahu’s time in office. It outlines a formal policy of preventing perceived threats through military action rather than containment – a policy that has already been seen in action over the past few years, as Israel pursues multiple wars and attacks on its neighbours.

Electoral survival strategy

The timing of the map’s release carries particular political significance, with Netanyahu fighting to retain power amid criticism of his conduct in power, the ongoing corruption trial he faces and his handling of the October 7, 2023, attacks, as well as the wars that followed.

As the October 27 election day draws closer, Netanyahu is attempting to bolster his credentials as Israel’s ‘Mr Security’, hoping to get the votes of Israelis who may not like some of his other policies or behaviour, but still view him as the most likely leader to defend the country.

Netanyahu, who did get the endorsement of US President Donald Trump on Sunday, said during the briefing that Israel could face the possibility of a far less supportive administration in Washington in two years, after the end of the Trump presidency.

“In two years, a president… who is extremely hostile to Israel could come to power [in the United States],” Netanyahu warned.

He therefore argued that Israel must “expand our network of alliances and develop capabilities that make us a valuable asset” to other countries as a way of protecting itself if US policy towards it changed.

The comments, according to analysts, suggest that Netanyahu is seeking to portray his leadership as essential to navigating both Israel’s regional military challenges and its diplomatic isolation, all while keeping a fearful electorate reassured.

Mohanad Hage Ali, deputy director for research at the Malcolm H Kerr Carnegie Middle East Center, explained that the strategic presentation centred on competing regional blocs and buffer zones.

That framework “incubates and nurtures existential fears, which would lead Israeli voters to feel the need for a decisive leader”, Hage Ali noted.

In his assessment, Netanyahu stands to benefit from the Israeli public’s fear of regional threats by presenting himself as a familiar leader capable of managing them, making him “the devil you know”, as the analyst put it, to voters reluctant to embrace political change at a sensitive time.

Netanyahu’s political opponents have been quick to push back against that narrative.

Gadi Eisenkot, one of the prime minister’s main challengers in the upcoming election, said that the published doctrine was “two hollow pages, full of slogans that have nothing to do with a security concept”.

Another, former Prime Minister Yair Lapid, described the document as “superficial”.

Expanding security zones

The map displayed during Netanyahu’s briefing was originally published in May by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, a German political foundation. It divides the Middle East and parts of Africa into competing blocs, highlighting the region’s complex network of alliances and rivalries.

Those networks include states, unrecognised entities and non-state actors.

The map identifies an Israel-United Arab Emirates alignment, described as the “Hexagon Alliance”, alongside a separate grouping of Egypt, Turkiye, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia – the latter three of which signed the Mecca mutual defence pact in August – labelled the “Sunni Diamond Alliance”. It also depicts Iran and its regional allies as a separate axis.

The map serves to illustrate the issues outlined in the published security doctrine, presenting a region where Israel faces multiple threats, the alliance that Israel is seeking to cultivate across the wider region, and the perceived need for “buffer zones” – the occupation of territory in other countries.

Israel’s existing illegal occupation of territory in Gaza and southern Lebanon illustrates the potential consequences of expanding the buffer zone approach.

Hage Ali warned that continuing to pursue an approach built around expanding military control could lead to “more conflict and more ethnic cleansing” under the guise of security buffers.

Embracing regional factions

A striking element of the map displayed by Netanyahu is its explicit designation of non-state actors as friendly entities.

The map highlights territories controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan and Khalifa Haftar’s self-styled Libyan National Army within an alignment deemed cooperative to Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Israel views these actors as pragmatic partners or at least cooperative entities in a broader strategic grid, Hage Ali explained. However, the public association of these groups with Israel threatens to damage their domestic standing across the Arab world.

That reflects Netanyahu’s immediate priorities, where “what Israelis think matters more than the reputation of your allies and the viability of these alliances”, Hage Ali added.

The portrayal of the Middle East as a region divided into competing alliances also carries risks for Netanyahu’s broader diplomatic ambitions.

Earlier this year, Netanyahu proposed a “hexagon of alliances”, envisaging cooperation between Israel, India, Greece, Cyprus and unnamed Arab, African and Asian partners, against what he described as “radical” regional alliances.

The proposed grouping has not been established as a formal alliance, and commentators in Israel and the international press have described the project as a branding exercise rather than a binding military pact, noting that countries like India prioritise non-alignment and pragmatic trade over ideologically rigid blocs.

For Tehran and its regional partners, the map also offers potent political leverage.

Hage Ali emphasised that the visual layout “will certainly help their propaganda machine”, providing Hezbollah and other Iranian allies with evidence to reinforce the narrative that Israel seeks to expand and dominate the region.

Tehran, Iran – Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov is due to meet with senior Iranian officials in Tehran to discuss the war with the United States and efforts to end it.

Lavrov landed in the Iranian capital on Monday afternoon on his first visit to Iran since February 2025. Moscow said the trip was part of efforts to ease months of tension, since the US and Israel launched their war on Iran on February 28. The Russian minister is scheduled to hold talks with President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi later on Monday.

On Sunday, Lavrov was in Bahrain, which was heavily targeted by Iran during the war, to participate in a strategic dialogue session between Russia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

He was urged by GCC members to use Moscow’s influence with Tehran to press for “serious dialogue” and restore shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, which has been severely disrupted by attacks on commercial vessels.

GCC chief Jasem Al-Budaiwi said member states had faced more than 7,000 Iranian missiles and drones since the start of the war.

In the council’s closing statement, the six Arab countries said they wanted Iran’s nuclear and missile programmes, as well as its support for regional armed groups, to be included in future talks to end the war.

Nikita Smagin, an analyst and researcher on Iran and Russia’s role in the Middle East, said Lavrov’s trip reflects Moscow’s efforts to maintain working relations with all countries in the region.

He said Lavrov also wants to maintain Russia’s status as a mediator, despite the impact of the Ukraine war on its global reputation.

“The timing of visits to the Gulf monarchies and Iran, taking place almost simultaneously, is a deliberate signal: Moscow wants to show that it approaches relations with all these countries on broadly equal terms and is equally interested in cooperation with each of them,” Smagin said.

How does Russia fit in?

Lavrov told GCC ministers in Manama that the region was once again teetering on the brink of a full-scale war and Russia wanted to establish a regional architecture for “collective security”.

He said this could include combining initiatives from countries in the region, along with those put forward by Russia and China, with the aim of restoring maritime traffic and achieving lasting peace. The Russian foreign minister urged other regional states such as Iraq and Jordan, which have also been hit by Iranian strikes, to participate.

Lavrov expressed support for the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed between Iran and the US in June, which later collapsed, as a framework for reducing tension.

Iran has said it wants a return to that agreement, and for Washington to honour a finalised bilateral deal between Iran and Oman to manage territorial waters in the Strait of Hormuz. This has been opposed by the US, which has established its own route in the waterway for shipping.

Intelligence reports cited by US media said that Russia and China are providing military support to Iran in the form of satellite imagery for targeting purposes and components for weapons.

But US President Donald Trump contradicted those reports last week, saying Moscow and Beijing would have “too much to lose” if they helped Iran.

Washington has also issued sanctions waivers for Russia in a bid to lower fuel prices driven up by the war against Iran.

Mixed intentions

Russia’s position on the Iran war is somewhat unusual, said Smagin. It has a partial interest in the conflict continuing, as higher oil prices and the severe restrictions on Iranian oil reaching China all benefit Moscow.

“Russia and Iran have been competing primarily for the Chinese market, so China is now effectively forced to buy Russian oil at higher prices because Iranian supplies are largely unavailable,” he said.

Smagin added that Russia does not want the conflict to escalate further, as the consequences could be unpredictable, but its leverage over either Iran or the US to influence the course of the conflict remains limited.

Russia will continue to expand relations with Tehran, Smagin said, including through Caspian Sea trade, and limited military cooperation with Iran.

“These efforts appear to be aimed less at generating economic returns than at expanding Russia’s political influence over Iran and the course of events,” he said.

Military strikes by Iran and the US to wrest control of the waterway have continued, with the US midterm elections approaching on November 3 .

In comments to the media, Trump threatened to “soon finish the job” with Iran, to which Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi replied: “We have unfinished jobs too.”

Kenyan health authorities say latest patient was likely exposed to the country’s first Ebola case.

Kenyan health authorities say an eighth Ebola case has been detected, bringing the total number of known infections in the East African nation to eight.

Director-General for Health Patrick Amoth told Kenya’s Citizen TV that of the 38 people tested on Sunday, one had returned a positive result.

“He is a 49-year-old man who is not a healthcare worker. He developed fever, headache and muscle pain,” he said.

Amoth said the man, who worked as a patient attendant cleaning utensils and linens, was likely exposed to Kenya’s first Ebola case, discovered earlier this month.

He developed symptoms on Saturday, was quarantined and tested for the virus, a Ministry of Health source said.

The ministry reported four new cases on Saturday, three of whom were health workers who treated the country’s first Ebola patient, a man who travelled from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Nairobi and died at a Nairobi hospital on October 5.

In a post on X, the ministry said the fourth person was related to the deceased patient.

Kenya has been on heightened alert, as the Ebola outbreak has spilled across the border from the DRC. The current outbreak is of the Bundibugyo strain of the virus, for which there is no vaccine or specific treatment.

The DRC has recorded at least 9,400 cases, including more than 4,500 deaths, in the deadliest outbreak in the country’s history, which started in May.

Ituri province in eastern DRC remains the disease’s epicentre, accounting for almost three quarters of confirmed cases, according to the government’s most recent data. It announced on Sunday that the virus has reached an eighth province, North Ubangi.

State-run news agency ACP reported on Sunday that authorities in North Kivu province, where the World Health Organization said substantial transmission continues, are introducing a one-week ban from Monday on people entering the province from Ituri in an effort to slow the spread.

Other measures set to be introduced include restrictions on passenger numbers in cars and on motorbikes and suspension of large public gatherings.

Neighbouring Uganda recorded 20 confirmed cases, including 15 imported from the DRC, and two deaths, before it was declared Ebola-free in August.