Latest / The Rest of the World Podcast / The Rest of the World Report | Monday, October 5, 2026 — Evening Edition

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The Rest of the World Report | Monday, October 5, 2026 — Evening Edition · The Rest of the World Podcast

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  [music]
• 0:10
  SPEAKER_00: Good evening from Paris.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez with The Rest of the World Report for Monday, October 5th.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Pakistan and Turkey will send forces to Saudi Arabia.
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  SPEAKER_00: The two countries and Saudi Arabia agreed Monday to activate
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  SPEAKER_00: the collective defense commitments of their Mecca alliance.
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  SPEAKER_00: The decision came at an emergency meeting of the alliance's Strategic Political
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  SPEAKER_00: and Defense Committee in Riyadh.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pakistan's foreign ministry said the three countries decided to provide
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  SPEAKER_00: the agreed military forces and capabilities to and ensure their rapid deployment to
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  SPEAKER_00: the kingdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman said members agreed to trigger the deployment.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said, It responds to the attacks and all those responsible for them.
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  SPEAKER_00: The joint statement said the three agreed to move immediately to practical implementation.
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  SPEAKER_00: The commitments run under approved arrangements in each country's laws.
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  SPEAKER_00: No troop numbers, units, or arrival date have been reported.
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  SPEAKER_00: Coverage ties the decision to the Houthi attacks on the kingdom.
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  SPEAKER_00: The three states signed the pact on August 7th.
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  SPEAKER_00: It says an attack on one is an attack on all.
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  SPEAKER_00: It gave no details of members' obligations at signing.
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  SPEAKER_00: After the Houthi missile barrages in early September,
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  SPEAKER_00: Pakistan's defense minister, Khawaja Asif, said spillover could activate it.
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  SPEAKER_00: However, no action followed until now.
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  SPEAKER_00: Analysts say Pakistan and Turkey also remain keen to mediate the U.S.-Iran conflict.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pakistan's foreign ministry,
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  SPEAKER_00: said Asif,
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  SPEAKER_00: Army Chief Asim Manir,
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  SPEAKER_00: and Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishak Dar attended the Riyadh talks.
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  SPEAKER_00: Dar said last week the talks would address a proposal for political engagement with
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  SPEAKER_00: the Houthis.
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  SPEAKER_00: He called it an alternative to military action.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said it followed an approved approach by Tehran.
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  SPEAKER_00: The fighting in Yemen moved on the same day.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Yemeni government's Presidential Leadership Council chairman,
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  SPEAKER_00: Rashad al-Alimi, ordered operations on Sunday.
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  SPEAKER_00: Government forces now say they have retaken the port city of Mocha.
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  SPEAKER_00: They also claim positions near Bab al-Mendeb Strait, including Dabaab District.
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  SPEAKER_00: They announced a strategic offensive on Sana'a.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Houthis denied the Dibab claim.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Houthis seized Mocha and strategic islands in mid-September.
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  SPEAKER_00: That choked a second key oil passageway while Iran blockaded the Strait of Hormuz.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Houthis took about 150 kilometers of Red Sea coastline last month.
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  SPEAKER_00: The 2022 truce collapsed in July.
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  SPEAKER_00: The government army says it neutralized 1,747 Houthi fighters in 1,122 operations.
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  SPEAKER_00: It names Sada al-Jaf, Taiz, and the West Coast.
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  SPEAKER_00: Spokesman Majid Abdullah al-Nazali said 364 vehicles were destroyed or disabled.
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  SPEAKER_00: The figures are unverified.
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  SPEAKER_00: A military source said fighting has also escalated on the Marib front in Ragwan.
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  SPEAKER_00: Coalition spokesman Major General Turki al-Maliki said 100 fighter jets are
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  SPEAKER_00: supporting Yemeni forces.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said the coalition has secured air protection of Bab al-Mandeb.
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  SPEAKER_00: Translators note.
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  SPEAKER_00: Gulf News ran AFP's report beside its coverage of Houthi strikes on Saudi territory.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those include a drone hit on a power station in Medina and missile debris
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  SPEAKER_00: that injured an expatriate.
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  SPEAKER_00: In that frame,
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  SPEAKER_00: the pact is a defense of Saudi civilian infrastructure,
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  SPEAKER_00: and Iran does not appear in the story.
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  SPEAKER_00: Al Jazeera placed the same meeting inside the U.S.-Iran conflict.
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  SPEAKER_00: It reported that analysts see Pakistan and Turkey as would-be mediators.
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  SPEAKER_00: It also reported that Dar said the Riyadh talks would take up political engagement
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  SPEAKER_00: with the Houthis after an approach from Tehran.
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  SPEAKER_00: The meeting that activated a military pact was also in Al Jazeera's account,
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  SPEAKER_00: a venue for a diplomatic proposal.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
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  SPEAKER_00: Pakistan and Turkey have committed forces to Saudi Arabia under a pact signed in August.
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  SPEAKER_00: Analysts say both also want to mediate the U.S.-Iran conflict.
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  SPEAKER_00: Hormuz and Bab el-Mendeb are both disrupted.
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  SPEAKER_00: Japan's Prime Minister promised to cut the food tax without borrowing more.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sanae Takeichi spoke to the diet on Monday.
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  SPEAKER_00: She said the consumption tax on food and beverages will fall from 8% to 1%
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  SPEAKER_00: for two years from April.
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  SPEAKER_00: She paired the cut with the cash benefits for middle- and low-income earners.
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  SPEAKER_00: She said it would be funded without deficit-covering bonds.
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  SPEAKER_00: Japan's fiscal health is already the worst among G7 economies.
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  SPEAKER_00: Opposition parties have said the plan brings no immediate relief.
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  SPEAKER_00: The speech opened a 69-day Extraordinary Diet Session that runs through December 12.
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  SPEAKER_00: Takeichi promised a five-year investment plan
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  SPEAKER_00: by year-end covering economic security, cyberdefense, AI, and semiconductors.
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  SPEAKER_00: The government has submitted 21 bills.
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  SPEAKER_00: They include measures to diversify oil supplies amid the Middle East conflict
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  SPEAKER_00: and rules on land acquisition near national security areas.
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  SPEAKER_00: A separate bill would cut 45 seats from the lower house.
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  SPEAKER_00: She called China an important neighbor and said she wants a constructive
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  SPEAKER_00: and stable relationship.
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  SPEAKER_00: She said Tokyo will say what must be said and strongly urge responsible actions.
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  SPEAKER_00: She also spoke about constitutional revision.
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  SPEAKER_00: Her ruling bloc of Liberal Democratic Party and the Japan Innovation Party won
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  SPEAKER_00: a landslide in February.
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  SPEAKER_00: It holds far more than two-thirds of the 465 lower house seats.
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  SPEAKER_00: It is a minority in the Senate's.
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  SPEAKER_00: Farm Minister Kazuo Yana and Education Minister Yoshihiro Seki face questions
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  SPEAKER_00: over discipline in a slush fund scandal.
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  SPEAKER_00: Background.
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  SPEAKER_00: Takeuchi told a parliamentary committee in early November 2025 about Taiwan.
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  SPEAKER_00: Beijing summoned Japan's ambassador and demanded she withdraw the remarks.
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  SPEAKER_00: Relations have been at a low since.
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  SPEAKER_00: Last week, China's top diplomat said ties with Tokyo were waiting to be normalized again.
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  SPEAKER_00: China warns its citizens against travel to Japan last year and impose trade restrictions.
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  SPEAKER_00: Translators note,
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  SPEAKER_00: the Korea Times and Taipei Times both ran AFP's account of the speech
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  SPEAKER_00: under headlines about China.
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  SPEAKER_00: Kyoto's report leads with the tax cut and carries no Chinese response.
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  SPEAKER_00: The AFP copy places the speech inside the diplomatic freeze that followed
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  SPEAKER_00: the November Taiwan remarks.
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  SPEAKER_00: It notes that China's top diplomat had called last week for ties to be normalized.
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  SPEAKER_00: It also notes Beijing travel warning and restrictions on Japan.
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  SPEAKER_00: For those two outlets, the speech's China passage is the story.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
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  SPEAKER_00: Japan plans a two-year food tax cut without new deficit bonds.
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  SPEAKER_00: Its fiscal health is already the worst in G7.
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  SPEAKER_00: Takeichi also sent out her China approach,
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  SPEAKER_00: which Beijing has met with demands over her Taiwan remarks.
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  SPEAKER_00: Also in Japan, a U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Marine is in Japanese custody on suspicion of robbing and killing a woman in Naha.
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  SPEAKER_00: Devin Ballard, 20, is stationed at Futenma.
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  SPEAKER_00: Police arrested him Sunday in the killing of Anna Yagi, 39, early Saturday at a Naha hotel.
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  SPEAKER_00: Police say he was seen entering the hotel with her.
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  SPEAKER_00: She died of suffocation.
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  SPEAKER_00: Her wallet and backpack were taken.
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  SPEAKER_00: An officer detained him walking alone in Naha's entertainment district late Saturday.
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  SPEAKER_00: He denies the allegations and on Monday, police sent him to prosecutors.
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  SPEAKER_00: The status of forces agreement gives Japan primary jurisdiction over off-duty offenses.
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  SPEAKER_00: He was arrested off base and taken into Japanese custody.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Marine Corps says it's cooperating.
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  SPEAKER_00: Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi summoned U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ambassador George Klass and lodged a strong protest.
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  SPEAKER_00: Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi protested to Lieutenant General Stephen Jost,
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  SPEAKER_00: the senior U.S. commander.
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  SPEAKER_00: Takaichi called the case extremely regrettable on X.
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  SPEAKER_00: She told Parliament Monday that Japan wants full U.S. cooperation and strict discipline.
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  SPEAKER_00: Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara said Tokyo and Washington will work together
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  SPEAKER_00: to prevent a recurrence.
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  SPEAKER_00: Okinawa Governor Jenta Koja called the killing utterly unacceptable and extremely outrageous.
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  SPEAKER_00: Koja took office last week with LDP backing.
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  SPEAKER_00: He plans to travel to Tokyo this week.
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  SPEAKER_00: The relocation of Futenma continues despite local opposition.
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  SPEAKER_00: Translators note, Xinhua,
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  SPEAKER_00: China's state news agency,
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  SPEAKER_00: headlined the case as an alleged murder that sparks outrage.
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  SPEAKER_00: Its second paragraph turns to Okinawan residents.
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  SPEAKER_00: It says they blame the presence of U.S.
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  SPEAKER_00: bases and the Japanese government's inaction for letting such crimes recur.
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  SPEAKER_00: The report never mentions the Status of Forces Agreement or Futenma.
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  SPEAKER_00: Kyoto, a Japanese wire, reports the same arrest as a jurisdiction question.
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  SPEAKER_00: Japan has primary jurisdiction over off-duty offenses.
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  SPEAKER_00: The suspect is in Japanese custody, and Tokyo has protested to Washington.
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  SPEAKER_00: Kyoto also reports that Futenma relocation continues despite local opposition.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
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  SPEAKER_00: A U.S. Marine is in Japanese custody over a killing in Naha.
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  SPEAKER_00: Tokyo and Okinawa's new governor are both demanding U.S. cooperation and discipline.
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  SPEAKER_00: The Futenma relocation continues despite local opposition.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: Abiy Ahmed was sworn in for another five-year term as Ethiopia's prime minister on Monday.
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  SPEAKER_00: He told parliament that Ethiopia will secure a port on the Red Sea.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said it will proceed on the principle of give and take.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ethiopia's foreign ministry answered the same day.
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  SPEAKER_00: It said any discussion of the Red Sea must account
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  SPEAKER_00: for Ethiopia's legitimate interests and its enduring connections to the sea.
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  SPEAKER_00: The statement responds to Sunday's new Al-Amin declaration.
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  SPEAKER_00: Egypt, Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan are four of the five states on the Red Sea.
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  SPEAKER_00: Their leaders reserved oversight of the coastline for bordering states.
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  SPEAKER_00: Egypt and Sudan also warned against unilateral measures that harm downstream states.
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  SPEAKER_00: Somalia's president said Mogadishu does not object to Ethiopian access through Somali territory.
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  SPEAKER_00: He said the two countries would need to negotiate formally.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ethiopia accuses Eritrea, Egypt, and Sudan of backing the rebel alliance.
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  SPEAKER_00: Egypt's foreign minister,
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  SPEAKER_00: Badr Abdelati, said Sunday that Cairo is not party to Ethiopia's domestic crisis.
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  SPEAKER_00: Eritrea and Sudan also deny it.
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  SPEAKER_00: Sudan accuses Ethiopia of training and supporting the rapid support forces.
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  SPEAKER_00: Eritrea's information minister,
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  SPEAKER_00: Yamane Gebrameskel,
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  SPEAKER_00: said Sunday that Addis Ababa was creating a pretext to attack Eritrea.
• 9:50
  SPEAKER_00: The fighting has spread into Afar and Amarra.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_00: Militias allied with the TPLF claimed some gains there.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: The Army's counteroffensive has advanced into Tigray.
• 9:58
  SPEAKER_00: TPLF Chair Debrezian Gebremichael said Thursday that the movement will not hold fixed positions.
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  SPEAKER_00: It will choose where to strike.
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  SPEAKER_00: We know where and when to hit,
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  SPEAKER_00: he said, in his first televised statement since the fighting began.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_00: Analysts say division among former Tigrayan commanders,
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  SPEAKER_00: some now aligned with the government, may have weakened the TPLF.
• 10:18
  SPEAKER_00: Diplomatic sources report expulsions in several parts of Addis Ababa.
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  SPEAKER_00: They include the area near the military headquarters.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_00: A source linked to the opposition alliance claimed drone strikes on the capital,
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  SPEAKER_00: including the military facilities.
• 10:30
  SPEAKER_00: The claim is unverified.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_00: The Pretoria Agreement ended the 2020-2022 war in November 2022.
• 10:36
  SPEAKER_00: The TPLF said in July that the agreement had effectively collapsed.
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  SPEAKER_00: The federal government rejected that and said it remains committed to the peace process.
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  SPEAKER_00: Clashes between the army and the TPLF began in August.
• 10:48
  SPEAKER_00: Estimates put deaths in that earlier war at up to 600,000.
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  SPEAKER_00: Translators note,
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  SPEAKER_00: Al Jazeera's reporting from Mikkel, Shire, and Addis Ababa run through residents.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_00: One Addis Ababa student told its reporters that he fears seeing another Sudan.
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  SPEAKER_00: Its swearing-in report ties Abiy's Red Sea demand to Eritrea's 1993 independence,
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  SPEAKER_00: which cut Ethiopia off from the coast.
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  SPEAKER_00: The report also describes the Tigray forces as Eritrea backed in its own voice,
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  SPEAKER_00: while its other coverage this week carries Eritrea's denial.
• 11:18
  SPEAKER_00: The Irish Times frames the same week as an economic and regional risk.
• 11:22
  SPEAKER_00: It notes that Ethiopia's economy has grown between 5 and 10 percent a year for a decade.
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  SPEAKER_00: This has renewed war, threatens that growth, and could draw in regional powers.
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  SPEAKER_00: What American readers need to know.
• 11:34
  SPEAKER_00: Abiy has begun a new term with Red Sea access as a stated goal.
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  SPEAKER_00: Four of the five Red Sea states have publicly reserved the coast for themselves.
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  SPEAKER_00: The earlier war killed up to 600,000 people by some estimates.
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  SPEAKER_00: And Washington's public position as of Saturday is a State Department call
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  SPEAKER_00: for Ethiopia and Eritrea to show restraint and return to dialogue.
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  SPEAKER_00: That's it for tonight's edition of The Rest of the World Report.
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm Rudy Martinez.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thank you so much for listening, and I will see you all again in the morning.
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