Flydubai co-pilot attacked with an axe

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2026-10-03 13:01

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Weekend Briefing

From Reuters Daily Briefing

By Robert MacMillan, Reuters.com Weekend Editor

Thanks for reading the Weekend Briefing. Read on for our latest report on the flydubai incident. And first stop here to read about the upcoming Supreme Court term and the two oldest – and most conservative – US justices. Donald Trump will battle in the battlegrounds. And Steve Reich tells our Culture Current correspondent about composing music at the age of 90 and of his regard for not only AI, but Paul McCartney.

Co-pilot used a crash axe in flydubai attack

REUTERS/Ammar Awad

The latest: The co-pilot attacked the pilot with a crash axe and tried to take control of the aircraft. He was identified as Hammam al-Hammami, an Omani national, a source with direct knowledge of the matter said. He was trying to carry out a terrorist attack, the United Arab Emirates’ prosecutor general said.
Struggle in the sky: Our graphics crew uses available data to show us what happened on the flight route. Israeli officials plan to question the co-pilot, who was transferred to Dubai on Thursday.

Saudis plan assault on Houthis

Options: Saudi Arabia may make a coastal push against the Iran-aligned Yemeni fighters and is considering an assault on multiple fronts, sources said. Saudi allies including the US and some European and regional partners are not expected to join in the combat.
Middle East: The head of a left-wing Arab party dropped out of Israel’s election under pressure from Supreme Court judges who were likely to disqualify him after he wrote an article that described the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel as an “important historical event.” Sami Abu Shehadeh denied that his remarks were an endorsement of the assault.

Release the diesel

100 million barrels: G7 countries agreed to make diesel and crude oil from their emergency reserves available, a move Trump has called for as he seeks lower domestic-fuel prices ahead of the midterm elections.. You might think you don’t pay for diesel because you put gas in your car. Our economics editor Dan Burns is here to set you straight.
Self-criticism: Speaking of the midterm elections, Trump is giving himself some bad grades even as he pushes Americans to vote as if he were on the ticket. First up: He said he’s done a bad job explaining his economic record. Second: He said he regrets nominating Neil Gorsuch, Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Politician beaten to death over Ebola prevention message

Democratic Republic of Congo: Marie-Célestin Karondwa was attacked by residents in his neighborhood after going on the radio to promote ways to prevent Ebola. Thousands of displaced people fled a camp hit by Ebola after soldiers entered the site. Only a fifth of people with the virus have been traced.
Egypt: The US State Department said it waived human-rights conditions on more than $300 million in military aid to Cairo because of Egypt’s “helpful role” since the US began attacking Iran.

Christa Pike remains critically ill

Execution: The convicted murderer was receiving “life-saving medical care” after surviving two attempts by Tennessee authorities to execute her by lethal injection.
And in New York: Governor Kathy Hochul faulted police and prosecutors for failing to fully investigate an alleged gang rape in 2024 at Cornell University.

Before I forget…

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Bangladesh’s dengue outbreak may worsen after its deadliest month this year. Its hospitals are already fighting the world’s worst measles outbreak. Pennsylvania logged its fifth death related to measles.
A government-appointed commission said Sweden should apologize to the indigenous Sámi people for past injustices. A study commissioned by the Dutch king found that the royal House of Orange-Nassau’s involvement in the slave trade was “wholehearted and without any real reservations.”
Trump is digging in on voluntary safeguards for AI as humans worry about its existential implications. And my colleague Stephen Eisenhammer poses a brain-teaser of a question: What if all the money going into AI development simply doesn’t deliver on its promise?
‘It’s as dead as disco’: Republican Sen. John Kennedy said Trump’s push to make daylight saving time permanent isn’t going anywhere in the Senate..

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