RIYADH — Saudi Arabia has vowed to take decisive measures after Iran-aligned Houthi forces launched a wave of attacks on several cities and energy facilities in the kingdom, sharply escalating tensions across the Middle East.

The attacks on Tuesday targeted parts of southern Saudi Arabia, including Abha, Jazan, Najran and Khamis Mushait, according to Saudi authorities. Energy installations were among the sites hit, with fires reported at several locations.

Saudi officials said at least 73 people were injured, including women and children. Some energy operations were temporarily halted as emergency teams worked to contain the fires and assess the damage.

SAUDI ARABIA PROMISES ACTION

Saudi authorities described the attacks as a dangerous escalation and said all necessary operational measures would be taken to protect energy facilities, workers and the country’s infrastructure.

A spokesperson for the Saudi-led coalition fighting the Houthis said the coalition would take measures to deter the group and confront what it described as hostile activity.

The Houthis, meanwhile, claimed responsibility for the attacks, saying they used missiles and drones against Saudi military and energy-related targets. The group presented the operation as retaliation for Saudi-backed military activity in Yemen.

ENERGY MARKETS REACT

The attacks have also raised fresh concerns about global energy supplies because Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s largest oil producers.

Oil prices climbed sharply following news of the strikes, with Brent crude approaching $98 per barrel on Tuesday. Prices moved even higher early Wednesday as investors assessed the possibility of prolonged disruptions to Middle Eastern energy supplies.

Analysts warn that continued attacks on Saudi energy infrastructure could have consequences far beyond the region, particularly as shipping and oil supplies are already under pressure because of wider conflict around the Strait of Hormuz and the Red Sea.

TENSIONS THREATEN TO SPREAD

The latest attacks come amid a broader escalation involving Iran, the United States and their regional allies.

The Houthis have increasingly become involved in the wider conflict, targeting Saudi Arabia and previously disrupting commercial shipping in the Red Sea. Their renewed attacks risk reopening a much larger confrontation between the group and Saudi Arabia after years of relative calm following a 2022 ceasefire.

With Saudi Arabia now promising a firm response, concerns are growing that further military action could trigger another cycle of attacks across Yemen and the Gulf.

For now, attention remains focused on whether Saudi Arabia will launch retaliatory operations and whether the latest escalation will further disrupt regional energy supplies and global oil markets.

LONDON — Air passengers across the United Kingdom are facing widespread delays and cancellations after a major technical failure disrupted operations at the country’s air traffic control provider, creating significant disruption across some of the UK’s busiest airports.

The problems began on Tuesday when a fault affected the flight-processing system operated by National Air Traffic Services (NATS). The technical failure disrupted flights at major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Birmingham.

More than 1,000 flights were cancelled on Tuesday, according to flight-tracking data, as airlines struggled to manage the disruption. The impact has continued into Wednesday, with at least 177 flights already cancelled, many of them involving services at Heathrow.

NATS SAYS SYSTEM HAS BEEN RESTORED

NATS said engineers had identified and resolved the technical fault, with its systems subsequently returning to normal operation.

However, the organisation warned that restoring normal flight schedules would not happen immediately.

The technical failure left aircraft, pilots and cabin crews out of their planned positions, creating a knock-on effect across the wider aviation network. As a result, passengers could continue experiencing delays and cancellations even after the original technical problem had been fixed.

HEATHROW WARNS PASSENGERS

Heathrow Airport confirmed that departures had resumed following the disruption but cautioned travellers that delays could continue as airlines work to clear the backlog.

Passengers have been advised to check directly with their airlines before travelling to the airport and to confirm whether their flights are operating as scheduled.

AIRLINES DEMAND ANSWERS

The disruption has prompted strong criticism from airlines, with Ryanair claiming that tens of thousands of its passengers were affected.

The airline has called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to step down over the incident, while Wizz Air has also called for urgent reforms to Britain’s air traffic control system.

The demands have increased pressure on NATS as questions grow over the resilience of the UK’s aviation infrastructure and the ability of the system to cope with major technical failures.

REGULATOR TO EXAMINE INCIDENT

The UK’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is expected to examine NATS’ detailed report into the failure and assess whether further measures are required to strengthen the reliability and resilience of the country’s air traffic control infrastructure.

For passengers, the immediate priority remains checking flight information before setting out for the airport.

Although NATS says the technical problem has been fixed, the wider disruption is expected to take time to clear as airlines reposition aircraft and crews and work through the backlog of cancelled and delayed flights.

Travellers are therefore being urged to remain in contact with their airlines and avoid heading to the airport unless their flight has been confirmed.

NEW YORK — OpenAI says an advanced artificial intelligence system may have achieved a breakthrough in one of mathematics’ most notoriously difficult problems, claiming its AI generated a proposed solution to the Navier–Stokes existence and smoothness problem in just 88 hours.

The problem, which has challenged mathematicians for nearly a century, involves equations used to explain how fluids such as water and air behave and move. It is among the seven Millennium Prize Problems, each carrying a $1 million prize for a mathematically verified solution.

According to OpenAI, the effort involved deploying roughly 10,000 AI agents, allowing different systems to investigate numerous mathematical strategies simultaneously. The agents reportedly exchanged millions of messages while developing, testing and refining possible approaches.

AI PROPOSES A RADICAL ANSWER

OpenAI says its system eventually produced an extensive mathematical argument suggesting that a smooth solution to the Navier–Stokes equations could develop a singularity — a point where the mathematical behaviour becomes undefined or breaks down within a finite amount of time.

The company says the proposed argument was then subjected to additional AI-based verification in an effort to identify potential errors or weaknesses.

If the result ultimately survives rigorous examination by independent mathematicians, it could become one of the most significant demonstrations yet of AI’s ability to contribute to fundamental mathematical research.

But that outcome remains far from certain.

MATHEMATICIANS DEMAND INDEPENDENT VERIFICATION

Experts have urged caution over the announcement, stressing that a problem of this importance cannot be considered solved simply because an AI system has produced a sophisticated mathematical argument.

The proposed proof must undergo detailed examination by independent mathematicians, who will need to verify every critical step and determine whether it satisfies the precise conditions of the original Navier–Stokes problem.

Questions have also emerged over the relationship between OpenAI’s work and research into related mathematical approaches.

NYU mathematician Tristan Buckmaster has raised concerns because he and Anthropic researcher Levent Alpöge have been working on a related line of research. OpenAI, however, has denied accessing or using their unpublished research and maintains that its work was developed independently.

$1 MILLION PRIZE REMAINS UNCLAIMED

The Navier–Stokes problem is one of the famous Millennium Prize Problems established by the Clay Mathematics Institute. A fully accepted solution would qualify for a $1 million award.

OpenAI says it does not intend to claim the prize at this point.

That decision reflects the central issue surrounding the announcement: the proposed solution has not yet been independently verified and accepted by the mathematical community.

COULD AI CHANGE MATHEMATICAL RESEARCH?

Regardless of whether the proof is ultimately accepted, the episode highlights the rapidly expanding role of artificial intelligence in scientific research.

AI systems are increasingly being used to generate mathematical ideas, test hypotheses and explore problems that would take humans enormous amounts of time to investigate.

If OpenAI’s argument is eventually confirmed, it could mark a major milestone — not only for mathematics but also for the broader debate over whether AI can make genuinely original contributions to scientific discovery.

For now, however, the Navier–Stokes problem remains officially unresolved.

OpenAI may have presented a potentially groundbreaking solution, but the final verdict belongs to mathematicians.

Effiduase-Asokore MP Dr Nana Ayew Afriye has secured police enquiry bail for NPP social media activist Efya Royal following her arrest over an alleged social media post linked to anonymous commentator “Ghana Jollof”.

Efya Royal was granted bail in the sum of GH¢20,000 after spending time in police custody, bringing temporary relief to her family, supporters and members of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) who had raised concerns about her detention.

Ayew Afriye steps in

The MP, together with NPP Director of Legal Services Gary Nimako, reportedly spent several hours at the Cantonments Police Station on Monday, working into the night to secure the activist’s release.

Their intervention followed growing public attention over Efya Royal’s arrest and uncertainty surrounding her whereabouts.

The activist had reportedly been arrested over allegations that she shared a post originally published by the TikToker known as “Ghana Jollof.” Police subsequently confirmed that she was in custody.

A case Ayew Afriye strongly opposed

The development is not entirely new for Dr Ayew Afriye.

Days before the bail was secured, the MP had criticised the decision by security authorities to involve Efya Royal in efforts to establish the identity and whereabouts of Ghana Jollof.

He described the move as “the height of absurdity”, arguing that serious intelligence operations should rely on cyber-intelligence, digital forensics and established investigative procedures.

According to the MP, Ghana Jollof had repeatedly stated that her face had never been publicly displayed, making it difficult to understand how Efya Royal could assist investigators simply through physical identification.

‘Leave Efya Royal alone’

Ayew Afriye argued that involving an activist because of perceived political or social connections could set a troubling precedent.

He urged the security agencies to conduct their own investigations and use modern digital tools rather than relying on individuals who, according to him, had no official connection to the anonymous commentator.

His intervention has now been followed by the granting of bail to Efya Royal, although the underlying police enquiry remains ongoing.

COKA also raises alarm

NPP Ashanti Regional Chairman Odeneho Kwaku Appiah, popularly known as COKA, also joined calls for the activist’s release.

COKA urged the National Signals Bureau and the Special Investigation Unit of the Ghana Police Service CID to operate professionally and avoid arresting individuals based on what he described as misconstrued or false identities.

He insisted that Ghana’s security institutions must operate with precision and within the limits of their powers.

Bail is not the end of the investigation

Although Efya Royal is now out on GH¢20,000 police enquiry bail, the development does not necessarily bring the investigation to an end.

Available reports indicate that questions remain over the circumstances of her arrest and the specific allegations being investigated. No formal charge or prosecution timeline has been publicly announced in the sources reviewed.

For now, the immediate battle has been won: Efya Royal is back out of custody, while the police enquiry continues.