The Mecca Joint Defense Agreement has been invoked for the first time since it was signed in August, following Houthi-led attacks on Saudi Arabia’s international airports in Mecca, Medina and Riyadh. With the U.S. ruling out direct intervention in Yemen as it continues to focus on Iran, the new alliance could redraw the lines of power and control in the region.

Turkey and Pakistan will undertake a “rapid deployment” of troops to Saudi Arabia as part of the “collective defense commitments,” said the three countries at last week’s emergency meeting in Riyadh. Exactly how they will contribute is less clear, and Article 92 of Turkey’s constitution places the authority to send troops abroad with the country’s parliament, which has “yet to ratify the Mecca pact,” said Abid Hussain at Al Jazeera.

What did the commentators say?
“Even the threat of joint involvement could dramatically shift the Saudi-Houthi conflict,” said Foreign Policy. The combined members of the Mecca pact boast nearly 1.4 million active troops, as well as “3,400 aircraft, 6,000 tanks, and more than 340 naval assets.” Pakistan is the “only nuclear-armed Muslim-majority nation in the world,” and Turkey has the second-largest army in NATO, after the U.S.

The timing of the announcement also “carries deep symbolic weight,” said Sean Mathews at Middle East Eye. By invoking the pact, Saudi Arabia is showing it has the “support of the wider region in its counteroffensive against the Houthis” and, by extension, Iran.

The Mecca deal should be perceived as an “additional layer of regional security rather than a wholesale strategic realignment,” said John Calabrese at The Conversation. As regional threats become harder to “separate into discrete categories” and suspicion of conventional allies grows, Saudi Arabia is moving to “hedge” its bets to avoid becoming vulnerable.

What next?
An end to Houthi attacks is “unlikely without a wider deal between the U.S. and Iran,” said Samer Al-Atrush at The Times. But Washington is currently intent on demanding “concessions” from Tehran by enforcing its own naval blockade.

Kristi Noem was ousted from her role as Homeland Security secretary in March 2026, but her final moments as the agency’s head are under renewed scrutiny due to airplanes she purchased for DHS. These transactions are especially controversial because they were reportedly made through one of Noem’s political donors.

What did Noem do?
Noem purchased the aircraft on her last morning as DHS secretary, paying at least $304 million for five airplanes from the Daedalus Aviation Corporation, according to a report by The New York Times. The prices that Daedalus sold the planes for were “millions of dollars higher than the typical market value for jets of that age,” said the Times, including a Gulfstream jet purchased by Daedalus for $83 million but resold to DHS for $106 million. In all, Noem acquired 10 airplanes during her 14 months at the department.

One of the agency’s purchases included a Boeing 737 that was “converted into a massive private jet, complete with a stand-up bar, two bedrooms, marble showers and a table covered in manta ray skin,” said the Times. The purchases are under additional fire because the head of Daedalus, William Walters, is one of Noem’s donors and gave “$10,000 to political action committee American Resolve, which supported Noem,” said NewsNation.

What has the fallout been?
Many have criticized Noem for the purchases. The deal “smacks of Noem making money for a former donor and saddling American taxpayers with the cost, without any benefit to them or the government,” said The New Republic. Some were especially angry that Walters was essentially “given a no-bid contract to acquire planes for deportation flights, acting as a middleman by buying planes from elsewhere and reselling them” to the government.

Noem has denied any wrongdoing. The Times’ report was “dishonest” and “factually incorrect,” she said on X. While not disputing the planes were bought, Noem rejected the characterization of Walters as a donor because he “did not personally make political contributions to Secretary Noem.” The Times “stands by the characterization of the political donor and his firm,” said the outlet’s public relations department on X.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launches an unpiloted Dragon spacecraft from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. The cargo ship is loaded with research materials, spare parts and crew supplies for the International Space Station and is due to arrive on Thursday.
Cristobal Herrera-Ulashkevich / EPA / Shutterstock

A ton of games are dropping before November when Grand Theft Auto VI’s console release hogs the rest of the year. What a time to be a gamer.

Control Resonant
Control finally gets a “proper sequel,” but this time “Jesse is benched in favor of her brother, Dylan,” said PC Gamer. Remedy Entertainment’s “signature weirdness” now takes place in New York City, with a “bigger focus on melee combat.” (out now for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)

End of the Abyss
This “challenging yet rewarding adventure” boasts “gorgeous graphics and grotesque visuals” and features an “intricately crafted facility to explore,” said Gaming Trend. The game “manages to stand out among a crowded market” while delivering an “experience well worth diving into.” (out now for PC, PS5, Xbox Series X|S)

Gears of War: E-Day
The Coalition has “elevated the franchise to new heights” with this new entry. It’s an “engaging, brutal and surprisingly intimate campaign” full of “smart gameplay mechanics and wonderful surprises,” said Day One. It’s the “best Gears has ever felt to play.” (out now for PC, Xbox Series X|S)

Grand Theft Auto VI
Rockstar’s “long-awaited crime game” (pictured above) is bound to be “one of gaming’s biggest cultural events,” said Polygon. It’s looking like a “pure open-world flex” that could “push the boundaries of gaming.” (Nov. 19 preorder for PS5, Xbox Series X|S)