Iran has urged rival Saudi Arabia to pursue a diplomatic solution to its escalating conflict with the Houthi militia in Yemen.

Iran warned that continued military action would only worsen the situation.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told his Saudi counterpart, Faisal bin Farhan, during a telephone call that “Insisting on a military approach and disregarding a political solution would only further complicate the situation”.

Iran was prepared to “provide any form of support” to help initiate talks, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said.

The conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-allied Houthi militia escalated sharply over the weekend.

More than a dozen people were killed and hundreds injured in the most serious attack to date on Riyadh’s international airport, according to officials.

The Houthis claimed responsibility and warned that Saudi airports and airspace were “legitimate targets.”

The militia said it had launched ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones at airports and energy facilities, including sites belonging to state-owned oil giant Aramco.

The Houthis also accused Saudi Arabia of carrying out more than 120 airstrikes on the Yemeni capital, Sana’a, and other provinces within 24 hours.

The claims could not be independently verified.

The Houthis have been fighting the Saudi-backed internationally recognized government in Yemen for more than a decade.

A truce reached in 2022 largely froze the conflict, but fighting has flared again against the backdrop of the wider war involving Iran.

China’s Beijing 12345 Hotline Citizen Service Centre is emerging as a model of technology-driven urban governance, placing residents’ needs at the centre of public service delivery.

Journalists from Global South countries expressed admiration for the facility on Monday after visiting its headquarters in the Chinese capital.

The centre operates a 24-hour, non-emergency public service platform connecting residents and businesses with government departments, sub-district authorities and public utilities.

It receives questions, complaints and requests for assistance from thousands of people daily, using digital technologies and Artificial Intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency.

The platform integrates phone calls, text messages, photographs, videos, sign language and multiple languages, ensuring that people with different communication needs can access public services.

Each complaint or request is registered as a case, enabling officials to track concerns, direct them to appropriate departments and monitor responses.

AI also supports case assignment, quality control and data analysis, helping authorities identify recurring problems and improve decision-making.

Webster Clayeh, President of the Reporters Association of Liberia, said the provision of sign-language services particularly impressed him, describing accessibility for persons with disabilities as an important lesson for African countries.

Clayeh also highlighted the integration of different government departments within one operational framework, which he said demonstrated the benefits of coordinated service delivery.

Apenisa Waqairadovu, a senior multimedia journalist with the Fijian Broadcasting Corporation, similarly praised the arrangement, noting that requests were received centrally and channelled to the relevant departments for action.

Jacky Achan, a multimedia journalist from Uganda, said the centre’s commitment to serving everyone, regardless of background or circumstances, was among her major takeaways.

She observed that digital tools helped ensure that complaints were captured and routed for attention, reinforcing the principle that public services should be accessible to all.

“It’s not just for a specific group of people, it’s for everyone,” she said, describing the centre as a demonstration of inclusive governance.

Mark Longyen, said Nigeria could explore adapting the model to strengthen communication between citizens and public institutions.

Longyen said a responsive system capable of addressing everyday concerns could make urban life easier, strengthen public confidence and demonstrate the practical value of technology in governance.

The centre’s development reflects Beijing’s efforts to consolidate public feedback into a coordinated mechanism for identifying problems, responding to complaints and improving municipal services.

In 2019, the city integrated more than 60 separate hotline services into the unified 12345 platform to make it easier for its approximately 21 million residents to seek assistance.

Since its establishment, the hotline has handled about 200 million cases involving individuals and businesses, with reported resolution and satisfaction rates exceeding 97 per cent.

Wang Hao said the visit offered the journalists an opportunity to consider how public feedback could contribute to more responsive urban administration.

He said the value of the experience lay not in copying China’s system wholesale, but in examining how cities could adapt its principles to local conditions and use citizens’ voices to inform better decisions.

Pope Leo XIV has announced he will be operated “in the coming days” after a nodule was found on his lung during a medical checkup.

“The doctors found an early, well-localised nodule on my lung,” he told the public during his weekly Sunday prayers in St Peter’s Square in Rome.

The 71-year-old pontiff said his medical team “believe it would be right to intervene” and he had agreed to the operation.

Pope Leo reassured pilgrims that the mass was “well-contained” and caught “at an early stage”.

He concluded his Angelus prayer by thanking everyone for their “spiritual closeness” and said he entrusted himself to their prayers.

Holy See Press Office spokesperson Matteo Bruni told the media that “the operation is scheduled for the first days of next week”.

Bruni added that the Pope is expected to take about a week to recover.

Vatican News, the Holy See’s news portal, said the operation will take place at Gemelli Hospital in Rome.

The hospital set up a special Papal suite following the failed assassination attempt on Pope John Paul II’s life in May 1981, which is still in use today.

Italy’s Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni expressed her “personal solidarity” to the Pope in a post on X as he “faces the ordeal ahead in the coming days”.

Pope Leo, born Robert Francis Provost, succeeded Pope Francis in 2025. He is the 267th occupant of the throne of St Peter – and is the first American.

He was ordained in 1982 and spent years as a missionary in Peru, where he is remembered as a figure who worked with marginalised communities and helped build bridges.

During Sunday’s service, the Pope confirmed his visit to Uruguay, Argentina and Peru later in October will still go ahead.