“Trump administration may be within days of launching a nuclear strike on Iran. The target would be Pickax Mountain in central Iran, where Israeli intelligence claims the Iranian government has restarted its nuclear enrichment program.”

@Megatron_ron

———

🇺🇸🇻🇳 Trump said yesterday that he could have won the Vietnam War in a week:

“They kept bombing forests for years instead of going after Ho Chi Minh City.”

The thing is Ho Chi Minh City was called Saigon during the Vietnam War and was the capital of US-allied South Vietnam; North Vietnam’s capital was Hanoi.

So basically Ho Chi Minh was under US control for almost the entire war.

@Megatron_ron

———-

BREAKING: WSJ reports now that the trump administration proposed to Russia and Ukraine to resume the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine, so that US investors could profit, and Ukraine could earn revenue from the transit. The main goal, was a “energy truce.”

@MegaGeopolitics

———

BREAKING: 🇧🇪🇸🇪 Dozens of supermarkets in Belgium and Sweden have been hit by a suspected cyber-attack affecting its refrigerators and freezers, raising the temperature to 50C (122F), per BBC

The same attack that happened across France, Spain and the US military bases

@Megatron_ron

————

BREAKING: Iran announces on Monday that the country is open to the possibility of reopening the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the US met its demands which include ending the Middle East war on all fronts, the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad, lifting sanctions on its oil sector, and an end to the US naval blockade.

@MegaGeopolitics

————-

BREAKING: 🇯🇵 Japan’s Disaster Management Agency issued an urgent appeal on November 2, 2026, urging citizens to stockpile food and water for at least 3 days (ideally 1 week) and review evacuation routes due to risks from major earthquakes like Nankai Trough or Tokyo events.

@Megatron_ron

————

BREAKING: 🇺🇸 Trump says he is going to protect Elon Musk if Democrats investigate the SpaceX and Tesla CEO after the midterm elections.

He also suggested the possibility of pre-emptive pardons for staff and others around him if Democrats pursue investigations in their criminal activities

@Megatron_ron

———-

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Tehran and Washington have now reached what he described as a “two-day plan” for de-escalation.

“On the first day, the U.S. implements a set of measures, and on the second day, the Strait of Hormuz reopens and transit returns to its previous state.”

He said Iran is demanding the cancellation of new sanctions imposed after the memorandum of understanding, a reduction of U.S. military forces to levels before the war, the lifting of the naval blockade, and implementation of previously expected oil-sanctions exemptions.

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇷🇺🇺🇦 Copying Israel’s pager tactic, Ukraine planted traps inside protective goggles intended for Russian drone pilots—but they were discovered

@Megatron_ron

———-

JUST IN: 🇮🇷🇷🇺 An unusual Call has taken place between President Putin and Iran’s National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei

Something important has been discussed; that’s why Putin spoke with Rezaei—who coordinates Iran’s strategic security decisions

@Megatron_ron

————

BREAKING: The situation near Kyiv has escalated after locals discovered a basement where over 40 mobilized Ukrainians—including minors—were held and tortured by the Ukrainian National Guard. Head of the Office of the President Kyrylo Budanov also arrived at the scene

@MegaGeopolitics

———

JUST IN - Japan launches disaster management agency

Japan urges all citizens to prepare for a national crisis-level disaster, warning that government resources could be overwhelmed.

Authorities are calling on residents to stockpile food, water and emergency supplies, secure furniture and review evacuation routes.

———-

BREAKING: Spain’s La Palma island hit by a total blackout after a major power system failure, leaving the entire island without electricity. Authorities have declared an emergency alert.

———

BREAKING: Dozens of supermarkets in Sweden, Belgium and Luxembourg hit by suspected cyberattack affecting its refrigerators and freezers -- Thousands of euros worth of food has had to be thrown away

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/freezers-sweden-belgium-luxembourg-cyberattack/

———-

JUST IN - Oil prices down over 6% on hopes of US-Iran diplomacy

———-

BREAKING - Iran’s supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei granted “powers” to the government in its talks with the United States seeking to end the Middle East war, President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday. bit.ly/4kst2Im

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

BREAKING - The EU said Monday it was taking “very seriously” a new wave of cyberattacks targeting grocery stores in countries across the bloc, just weeks after a first incident caused mass disruption in France.

READ: https://t.co/umjZ4NdUqt

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

JUST IN - Germany warns politicians their iPhones may be hacked or compromised after devices reported to have been targeted by spyware

———

NEW: Power outages hit downtown Washington, DC, affecting traffic lights and multiple US State Department facilities. Officials say they are investigating the outages with power utility Pepco, according to the Daily Wire.

———-

Britain’s Labour government on Monday confirmed plans to make many foreign workers already in the UK wait longer before they can apply to settle permanently.

READ: https://t.co/wbYfn0Y3c5

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

BREAKING: Trump says oil prices are “dropping like a rock,” down almost by nearly $10 a barrel as fears of renewed war with Iran ease, adding that Tehran wants a settlement as soon as possible.

“It could happen!”

@insiderpaper

————

JUST IN - Zelenskyy warns that Russia is preparing a massive attack on Ukraine’s energy and logistics infrastructure

————

US SUPREME COURT DECLINES TO BLOCK CALIFORNIA FROM COUNTING BALLOTS CAST BY VOTERS WHO TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ALLEGES ARE LIKELY NONCITIZENS — REUTERS

———-

⚡️️🇺🇸🇮🇷U.S. President Trump says that conflict with Iran isn’t a war, but that it could escalate into one if Iran didn’t make a deal.

“We go months and months. We talk. They’re in not a good negotiating position. Their economy is cratering because of us. They have 301% inflation. They don’t have money. They’re not paying their soldiers. They’re not paying their police.

We’re not fighting a war. You know, everybody says, you’re at war. Well, when was the last time we fired any of this? This isn’t a war. This is a very soft war. We did have a big hit on them, and we hit them very hard. And that took out their navy, a 159 ships a gun.

But this isn’t like a war that’s going on. This is a war raging. Could happen if they don’t make a deal, but they wanna make a deal very badly, and there’s a very good chance we make a deal.”

@wfwitness

💧 Rainbet.com the #1 Non-KYC Crypto Casino & Sportsbook @rainbetcom +18

————-

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: Several explosions were heard on Qeshm Island, Iran, amid unconfirmed reports that an anti-air platform was targeted by U.S. strikes

Reports of sporadic strikes against launch platforms in southern Iran have been published in recent weeks; these cannot be confirmed nor denied.

If true—Iran has made a conscious decision not to respond to these minor acts of aggression currently due to some security considerations.

@Middle_East_

———

— ❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 UPDATE: CNN reports that a U.S. fighter jet was targeted by an Iranian surface-to-air missile, after which the jet targeted the launch platform on Qeshm

U.S. officials say the strikes were ‘limited and defensive’ in nature.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

🚨ALARMING: Power outage hits Washington, D.C., a day before the U.S. midterm elections.

Nearly 80,000 customers are WITHOUT power across the U.S., including outages in Washington, D.C., per PowerOutage’s data.

- Pepco reports 1,176 customers without power in Foggy Bottom, just blocks from the White House.

- Traffic lights and federal facilities, including the State Department, are affected.

- A substation failure is the probable cause. No restoration time is confirmed.

- The outage affected about 1,800 customers near Morristown and voting sites in Wittmann and Circle City.

- Brief AT&T connectivity issues also affected some voter check-in devices.

- Officials said 99% were functioning and no voters were turned away.

https://vxtwitter.com/coinbureau/status/2117307053983375837

———

🇺🇸🤝🇺🇸❌☪️❗️ — Detroit City Councilwoman Mary Waters (D-MI) tells Michigan Democrats that they can split their ticket, voting for Democrats and Mike Rogers.

———

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸❗️ — The IRGC captures two American MQM-170 drones over Qeshm Island using electronic warfare during tonight’s American attacks.

🇮🇷❌🇺🇸❗️ — Iran’s IRGC has also intercepted a MQ-9A Reaper UCAV with a surface-to-air missile earlier today.

———-

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷❗️ — US officials told the Wall Street Journal:

The U.S. carried out an attack on Iran’s Qeshm Island on Monday, targeting radar systems and missile launch platforms.

The U.S. has been conducting limited strikes against Iran for several weeks without publicly acknowledging them, deliberately keeping the operations secret to avoid signaling its intention to resume military operations.

———

BREAKING: OpenAI has hired former Army Secretary Dan Driscoll as its new Senior Counselor for National Security Modernization, as the company expands its AI involvement with the U.S. military and Pentagon.

@GeneralMCNews

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🇺🇸⚡️- Atlas Intel’s latest poll on generic ballots for the midterm elections shows a D+14.1 lead

Democrats: 55.5%

Republicans: 41.4%

———

🇺🇸🗳⚡️- Analysis by Echelon insights shows that Democrats have won voters who have already cast ballots by 19 points, while those who are yet to vote are only slightly Republican.

———

🇺🇸⚡️- President Donald Trump posted a new campaign clip on X reaffirming that every U.S. citizen will receive $5,000 if the GOP wins the midterms, a promise that he assures will be real this time.

———

16-19% of the French voters that picked Emmanuel Macron in the 2022 presidential elections are now considering voting for Marine Le Pen

Le Figaro citing three opinion polls says that an “unlikely rapprochement” between the voters bases of Macron and Le Pen is occurring.

———-

🇾🇪⚔️🇸🇦 A missile or drone attack by the Ansarallah yesterday, 1 November, caused a large fire at an industrial complex in the city of Dammam in eastern Saudi Arabia.

The attack was not discovered until commercial satellite imagery providers published images showing plumes of smoke coming from the city and a video taken likely by a foreign worker as Saudi censors severely punish citizens who film strikes on the kingdom.

🔗 IWN (@A7_Mirza)

————-

💵 🇺🇸 🏬 Half of Americans’ Spending Goes to Housing and Food, Most in 15 Years

Food and housing — which includes rent, utilities and household furniture — were the only two major spending categories to post statistically significant increases last year, according to the BLS.

Housing remained the largest household expense, accounting for 33.9% of total expenditures. Excluding a jump in 2020 after Covid hit, that share was the highest since 2010.

The share of spending Americans dedicate to food, meanwhile, has been rising since 2020 and at 13% is now the highest since 2011. The dollar value of the food budget — up 4.6% to $10,633 in 2025 — outpaced the increase in total spending.

Americans spent $1,579 on meat, poultry, fish and eggs last year. That’s 11.7% more than in 2024 and twice as much as in 2010.

Those products accounted for about 24% of grocery spending in 2025, up from 19% in 2023. Over those two years, protein accounted for about 95% of the increase in average food-at-home spending.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-10-30/housing-food-costs-make-up-half-of-americans-spending-most-in-15-years

📎 Bloomberg

———

Medical care prices have surged +132% since 2000, the largest increase among major consumer spending categories.

Over the same period, shelter costs have risen +127%, while food prices have soared +112%.

Price increases across all these spending categories have outpaced overall CPI, which is up +99% since 2000.

As a result, ~30% of insured US adults have skipped or delayed getting healthcare they needed due to costs over the last 12 months, according to a KFF survey.

———-

BREAKING: The identities of all seven passengers killed in the November 1 Learjet 60 crash near Greenacres, Florida, have been released:

The victims were:

Adam Robinson, 45 – Tech entrepreneur

Helen Sharp, 40 – Robinson’s wife

Emma Robinson, 4 – Their daughter

Charlie Robinson, 2 – Their son

Anita Maria Cetina – The children’s nanny

Rachael Reed – Family friend

Charmi Fehr – Family friend

Nine people died in the crash, including two pilots.

Follow @insiderpaper for more updates

——-

BREAKING: Polls open on US east coast in pivotal midterm elections

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/polls-open-on-us-east-coast-in-pivotal-midterm-elections/

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🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 - Iran and the U.S. are far from reaching a deal according to Reuters.

An Iranian Official told Reuters that Iran will not accept excessive U.S. demands and that Iran is prepared to respond forcefully to U.S. strikes, in the region and beyond.

@GeoPWatch

———

In addition to Russia’s massive missile and drone attack on energy infrastructure across Ukraine, at least 17 Geran-2 drones attacked the Vylkove and Izmail Ports along the Danube River in southern Odesa Oblast.

Prior to this, the Zatoka Bridge was attacked by 2-3 UMPB-5 jet-powered glide-bombs, 2 Kh-59/69 cruise missiles, and approximately 7 S8000 Banderol cruise missiles.

———

🇮🇷⚡️ — Iran’s IRGC Navy announced that three oil tankers struck naval mines and caught fire overnight while traveling through “unauthorized routes” in the Strait of Hormuz.

The IRGC says the vessels had disabled their navigation and identification systems before hitting the mines. They also noted that all three were abandoned off the strait’s southern coast and remain engulfed in flames.

———

The use of a nuclear weapon in Iran may not destroy the mountain, but it destroys an entire model of international relations.

——-

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: The FBI has identified North Korea as responsible for stealing more than $6 billion in cryptocurrency from Binance, with hackers converting the stolen funds into Ethereum to conceal the money trail.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: President Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu discuss military action against Iran as U.S. forces prepare for renewed strikes and Israel raises its defense alert level.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: The Trump administration is preparing to bypass Congress and advance President Trump’s agenda through executive powers if Democrats win control in the midterm elections.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Arab lawmaker Ahmad Tibi says his Joint List party is willing to support Gadi Eisenkot in forming an alternative government to replace Benjamin Netanyahu in exchange for commitments to Arab communities.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Dozens of U.S. aerial refueling tankers are now positioned at Israeli airbases as American military assets surge across the Middle East, expanding the capacity for sustained air operations.

@GeneralMCNews

———

BREAKING: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is determined to remain at the Pentagon even if Democrats take control of the House, despite the looming threat of impeachment and intensified congressional scrutiny.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: Democratic Senator Chris Murphy has been hospitalized after suffering a stroke, prompting an emergency medical response.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: U.S. intelligence agencies are tracking efforts by Russia, China, and Iran to interfere in the upcoming midterm elections through AI-generated deepfakes, disinformation, and targeted political attacks.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Michigan is launching a pilot program on December 1 using AI to predict prison violence before it happens, identifying high-risk inmates to help improve security decisions.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Ukraine’s emergency alert system has been hacked, triggering false sirens and warnings of radiation, chemical threats, and street fighting across multiple regions.

@GeneralMCNews

———

BREAKING: Russia is also now reporting a cyberattack on its emergency alert system, with fake warnings of an incoming nuclear strike sent to the public.

@GeneralMCNews

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🇰🇵🇰🇵❗️✅— Hackers from North Korea robbed Binance -official FBI statement

▶️This is the largest heist in history. The North Koreans stole more than $6 billion, which is almost 25% of North Korea’s GDP

———

🇯🇵⚠️❗️ — URGENT: A powerful 6.1-magnitude earthquakestruck offshore southeastern Mie Prefecture at approximately 7:15 AM local time, at a depth of 350 km.

▶️Tremors reaching intensity 3 were recorded in Fukushima Prefecture.

▶️Authorities confirm there is NO tsunami threat.

———

🇺🇸🇮🇱📹❗️ — A massive amount of U.S. Air Force aerial refueling tankers were seen lined up at Israel’s Ramon Airport.

———

🇺🇸🤝🇺🇸❌☪️❗️ — BREAKING: Democratic Congresswoman Haley Stevens has endorsed Republican Mike Rogers in Michigan’s U.S. Senate race, just days after Democratic nominee Abdul El-Sayed excluded her from a planned campaign appearance.

▶️Stevens previously ran against El-Sayed in the August Democratic primary, narrowly losing to him before their relationship deteriorated over disagreements.

🔗Haley Stevens

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷🤝☪️❗️ — Nancy Pelosi, Gavin Newsom, Zohran Mamdani, and Chuck Schumer are among the prominent Democratic figures caught up in growing party turmoil after Haley Stevens endorsed Republican Mike Rogers over Abdul El-Sayed.

▶️The Democratic Party is panicking as party leaders rush to defend El-Sayed.

———-

BREAKING: 🇮🇷🇷🇺 For the first time Iranian Army spokesperson Amir Akraminia today in an interview stated that Iran has purchased Russian Su-35 fighter jets, saying the aircraft will be delivered after the war ends.

@Megatron_ron

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BREAKING: 🇧🇷🇮🇱🇺🇸 Former Mossad operative got Bolsonaro out of Brazil, per CNN

Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro fled Brazil with his wife and two daughters in a coordinated international operation involving assistance from a former Mossad operative, Argentina, and the U.S.

The family crossed into Argentina on October 27 in two separate vans through the Tancredo Neves Bridge.

A former Mossad operative, now a naturalized U.S. citizen, accompanied Bolsonaro during the escape, while officials linked to Argentine President Javier Milei assisted the operation.

The family subsequently boarded a private Gulfstream jet, stopped in Ecuador, and arrived in Miami on October 28. The private jet was arranged by Trump adviser Jason Miller.

@Megatron_ron

——

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇰🇵 FBI now officially announced that North Korea is responsible for theft of approximately $6 Billion in digital assets from Binance Cryptocurrency Exchange

Blockchain analysis firms indicate that approximately $2.7 to $3 billion of the stolen assets have been frozen, but a significant portion of the funds remains in the hands of the attackers.

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇨🇭🇪🇺 You know the situation in Europe is so bad that even the Swiss have taken to the streets to protest.

There are mass protests all across Europe due to the poor economic situation—in France, Italy, and Germany, and now Switzerland has joined in too.

@Megatron_ron

———

BREAKING: The Iraqi Government announces that the United States has decided to send $3 billion dollars in cash to Iraq over the coming period

The financial amount will arrive divided into 6 consecutive installments, at a rate of 500 million dollars per installment.

@MegaGeopolitics

———-

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇱 American and Israeli officials are now saying that Netanyahu pressures Trump to resume the war on Iran, per Axios

An American official reveals that Trump currently prefers to proceed along the path of negotiations over the option of returning to military operations.

@Megatron_ron

———-

BREAKING: Gulf officials, including Anwar Gargash (diplomatic adviser to the UAE president), are now openly opposing a new round of war and have stated that another U.S.-Israeli round against a better-prepared Iran risks a wider, more destructive conflict that would primarily hit the Gulf countries.

@MegaGeopolitics

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🇺🇸 A Learjet 60 carrying nine people crashed today in a residential area of Palm Beach County, Florida, just 5–9 miles from Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence, which is now equipped with air defense systems.

Ohh boy…

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇺🇸🇦🇹⚡️- Gunther Fehlinher has now endorsed Mike Rogers for Michigan Senate over Abdul El-Sayed.

Gunther’s endorsed candidates have won in all but 1 international election so far this year.

———-

🇺🇸🗳⚡️- In the last two months virtually all US States have seen a revival of new voters registering as Democrats, reversing a yearslong trend where the GOP slowly gained ground in swing states and blue territory.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇱🇮🇷⚡️ — President Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s phone call on Saturday were held under unusually strict secrecy, with even Netanyahu’s closest advisers excluded, i24NEWS reports.

Senior Israeli security officials were briefed on the conversation afterward.

———

🇺🇸🗳⚡️- RN’s Final Senate Election Forecast:

6 True tossup races including Alaska, Iowa, Maine, Michigan, Ohio, and Texas.

We believe the final map will be 51 Democrat vs 49 GOP.

D’s win Ohio, Michigan, Texas, and Alaska.

R’s win Maine, and Iowa.

———

👨‍💻 🇺🇸 🤖 Computer Majors now rank near the top for unemployment

Majors with the highest unemployment rates, per New York Fed.

1. Anthropology: 7.9%

2. Computer Engineering: 7.8%

3. Fine Arts: 7.7%

4. Computer Science: 7%

5. Performing Arts: 7%

6. Architecture: 6.8%

7. Art History: 6.7%

8. Early Childhood Education: 6.6%

9. Physics: 6.6%

10. Environmental Studies: 6.3%

📎 LayoffHedge

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📢 🇵🇱 🏛 Polish PM Donald Tusk:

Ladies and gentlemen, yesterday we witnessed disgraceful events outside the Constitutional Tribunal building.

I very much hope that we will never have to witness similar scenes in Poland again.

But the way to maintain peace cannot be to give in to lawlessness and violence.

A democratic state must be strong and capable of enforcing justice.

📎 Clash Report

———-

🇵🇱 People are handing out hot soup to the crowd outside Poland’s top court tonight

They set up a big pot right there on the street, and folks waving Polish flags are lining up for a bowl to keep going through the cold night.

Standoff or not, nobody’s going hungry out there.

📎 Mario Nawfal

———-

For the last 16 hours, Russia has been carrying out a large-scale attack on Ukraine using hundreds of Geran-2 drones and Geran-4/5 jet-drones.

The primary target has been electrical substations and railway infrastructure.

———-

🗳 🇺🇸 📊 Ted Cruz says if the election ended today on early votes alone, Republicans would lose Texas and both chambers of Congress “massively”

Cruz told his own listeners the early-vote data is real, Democrats are turning out in numbers he’s never seen, and the entire Texas statewide ticket is in jeopardy if conservatives stay home Tuesday, while admitting polls “skew left” but insisting “these data are not fake.”

Gina Hinojosa walked onto James Talarico’s stage in Houston and told the crowd “no one ever thought that we would ever get this close,” before running a Spanish-language ad during the Canelo fight aimed at the Latino men who gave Trump 55% of Texas Hispanics in 2024.

Cruz is right about the math and right about the fix: Republicans still have the bigger pool of Election Day voters, and Texas has broken early-vote records before without flipping.

Talarico sits two points up on Paxton, Abbott four up on Hinojosa with Hispanics breaking 23 points her way, and the Senate majority runs through whichever of those numbers holds on Tuesday night.

📎 Mario Nawfal

———

🎃 🇺🇸 📉 Halloween feels increasingly like an adult holiday, and that might be because it is:

Fewer households planned to pass out candy, and potential trick-or-treater numbers are down.

The United States had 30 children ages 5 to 14, the group the Census Bureau calls potential trick-or-treaters, for every 100 households in 2025, down from 35 in 2010. The number of children has edged down while the number of households has grown by about 17 million, so each door can expect fewer knocks. Fewer people also plan to answer: 61% of adults in this year’s National Retail Federation survey plan to hand out candy, down from 69% in 2019.

There were about 40.4 million children ages 5 to 14 in 2025, roughly 1.2 million fewer than in 2020, according to Census Bureau population estimates, as lower birth rates since 2008 move through the age group. The number of households grew from 117.5 million in 2010 to 134.8 million in 2025. Households have grown far faster than the number of children, so more homes on a typical street have no trick-or-treaters of their own.

The share of people planning to hand out candy in the retail federation’s surveys was 69% in 2019, 68% in 2023, 67% in 2024 and 66% in 2025, then fell to 61% this year. An AP-NORC poll in October 2025 found that about one in five adults planned to take children trick-or-treating. Trick-or-treating also happens in more places than it used to, from trunk-or-treat events in church and school parking lots to shopping malls, which household counts don’t capture.

Americans plan to spend a record $13.5 billion on Halloween this year, up from $13.1 billion in 2025, including $4.1 billion on candy, according to the retail federation. Ninety-six percent of those celebrating plan to buy candy, and the share celebrating rose to 74% from 68% in 2019. Candy costs more, too: the consumer price index for candy and chewing gum was 7.7% higher in September than a year earlier.

https://www.thenewsindata.com/stories/there-are-14-fewer-potential-trick-or-treaters-per-household-than-in-2010

📎 Crémieux

———-

📍 🇾🇪 🇾🇪 Ansarallah launches offensive on the Bab Al-Mandab front in southwest Yemen

In the last 72 hours, Ansarallah has captured the highlands of the historic Al-Maqaterah District in Lahij Governorate after seizing control of Al-Maqaterah Castle.

Forces from Al-Maqaterah District then traveled southwest to meet up with Ansar forces in Al Madaribah and Ras Al Ara District as they advanced along multiple fronts extending down to Jabal Al Rafad and the village of Ad Durad.

Only a couple hundred square kilometers of highland terrain remains under the control of the Saudi-backed Presidential Leadership Council (PLC) in the vicinity of the Bab Al-Mandab.

📎 DropSite News

———-

BREAKING: Tucker Carlson warns that President Trump could be moving toward a nuclear strike on Iran as Benjamin Netanyahu pushes for further military action.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: Israeli President Netanyahu is “pressing” President Trump to strike Iran immediately after US Midterm elections on Tuesday, per Axios.

Israeli sources reportedly said the call was “tough,” while US sources described it as “direct.”

President Trump said the US still has to “take care” of one or two nuclear sites in Iran.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

🇮🇷⚡️ — UKMTO announces an oil tanker 72 nautical miles east of Ras Al-Khafji, KSA traveling southeast through the Persian Gulf was struck by 2 projectiles on its port side.

Crew are accounted for and the tanker did not report any environmental impact.

▶️The measure is expected to be supported by center-left presidential candidate Raphaël Glucksmann, whose campaign is eager to find some breathing space between centrist candidates like Gabriel Attal and Edouard Philippe, and Jean-Luc Mélenchon, his rival on the radical left.

▶️Glucksmann has previously expressed support for such a step in multiple interviews.

———-

🇨🇳🔽📉❗️— The Chinese stock market has plunged sharply — the shares of thousands of companies are falling.

▶️Chip manufacturers and AI-related companies are experiencing the steepest declines.

▶️Investors are worried about an inflated AI bubble and are mass-selling to lock in profits following the tech sector’s rapid rise.

———-

🇷🇺❌🇺🇦❗️ — Novokuibyshevsk oil refinery in Russia after Ukrainian drone strikes today.

———

🇺🇸⚠️🚫 — The U.S. military has deployed air defense systems around President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida at the request of the Secret Service.

———-

🗣🤝👾— Trump makes all decisions with the help of AI — Politico.

▶️For example, last year, in the presence of Musk, he asked Grok how the residents of Venezuela would react to the capture of Maduro.

▶️Now, congressmen consider the US president’s communication with Grok a threat to national security, as it may provide answers in Musk’s interest.

———-

❗️🇺🇸🇷🇺— The U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued an urgent warning about a “credible threat” of mass casualties at the Tsaritsyno Museum-Reserve in Moscow.

▶️U.S. citizens were urged not to visit the reserve under any circumstances.

———-

🇺🇸 Reporter: “What has attracted you to the Mike Rogers campaign?”

Detroit voter: “Well, he’s an American.”

For many African American voters in Michigan, this could be their first time voting Republican. His opponent, Abdul El-Sayed, appears to be losing support among Black voters traditionally aligned with the Democratic Party.

———-

🇺🇸⚡️- President Trump will host rallies this Sunday in Iowa and Kansas, after initially canceling them earlier this week.

————

🇫🇷⚡️- French left-wing groups at the National Assembly have officially included a “data tax” for the 2027 French budget. The French state would tax 5.5 euro cents per gigabyte transmitted to Internet users if the 2027 budget law were to pass. Downloading a 210 GB video game, such as GTA VI, would cost an internet provider around 11 euros per user and per download.

———-

🇮🇷⚡️ — UKMTO announces receiving a report of a vessel 40 nautical miles south of Lavan Island, Iran being hit by a projectile on its port side, causing a fire.

The crew of the vessel is safe, and the master of the vessel did not report any environmental impact.

———-

POLISH COUP

🇵🇱⚡️- BREAKING: Possible coup underway in Poland after EU-aligned Prime Minister Donald Tusk sent police forces to the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw.

🇵🇱⚡️- “Restoring the rule of law is our duty. After years of PiS-led lawlessness, this is a difficult process, sometimes painful, and it requires decisive action. There is no other way.” - Polish PM Donald Tusk.

———

🇵🇱⚡️- BREAKING: The President of the Polish Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw, Bogdan Swieczkowski, was suspended and possibly arrested. He is a known support of President Nawrocki.

———

🇵🇱⚡️- “Today’s events related to the Constitutional Tribunal show that the ruling Civic Coalition has decided to enforce its political agenda with the help of the police, disregarding the rule of law, which brings to mind the events of May 1926, whose centenary we recently commemorated.

Particularly outrageous is the fact that the order for the forcible takeover of the Constitutional Tribunal was issued by the Minister of Justice Waldemar Żurek, undoubtedly at the behest of Prime Minister Donald Tusk.” - Polish MP and co-founder of nationalist party Confederation Grzegorz Braun.

————

🇵🇱⚡️- Several right-wing Polish MPs and their supports are reportedly on their way to the Constitutional Tribunal to defend the institution from being taken over by Donald Tusk.

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- “The Polish state is ceasing to exist as a state of law.” - Polish Nationwide Association of Judges.

🇵🇱⚡️- According to the Warsaw Police, police forces were deployed to the Constitutional Tribunal in response to official requests from both the Attorney General and a “Tribunal judge”, who warned of ongoing protests, potential threats to life and health, and risks to public order. Officers claim they operated exclusively in the external public area (Aleja Szucha) to fulfill their statutory duty to maintain public safety, manage the protests, and respond to disturbances such as trespassing and “objects thrown at officers”.

However, the Tribunal judge the Warsaw police claims to have answered to is likely Ms. Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, who is NOT a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal according to a statement from said Constitutional Tribunal.

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- Warsaw’s police forces are preventing the President of the Constitutional Tribunal Bogdan Święczkowski, members of the Sejm and protesters from entering the Constitutional Court.

———-

🇵🇱🇨🇳⚡️- “In light of the events in the country, I have concluded that it is no longer possible for me to continue serving as the Ambassador of the Republic of Poland. As of today, I have submitted my resignation and a request for recall.” - Polish Ambassador to China on X.

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- According to Article 126 of the Polish Constitution, the President of the Polish Republic is the only figure of authority to guarantee the sovereignty of and security of the Polish state alongside the continuity of the state. The only other organism allowed to meddle with the judiciary would be the National Council of the Judiciary, according to Article 186, which has not issued any statement regarding the ongoing situation.

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- From what is visible online, Donald Tusk has little support outside his own party. On the other hand, President Nawrocki is being backed by the entirety of the Polish right-wing scene and is even getting support from several independent and centrist figures.

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- BREAKING: Polish MP Slawomir Mentzen has published a letter from the Polish Deputy Commander in Chief of Police sent to all of Poland’s Provincial and Capital Police Commanders.

The letter was sent on October 29th and asked for all police forces to be placed on heightened alert from November 2nd to November 8th while making sure that police units were equipped with riot control gear, submachine guns and other tactical equipment.

Tusk knew and alerted jackboots

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- “Tusk and his people, who are saddling us with debt and are pathetically inept economically, have today also proven themselves to be thuggish rabble who carried out a brutal assault on a constitutional organ of the state. They don’t know how to win in accordance with the law, on democratic principles, so they resort to the truncheon. That’s how “European” they are.” - Former Polish President Andrzej Duda.

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- Donald Tusk’s judge, Anna Korwin-Piotrowska, and another Constitutional Judge, Maciej Berek, attempted to prevent 6’ 1” ex-hooligan President Nawrocki from entering the Constitutional Tribunal. They resisted for about 4 seconds. Maciej Berek posted the footage of his failure himself.

———-

🇵🇱⚡️- “The actions of the pseudo-judges may violate Article 135 of the Criminal Code, i.e., committing an active assault on the President and public insult.” - Sędziowie RP, legal association of Polish judges.

——-

⚡🇵🇱 Polish state television has stopped broadcasting live coverage of events outside the Constitutional Tribunal in Warsaw.

Instead of live studio coverage and reports from the scene, the channel is airing reruns of its evening programs.

———

✍️ Context:

Since 2016, the right has held a majority in the Constitutional Tribunal — currently 8 out of 15 judges.

A few weeks ago, one judge retired, and parliament — in violation of procedures and formal requirements — elected a former minister in the current government, and privately a close friend of Prime Minister Donald Tusk, as a judge of the Constitutional Tribunal.

The President refused to accept his oath and to recognize this election, citing unfulfilled procedures. The government therefore organized a fake and utterly pathetic swearing-in before the Marshal of the parliament from the left, and decided to ignore the President.

For a month now, conservatives and nationalists have been protesting in front of the Constitutional Tribunal, but it appears the government has decided to use force once again — and this time to finally force the President of the Constitutional Tribunal to submit to the government’s power.

The President’s Chancellery and the opposition believe that the government is striving to take over the Constitutional Tribunal in order to pass over a dozen government motions limiting the President’s powers.

———-

⚡️🇵🇱 - For our followers not familiar with what is happening in Poland and WHY it is happening, here is a breakdown.

The ongoing political crisis in Poland stems from a dispute between Prime Minister Donald Tusk and President Karol Nawrocki over the Constitutional Tribunal.

🤔 Donald Tusk believes that the previous PiS government (2015–2023) politicized the judiciary through controversial judicial appointments. This is backed up by a 2025 EU court ruling which supported growing concerns over the Tribunal’s independence. Tusk argues his reforms are necessary to restore the rule of law.

🤔 Karol Nawrocki meanwhile believes that Donald Tusk’s government is politicizing the judiciary by appointing political allies, including former government minister Maciej Berek. Nawrocki argues that the reforms violate constitutional procedures.

Today, Tribunal President Bogdan Święczkowski was reportedly suspended, triggering protests and a police deployment.

Both sides accuse each other of undermining Poland’s constitutional order.

@GeoPWatch

————

🇺🇸🫏⚡- Abdulrahman Mohammed El-Sayed released a hostile statement towards his former primary opponent Rep. Haley Stevens only hours after Stevens announced a future campaign event at a Black church in Detroit with El-Sayed.

Stevens called on El-Sayed to condemn a perceived antisemitic advertisement created by Cenk Uygur. El-Sayed, obviously, did not condemn the advertisement and validated it.

Then, El-Sayed’s campaign left out Stevens’ name on the church event campaign advisory.

———

🇺🇸🇯🇵🇰🇷⚡️- The United States, Japan, and South Korea have established the Trilateral Arctic Pacific Partnership, expanding cooperation between the three allies into the Arctic.

Signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio and his counterparts, the agreement focuses on maritime cooperation and economic opportunities in the Pacific Arctic, including emerging shipping routes through the Bering Strait.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- Humvee-mounted missile air defense systems have been deployed outside Mar-a-Lago at the request of the Secret Service.

The missile systems are intended to defend against a potential drone or ballistic missile attack targeting President Trump’s residence in Florida.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇶🇦⚡️- BREAKING: A breakthrough has been reached between the United States and Iran, both sides have agreed to preliminary measures concerning Iran’s nuclear program, navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and financial incentives for Tehran.

China and Russia are set to be guarantors of the agreement, the Iranian delegation has flown to Doha alongside the Qatari mediators to continue negotiations later today, according to Qatari Al Araby Al Jadeed.

———-

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran has completely changed its tactics for attacking tankers in the Strait of Hormuz, per Reuters

Iran now disables oil tankers using limpet mines—magnetic explosives attached directly to a ship’s hull.

Iranian speedboats approach the tankers, plant the mines, and pull away before the explosives detonate a few minutes later

This is the reason why the targeting of oil tankers has intensified to the maximum over the last month.

@Megatron_ron

———

BREAKING: 🇩🇪 A freezing winter awaits the Germans

Germany’s natural gas storage facilities reached 62% capacity as of Friday, falling short of the country’s 70% target which is below winter target

The spokesperson from the German economy and energy ministry announced

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇩🇪🇮🇷 Germany’s Chancellor Merz says the war on Iran has dealt a massive financial blow to Europe and must stop:

“We now have costs exceeding €100 billion for Europe alone over the last eight months, solely because of the increase in energy prices caused by this conflict.

More than €100 billion extra has been paid by businesses and consumers in Europe because energy has become more expensive as a result of this conflict.

We have an economic interest in bringing this conflict to an end as quickly as possible.”

@Megatron_ron

——-

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇱/🇮🇷 Iran’s Chief of Staff, Major General Ali Abdollahi, after meeting Ayatollah Khamenei:

‘We are monitoring the enemy’s movements and preparations using our full intelligence capabilities, and we are continuously updating our target database.

Should signs of a hostile act by the enemy be confirmed, the Iranian Armed Forces will not wait for the aggression to begin, but will immediately determine the timing and manner of retaliation.

Our response will be immediate, effective, and without geographical limitations.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

🚨🇺🇸 Over the past 48 hours, an unprecedented U.S. military airlift has swept across the Middle East. At least 10 heavy transport aircraft landed in Israel alongside roughly 80 aerial refueling tankers.

Simultaneously, a parallel wave of U.S. cargo planes touched down across Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Kuwait to rapidly reinforce regional air defenses.

———-

NEW: 197 magnitude 4.5 or higher earthquakes rocked Pacific Ring of Fire over the past 7 days – Fox Weather

————

🇫🇷🔥❗️ — French police are coming under attack from fireworks and suspected Molotov cocktails as violent clashes continue during anti-government demonstrations.

🇫🇷🔥❗️ — URGENT: A police officer has been ENGULFED IN FLAMES after a Molotov cocktail exploded nearby during violent clashes in Paris.

FRANCE IS BURNING…

———-

🇺🇸 Mike Vorkunov on X: This is such a bleak story about what it’s like to try to land a job right now.

https://archive.ph/ozJXT

📎 Mike Vorkunov

A 22-year-old with an undergraduate degree in biology has applied for 511 jobs and counting. She was recently rejected from a role at Whole Foods after being “interviewed” by a chatbot named Sage.

A 23-year-old applying for administrative jobs in Texas keeps being asked to videotape himself, alone in his apartment, answering questions about his qualifications.

DropSite News

———-

🇪🇺 Europe is facing a gas crisis similar to the one five years ago

Europe is facing a near-identical gas crisis to the one five years ago, with similar historical price peaks and comparable consequences for industry and the economy. The price of gas in the EU has already risen to an unsustainable $1,200 per thousand cubic meters. However, this may still be an underestimate. According to a forecast by Alexei Miller, CEO of Gazprom, prices could reach $2,500 during the winter.

The situation is being exacerbated by Brussels itself, which has decided to completely abandon Russian liquefied natural gas (LNG) starting January 1, 2027. Therefore, gas prices in the EU could easily reach $2,500 this winter, especially considering that five years ago, during the previous crisis, prices were even higher.

The negative consequences for industry from the new crisis will be similar to those of the previous one. Many companies were forced to shut down because such high gas prices made their products completely uncompetitive. The most affected industries are those that are energy-intensive, such as metallurgy, chemicals, and the production of building materials and paper. Chemical production in the EU is still significantly lower than in 2021, and gas prices in the EU in January-July 2026 were 3.6 times higher than in the United States.

Can Europe somehow mitigate the unfolding crisis? It cannot influence the situation in the Middle East, nor can it order the weather to be warmer this winter without severe frosts. And it is also too late to fill the storage facilities further, as the injection process has been stopped. Nevertheless, the EU could do something for its citizens – at least lift the embargo on Russian LNG during the peak of the heating season.

“A complete cancellation is unlikely, but partial easing is possible. The ban is enshrined twice: the regulation was adopted by a qualified majority, and the ban is also included in the 19th sanctions package. Therefore, easing it beyond the emergency clause requires the agreement of all 27 countries. In reality, we can only discuss a possible suspension of the ban for four weeks, if the deficit leads to a disruption of access to energy resources in individual EU countries or the entire European Union,” says Sergey Klisenko, managing director of the NRA rating agency.

🔗 https://vz.ru/economy/2026/10/31/1470164.html

———

💵 🇺🇸 📈 41% of US consumers expect their financial situation to be worse over the next 12 months.

This figure has more than tripled since Q2 2024.

By comparison, during the 2008 Financial Crisis, this metric peaked at 23%.

This proportion is also significantly higher than in the 1970s and the 1980s, when CPI inflation was above 10%.

Furthermore, 31% of US consumers believe their personal financial situation will be worse in 5 years, double the proportion seen in the 1980s.

Americans feel as though we are in a recession.

📎 KobeissiLetter

————

New details on how the $6.3 billion Binance hack likely occurred:

According to initial reports, hackers compromised a Binance engineer’s laptop, gaining access to internal systems used to authorize withdrawals.

The attackers then:

1. Hijacked a Binance hot wallet using Ethereum’s EIP-7702 mechanism

2. Redirected wallet transactions to a malicious smart contract

3. Transferred billions in crypto attacker-controlled wallets

4. Spread the stolen funds across multiple wallets and converted some assets into ETH to avoid freezes

The attack unfolded across multiple blockchains, with most funds drained in ~20 minutes.

~$3 billion of these funds have now been frozen, and Binance says it will cover all unrecovered hacking losses.

The full investigation remains ongoing.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

Reddit’s earnings call has exposed the new reality for thousands of companies.

“AI mode does not drive traffic. Not for us and not to anybody as far as I know. It used to be a traffic driver. Now it’s not.” - Reddit CEO.

The reality is that AI is fundamentally changing the way that humans access the internet.

Just 24 hours prior to this statement, Google’s stock erased -$480 billion on the same issue: AI is disrupting the traditional search model.

For decades, the internet operated on a simple model. Search engines directed users to websites, and those websites monetized the traffic.

AI is destroying this business model, and it’s happening at an accelerating pace.

The traditional model of internet traffic is rapidly becoming outdated.

The internet has entered a new era.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

The timing of today’s market crash is noteworthy.

As selling pressure spreads, the Nasdaq 100 is now down nearly -5% on the day.

Meanwhile, the market-implied odds of a Democrat “sweep” in the Midterms next week has surged from 65% to 72% today, a record high.

That’s +7 percentage points in 2 days amid this market downturn.

We have yet to receive a comment from the Trump Administration regarding the current situation in the market.

However, what is clear is that the timing of today’s market crash will be consequential.

And, even as technology stocks drop sharply, US Treasury Yields are barely seeing any relief.

This leaves us with high rates, a falling stock market, $100+ oil prices, and rising CPI, PPI, and PCE inflation.

Next week is going to be interesting, to say the least.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

MARKET CLARITY

On days like today, it’s important to zoom out.

No, the AI Revolution is not “over,” and the market is not “going to zero.”

In fact, the Nasdaq 100 is up +11% YTD and nearly +70% since its April 2025 low.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is currently set to post a blended earnings +30.2% growth rate for Q3 2026.

This puts us on track for the third-straight quarter of earnings growth above 25%.

And, even after the biggest hack in crypto history, Bitcoin is down less than -5% this week.

Disruptive technologies like AI will inevitably bring heightened volatility, polarized positioning, and extreme swings in market sentiment.

However, do not let short-term volatility overshadow the broader picture.

We are in the midst of the biggest technological revolution in history.

Technical corrections are healthy, necessary, and an inevitable part of every bull market

————

Follow @insiderpaper for more updates

———

NEW - Australians urged to be prepared and stockpile tinned food and bottled water, Yahoo News Australia reports

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Alaska’s governor has ordered a probe into allegations that the campaign of a Democratic candidate for the US Senate recruited a man with the same name as her Republican opponent to run for office in a bid to siphon off votes.

READ: https://t.co/pTZvgqGmWD

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

BREAKING - EU nations will release 42.6 million barrels of oil under G7 pledge: commissioner

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BREAKING - Eisenkot warns Netanyahu working to ‘delegitimise’ Israel election results

READ: https://t.co/7uCjnzqF7p

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

BREAKING 🚨 Stage giant Patrick Stewart, of ‘Star Trek’ and ‘X-Men’ fame, dead at 86.

@insiderpaper

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BREAKING 🚨 Bitcoin price fell sharply after several sources reported a major hack of the cryptocurrency platform Binance

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/bitcoin-prices-slide-on-reports-of-major-hack-of-binance/

———

BREAKING: 🇮🇱🇬🇷 A Greek container ship operated by Israeli shipping giant ZIM has sunk in the Black Sea after being struck by three drones.

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷 U.S. Senator Chris Murphy says the new plan for attacking Iran is catastrophic:

“During one of the intelligence briefings, we had the opportunity to have a fairly detailed discussion about the war plan, and no doubt you have heard that it will be short-term.

I will just say this: their plan is insane, and it will lead to a catastrophic escalation, and perhaps to undermining our commitment to the rule of law.

The civilian infrastructure that we might target will prolong and escalate the war, which will have devastating consequences for our security interests.”

@Megatron_ron

———-

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran was under attack tonight

Visual confirmation of plumes of smoke rising in Bandar-e-Jask, southern Iran.

Reports indicate strikes took place near the airport of the coastal city.

@Megatron_ron

————

BREAKING: The U.S. Army announced that is now training soldiers in North Carolina to dig mass battlefield graves for American troops for the first time in decades, rehearsing how to handle mass casualties as Trump’s war on Iran is near. The Army says it hasn’t needed to do this on a large scale since the Korean War.

@MegaGeopolitics

———-

🇺🇸🐘⚡️- A shooting has been reported in Richmond, the capital of Virginia, targeting the headquarters of the Virginia Republican Party. Police are on scene, and a citywide manhunt has been declared, according to local reports.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- BREAKING: The Wall Street Journal reports that an extraordinary meeting between President Trump and senior military officials was held at the White House today, in which the President was briefed on military options against Iran that could take place as soon as the midterm elections conclude.

Simultaneously, several Gulf Arab states have been warned to prepare for a “short, intense military campaign” against Iran after the midterm elections.

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- “The US has begun a major airlift to the Middle East following warnings to prepare for a possible resumption of the Iran war. At least 10 US military transport aircraft landed at Ovda and Nevatim airbase in Israel over the past 24 hours, some arriving from Fort Bliss, Texas, suggesting possible air defense resupply.

US military aircraft have also landed at bases in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar over the past few hours.” - Kann News, anti-Likud left-wing outlet.

———

🇸🇦⚡️- Traffic at the King Fahd International Airport in Dammam seems uninterrupted. However, the flights that have diverted from their trajectories have not resumed their normal routes.

———-

🇸🇦⚡️- Air activity seems to have returned to normal with commercial airliners entering the area that was avoided 20 minutes ago. Disturbances are still recorded near Riyadh, with heavy GPS jamming around the Saudi capital.

————

🇺🇸🇮🇳⚡️- The Ramaswamy campaign has officially pulled the Acton ad off air after successfully destroying his chances of winning the election.

The ad was defended by President Trump, JD Vance, Don Jr, and the vast majority of MAGA world.

———-

💲⚡️- BREAKING: Binance, the world’s largest cryptocurrency exchange, was hacked today, resulting in over $5.6 billion in stolen cryptocurrency.

Although Binance claims that all user funds are safe, today remains the largest crypto hack in history.

————

🇺🇸🇯🇵⚡️- The US and Japan have agreed to establish a new missile production facility in Japan under an initiative called Operation Supercharge. The facility will manufacture advanced medium-range air-to-air missiles used by F-35 fighters, expanding allied weapons production capacity in the Indo-Pacific.

The agreement was announced during defense talks in the Philippines, where Washington and its regional allies are strengthening military cooperation in response to growing tensions with China.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡- BREAKING: US has been carrying out “self defense strikes” on missile launch sites across southern Iran over the past two weeks, Barak Ravid of Axios and Israeli Channel 12 reports.

———-

⚠️ BREAKING: MAJOR FAST-FOOD GIANT FACES WAVE OF RESTAURANT CLOSURES!

Wendy’s is facing another devastating blow as one of its largest franchise operators files for bankruptcy, threatening dozens of additional restaurant closures across America!

Meritage Hospitality Group, which operated more than 300 Wendy’s locations across 15 states, has already shuttered dozens of restaurants, with as many as 60 additional closures reportedly possible by mid-November.

———-

🇮🇷⚡️ — Iran’s IRGC Navy announced three oil tankers struck naval mines while attempting to pass through an unauthorized southern route of the Strait of Hormuz over the past 24 hours, triggering explosions and fires that left the vessels abandoned off the strait’s southern coast.

The IRGC said the tankers had disabled their radar and navigation systems and ignored repeated warnings before entering the mined waters.

———-

🇮🇷🤝🇨🇳 Iran-China train exports have increased 10x times after the U.S. imposed the naval blockade

The first container train carrying exports from Iran’s Qom departed for China.

Simultaneously, 460 tons of sodium hypochlorite from Iran’s Semnan were transported to Turkey by train, further expanding Iran’s railway export routes.

With increased maritime restrictions, rail freight transport from China to Iran has increased tenfold, and the arrival of Chinese trains, which used to be every 3 to 4 days, has now reached one train per day.

🔗 https://t.me/farsna/471374

———-

🇪🇺 EU gas price breaks €100 per MWh for first time since 2022

European gas prices broke through €100 per MWh on October 28 for the first time in almost four years on fears of a winter shortage of liquefied natural gas (LNG), The Bell reported.

The front-month November contract on the Dutch TTF hub rose 3% on the day to cross the threshold, equivalent to about €1,050 per 1,000 cubic metres. Prices have risen 38% since the start of October and have tripled since the US and Israel attacked Iran at the end of February, though they remain far below the peaks above €300 per MWh reached in 2022. The benchmark had already approached €100earlier in the week.

The rally shows how far Europe has swapped one supplier for another rather than escaping dependence. Russia supplied 45% of Europe’s gas five years ago; the US now provides about 30% of EU supply and its share is rising, while the rest of the marginal supply has to be bought on a global LNG market where Europe competes with Asia for every cargo. On the US domestic market gas is now about 10 times cheaper than in Europe.

The latest leg up followed a Wall Street Journalreport that US President Donald Trump has scheduled new US and Israeli strikes on Iran for after the November 3 midterm elections. The spread between December and November futures implies that traders have raised the probability of a shortage of Middle Eastern gas this winter from 51% to 73%, according to the Financial Times.

About a fifth of global LNG shipments passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the war, one of the world’s most exposed chokepoints. Crude exports from the Gulf have partly been rerouted through pipelines and shuttle tankers, but LNG has no alternative to direct sailings by specialised carriers, and the EU has received no significant Qatari volumes since the summer, according to the EU energy regulators’ agency ACER. QatarEnergy shut its 77mn tonne a year of liquefaction capacity as a precaution in March, has extended force majeure on deliveries to the end of the year, and says 12.8mn t/y of capacity damaged in the war could take up to five years to restore, Russia’s Pivot to Asia reported.

As IntelliNews reported, EU gas storage has stalled at a record low as the heating season starts. Inflows have all but stopped with the tanks only 74.9%, a record low for late October, ahead of the November 1 deadline when they are mandated to be 90% by EU law. Austria, Slovakia and the Czechia have already begun to drawing gas out of storage for a second week as temperatures begin to fall.

With EU storage tanks only three quarters full, against a long-term average of 86% for the time of year, the unfolding gas crisis began when the bloc ended last winter with reserves of just 28%. ACER puts the cost of refilling storage at €27bn. Maintenance and unplanned outages on Norway’s transmission system have taken about 100mn cubic metres a day out of supply, and forecasters expect an early and cold winter.

Asian buyers are bidding for the same cargoes, with Northeast Asian LNG at about $30 per mmBtu, also a four-year high. Goldman Sachs has forecast €150 per MWh if a cold winter coincides with a continued blockade of the strait.

Higher fuel prices since the end of February have cost the EU €100bn, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has acknowledged, and ACER attributes €18bn-€33bn of that to gas. She confirmed that the EU will still stop buying Russian LNG from 2027. Russian LNG and gas through the last remaining TurkStream branch currently cover 11% of the bloc’s consumption.

Moscow is using the squeeze to court buyers. President Vladimir Putin said on October 27 that Europe was “inflicting damage on its own industry and social sector by rejecting Russian energy resources and breaking long-term contracts”, while Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak reminded China the same day that Russian pipeline gas would be considerably cheaper than LNG.

🔗 https://www.intellinews.com/eu-gas-price-breaks-100-per-mwh-for-first-time-since-2022-480000/

———-

🇺🇸 U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has fired Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, the Pentagon’s top military planner, over allegations of leaking classified information about the Iran and Ukraine wars to the media.

Sylvia is the second official removed from the position in a year, with no replacement announced.

A Pentagon official said Sylvia failed three polygraph tests and the case was referred to the Justice Department, though two other sources disputed the allegations.

Sylvia had been coordinating U.S. military planning for Iran. This means the Joint Staff that serves the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Dan Caine is without its chief planner on the eve of possible resumption of strikes against Iran.

Source: CBS News

📝 Carolina Lion: Scapegoating for failed operations or clearing out opposition to restarting the war with Iran. Take your pick.

🔗 Clash Report

———

🇷🇺🛢 Russia’s weekly seaborne crude export value hits wartime high of $2.76bn

Russia’s seaborne crude exports were worth $2.76bn in the week to October 25, the most in a single week since the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, Bloomberg reported on October 27.

The new high clears the previous one, $2.75bn in the week to September 27, by only $10mn, and it is a gross value of the cargoes rather than money paid to the state. Federal oil and gas revenues fell 17.2% y/y to RUB5.47 trillion ($67.7bn) in the first nine months of 2026, the lowest for the period since 2020 on Ministry of Finance data, as payments to refiners under the fuel damper and a stronger ruble ate into the gain from higher prices.

https://www.intellinews.com/russia-s-weekly-seaborne-crude-export-value-hits-wartime-high-of-2-76bn-480016/

——-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️ — Several ballistic missiles were launched from Riyadh in the latest barrage. Several surface-to-air missiles were launched from installations in the city.

At this time, the only things that can be confirmed is multiple interceptions above As Suwaidi neighborhood, southwestern Riyadh. There may be additional interception and impact sites I’m unaware of due to strict Saudi OPSEC measures preventing information from going out.

———-

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 - President Trump met with Admiral Cooper, the head of CENTCOM, today in the White House.

———-

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 - The last notable time the 2 met was on the 27th of February right before the U.S began its campaign against Iran. It is highly plausible that Admiral Cooper presented Trump with new intel or a strike plan today.

🇸🇦🇶🇦🇦🇪⚡️- Numerous flights headed to Qatar and the UAE have started avoiding a large part of the airspace west of Damman. The reason is unclear.

————

🇮🇷⚡️ — More missiles were launched from Qeshm Island. Contradictory reports; some sources say they’re surface-to-air missiles, while others say they’re anti-ship cruise missiles.

They were launched from Tula, central Qeshm Island and flew in a southern direction.

———-

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 The top U.S. commander in the Middle East briefed President Trump Thursday on military options for Iran, a rare in-person visit to the White House as the U.S. weighs resuming major combat operations. —WSJ

While according to war journalist for VOAnews, US official told them Trump admin plans to strike Iran following US elections next week, “aircraft are moving into position. MOAB use expected.”

This is happening while currently the US keeps sending Iran useless and ridiculous requests for political resolutions, which is obviously to buy time to get their military into position.

Iranian leadership knows this as well.

🔗 Arya

———-

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 — U.S. strikes occured against Bandar-e-Jask, coastal southern Iran 27 minutes ago. 4 missiles struck the Islamic Republic of Iran Navy’s Jask Naval Base.

————

👨‍💻 🇪🇺 📵 EU puts country-level social media bans for children on hold

EU blocked Austria’s draft ban on social media for children under 14 and postponed overlapping national laws for 12 months.

https://insiderpaper.com/eu-puts-country-level-social-media-bans-for-children-on-hold/

———-

🖥 🇺🇸🔽Over 60% of the S&P 500’s components are now in bear market territory, down -20% or more from their record highs.

Four of the Magnificent 7 stocks are now in bear market territory, with these seven names erasing a combined -$4 trillion in market cap since their highs.

We are in a “stealth” bear market.

📎 KobeissiLetter

———

US oil refiner stocks are skyrocketing:

The S&P 500 Oil & Gas Refining & Marketing Index is up +136% YTD, set for its best annual performance on record.

This is more than double the +65% gain seen during the 2022 energy crisis.

By comparison, the next best years for the sector since 1996 were +80% in 2012 and +77% in 2005

Marathon Petroleum, $MPC, Valero Energy, $VLO, and Phillips 66, $PSX, are leading YTD gains, at +174%, +142%, and +117%, respectively.

Furthermore, the oil refiners ETF, $CRAK, is up +65% over the same period, putting it on track for its strongest annual performance since its launch in August 2015.

US oil refiners are experiencing a historic year.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

Something that the world is quickly learning in the age of AI:

If something can be hacked, it will be hacked.

This week has been a prime example of this.

Security has never been more crucial than it is now

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

BREAKING: Binance has been hacked with wallets across the Ethereum, Bitcoin, and TRON networks seeing outflows of -$5.7 billion.

The hack includes $1.45 billion worth of Bitcoin and $875 million worth of ETH.

If confirmed, this would mark the biggest hack in crypto history.

We expect more information shortly.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

_____

BREAKING: The crypto industry has now seen an estimated 750 security incidents in 2026, with total potential losses reaching $9.0 billion.

This marks a +133% increase in total losses compared to 2025 levels.

2027 will be the year of cybersecurity investments.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

Foreign ambassadors increasingly feel that an escalation is very close, and they are already considering the possibility of evacuation.

@Megatron_ron

———-

BREAKING: Iran rejected U.S. proposals delivered through Qatari mediators, which called for handing over enriched uranium, halting regional attacks, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz—demands that sidestep Tehran’s insistence on first lifting sanctions and ending the naval blockade.

Tehran is pushing its own ‘7-Day Plan’ through intermediaries, as Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi stressed military readiness alongside diplomatic channels.

Meanwhile, the U.S. has warned Gulf states of a possible post-midterm military campaign on November 3, moving Patriot defenses, repositioning troops, and advising ships to avoid the Strait amid escalating preparations on all sides.

@MegaGeopolitics

———

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Iran is now seeking to shorten the implementation period of its proposed plan to end the war from 7 days to 4, sources tell Al Arabiya

Under the revised timeline, the plan would include reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, according to the sources

The Iranian nuclear file would also be included in the new timetable, with an invitation for nuclear inspectors to return among the proposed measures

@Megatron_ron

———

NEW: 🇮🇱🇺🇸 An Israeli spyware company heavily targeted Starlink users in an attempt to infect their devices with spyware, per Reuters

Israeli ad tech firm Discover-Tech heavily targeted Starlink users with digital ads in over 100 countries, likely to geolocate or surveil them.

@Megatron_ron

———

JUST IN - Pete Hegseth fires the Pentagon’s chief planner, Army Lt. Gen. Brett Sylvia, from the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/9my7snimi1/

@disclosetv

———

🇺🇸🇲🇾🇨🇳⚡️- Malaysia has authorized a majority American-owned company to export up to 700 metric tons of rare earth material to the US, marking its first reported approval under relaxed export restrictions.

DTEC expects to ship the first 30 tons this weekend and is seeking $650 million in US financing for a Malaysian processing facility, which would help reduce American dependence on China’s rare earth industry.

———

🇮🇱 - As the results currently stand, Gadi Eisenkot would be unable to form even a minority government, assuming the Joint List keeps its promise to vote against both blocs.

Even with Ra’am’s support in a confidence vote, as it did when it joined the Bennett–Lapid coalition in the previous government, his bloc would total 53 seats, one short of the Likud-led camp. Eisenkot would therefore need either a defection from Likud’s camp or the backing of at least two Joint List seats.

A Likud minority government is impossible: a majority of the new Knesset, 66 seats made up of Yashar’s camp and the two Arab parties, would vote against it.

——-

The likely outcome is no government is formed. Negotiations keep failing because, for both sides, the risks far outweigh the rewards, and a second election is called for April 2027.

Throughout the process, Benjamin Netanyahu assumes the role of a caretaker prime minister, a position from which he could launch military operations on several fronts and push his approval ratings back up in time for April.

———-

🇮🇱⚡- Likud has released a statement stating the elections were “stolen”.

“The elections in the State of Israel were stolen by Arab parties that support terrorism and the elimination of the Jewish state, through serious criminal offences including bribery, threats, violence, forgery, and the use of prohibited software to drive voter turnout.

The Likud party is handing over to the police, the Shin Bet and the Central Elections Committee hundreds of testimonies and pieces of evidence of election theft at many Arab polling stations: thousands of envelopes containing cash and Ra’am ballot slips, threats and violence against polling station staff, multiple voters behind the voting screen, voting under duplicate identities, discrepancies between the number of envelopes and the number of voters, the use of prohibited turnout software, and more.

We demand that the police and the Shin Bet conduct a thorough investigation into the theft of the elections by the Arab parties and bring the offenders to justice.

We demand that the Elections Committee immediately address the investigation of these criminal offences, which have severely harmed the integrity of Israel’s elections and their results.

This is a grave blow to Israeli democracy and to the voting rights of Israel’s citizens. The law enforcement agencies must act firmly and immediately.”

———

🇪🇸⚡️- 64 dead and nearly 200 wounded following a massive train accident in Spain.

———-

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- “The military will implement any decision made regarding Iran,” - Israel Katz, Defense Minister of Israel, responding to Gadi Eisenkot’s accusation yesterday that Netanyahu is using Israel’s security to boost his poll numbers.

——-

🇮🇱⚡- “Israeli opposition candidate Yair Lapid is working to encourage members from the Likud camp to defect, using his connections within the party,” - Israel Hayom.

——-

🇺🇸🇫🇷⚡️- After 11 days, the mayor of Limoges says he has not received any call or message from Emmanuel Macron to support him after losing his town hall. However, the mayor did receive a supportive email from Vice-President J.D. Vance.

———

🇺🇸🇧🇷⚡️- BREAKING: Flavio Bolsonaro declares himself Brazil’s president-elect. He accuses Lula and the Brazilian Supreme Court of carrying mass voter fraud and stealing the presidential election.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇳⚡️- Internal polling from the Ohio GOP shows that Vivek Ramaswamy is collapsing as Amy Acton takes an 8 point lead.

———-

🇫🇷 French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu offered students a package of concessions on Monday that student groups rejected immediately, vowing to keep protesting, LCP reported.

The offer reportedly included:

🔹 Replacing Parcoursup, France’s centralized university admissions system, in 2028

🔹 15,000 new places in higher education and scholarships indexed to inflation

🔹 A cap of 28 students in 10th-grade classes from 2027

🔹 €4 billion in loans to renovate schools and €1 billion for universities

Louis Letoublon, vice president of the high school group Les Lycéens!, called the 15,000 places “bordering on mockery,” and the Union étudiante gave Lecornu “0/10.”

Groups were also angered that Lecornu met education influencers that morning, one of whom announced the measures on TV before the unions were received. UNEF’s Manon Moret called it “scandalous,” LCP reported.

Student unions are demanding 10 measures worth €10 billion and plan to march again Saturday alongside the Yellow Vests, then join a national strike on Nov. 5.

---

🎥 1: Sabrine Kharbach, Union étudiante spokesperson, outside Matignon called the discussions a “full-blown parade of hypocrites.” Source: BFMTV

🎥2: Content creator Mathilde Fouqué after meeting Lecornu at Matignon. Source: BFMTV

🔗 DropSite

——-

🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦🇧🇬 Russian drones struck a vessel 21 nautical miles off Cape Shabla, Bulgaria, around 4 hours ago becoming the 9th vessel to come under attack in the Black Sea this month.

The Container Ship — CONTSHIP JET — flying under the Liberian flag was struck inside Bulgaria’s EEZ. It was coming from Haifa, Israel and was headed for the Romanian port of Constanța which acts as a dual export route for both Romanian and Ukrainian goods. The crew evacuated the vessel but it hasn’t sunk.

🔗 GeoInsider

———-

🇺🇸⁉️🇧🇷 — BREAKING: THE U.S. CONSULATE IN BRAZIL IS EMPTY, AND AS OF NOW, ALL ATTEMPTS BY BRAZIL’S MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS TO MAKE CONTACT HAVE BEEN IGNORED.

———-

🇧🇷🏴💥🏴 — ⚖️ The Workers’ Party (PT, the ruling party) has asked the Supreme Federal Court (STF) to revoke the registration of the Liberal Party (PL), Brazil’s largest opposition party.

———-

☢️ 🇺🇸 🧯 According to a release from the Savannah River Site, a National Nuclear Security Administration site, at 5:39 p.m. today a site area emergency was declared following a fire at the Savannah River National Laboratory that has since been extinguished. Per the release, “No contamination has been reported outside the affected facility.”

In addition to precautionary measures put in place, a temporary flight restriction (TFR) was put in place over the area, with the TFR calling the incident a “US GOVT NUCLEAR INCIDENT.”

📎 OSINTdefender

———

JUST IN - US Fed holds interest rates steady, says committed to fighting inflation

Two of Fed’s 12-voting-member committee dissent, call for rate hike

———

Around the world, governments are increasingly advising their citizens to have provisions in the case of an emergency such as war, extreme weather and cybersecurity threats - Newsweek

———

NEW: FEMA announces a nationwide Emergency Alert System test across the United States on November 17 at 2:20 p.m. ET.

The alert will interrupt TV and radio broadcasts but will not be sent to mobile phones. Officials say no action is required from the public.

———-

NEW: FEMA announces a nationwide Emergency Alert System test across the United States on November 17 at 2:20 p.m. ET.

The alert will interrupt TV and radio broadcasts but will not be sent to mobile phones. Officials say no action is required from the public.

———-

BREAKING: A DHS data leak exposes 41,000+ employees and contractors, cellphone numbers, ICE and CBP facilities, and groups linked to wiretap programs, Palantir and xAI’s Grok.

@GeneralMCNews

______

⚡🇵🇸The president of the Israeli Central Election Commission has ordered the Shin Bet to investigate alleged foreign electoral interference, based on intelligence information described as “exceptionally serious.”

According to broadcaster N12, the suspicions concern funding from Qatar to increase voter turnout among the Arab population in Israel, part of which allegedly passed through channels already used to finance terrorism.

@medmannews

——-

🇮🇱⚡- “The suspicion involves large sums of money allegedly transferred from external Arab sources to increase voter turnout in the Arab sector through illegal means,” - Amit Segal of Israeli Channel 12.

“The foreign Arab country involved is likely Qatar,” - Ynet.

🇶🇦🇹🇷🇮🇱⚡- “Funds from Turkey and Qatar influenced the elections against Likud,” - Amit Segal.

———

Let’s put it simply and clearly: Qatar sought to take control of the Knesset. Shin Bet (Israel’s internal security agency) provided information, and the Chairman of the Election Committee ordered an immediate investigation.

Anyone who tries to “take control of the Knesset” and replace the Chairman before the final results of the election integrity investigation in the Arab sector are determined is complicit in Qatar’s attempts to take control of the Knesset.

(Shlomo Filber)

———

The voting polls Jihad:

Arrests have been made. More are expected in the coming hours.

It’s a huge scandal!

The leader of one of those Arab parties was in Qatar just 24 hours before the elections. Why?

He claims it was for a TV interview. Who leaves the campaign trail right before an election to fly abroad for a TV interview that he could have done from his own home?

This scandal involves the highest levels of Arab politics in Israel.

———

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 US warns allies to prepare for possible Iran strikes, retaliation after elections, AP sources say

US. officials have told several Middle East countries and regional allies to be prepared for potential renewed military action against Iran after next week’s midterm elections in the United States — as well as the possibility that Iran will attempt to retaliate against them, according to two diplomats briefed on the matter.

@Megatron_ron

———

The IRGC claims to have shot down another U.S. MQ-1 drone, over the eastern part of the Strait of Hormuz, opposite Sirik.

They claim that this is the 14th MQ-1C drone to be shot down since the beginning of the war.

———

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/udscis68nl/

@disclosetv

—-

NOW - Trump says attacking Iran was “one of the greatest things I ever did.”

@disclosetv

——-

NEW: Real Madrid star Kylian Mbappé referred to Mao Zedong, the founding leader of Communist China, as a “dictator,” sparking widespread backlash and losing deals with multiple Chinese companies. He later issued an apology.

——-

NEW: Japan to Issue Nationwide ‘Emergency Request,’ Urging Citizens to Stockpile Survival Supplies

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/japan-to-issue-nationwide-emergency-request-urging-citizens-to-stockpile-survival-supplies/

——-

BREAKING: FBI is raiding a mansion in Beverly Hills, CA as part of an investigation into Eric Swalwell, Fox News reports

——-

BREAKING: President Trump says will respect US midterm results ‘if they’re honest’

——-

JUST IN - Ebola outbreak in Africa surpasses 10,000 cases, mostly in DR Congo

READ: https://t.co/GedrH3VF6O

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

——-

JUST IN - Netanyahu’s party asks to extend Israeli election hours as it mobilises voters

READ: https://t.co/MvqDiYMH08

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

BREAKING: President Trump says his administration will officially ban the term “Artificial Intelligence (AI)” from relevant documents and replace it with “Super Intelligence (SI).”

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

BREAKING: Flavio Bolsonaro has fled Brazil and is en route to the United States, Metropoles reports

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

BREAKING: Israel election commission rejects Netanyahu party bid to extend voting

Follow @insiderpaper for more updates

——-

NEW: 3 of Britain’s 4 nuclear deterrent submarines are out at sea in an “unusual” situation, The Times reports

Follow @insiderpaper for more updates

———

NEW: Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro left the country on Tuesday, heading for the United States - US media

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/flavio-bolsonaro-headed-us-election/

———

BREAKING: US says will issue visas to Flavio Bolsonaro, family for entry into country

———

NEW: Former FBI Deputy Director Dan Bongino tells Americans to take emergency preparedness warnings seriously

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/dan-bongino-americans-stockpile-emergency-supplies/

———

NEW: Anthropic warns in its S-1 IPO filing that its AI models could engage in blackmail-like behavior and potentially pose an existential threat to humanity.

———-

US JUDGE TO RULE WEDNESDAY ON JUSTICE DEPARTMENT’S URGENT PLEA TO STOP CALIFORNIA COUNTING MAIL BALLOTS FROM SUSPECTED NONCITIZENS - COURT HEARING ...

———

Is your Samsung TV spying on you? Researcher claims TVs secretly listen for barking dogs and crying babies

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/samsung-tvs-secretly-listen-for-barking-dogs-and-crying-babies/

———

🇳🇴🇫🇮🇷🇺⚡- “Russian President Vladimir Putin is preparing for phone talks with Finland’s President Alexander Stubb and Norway’s Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Store to discuss the prospects for a peace deal in Ukraine. The three leaders may speak as soon as today.

The planned talks follow a revived effort to get peace negotiations on track, with US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff visiting Putin in St. Petersburg last week. Witkoff traveled to Russia after holding talks in Oslo with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and the two Nordic leaders,” - Bloomberg.

———-

🇮🇱⚡️- Benjaming Netanyahu has now tweeted six times within two hours to denounce a massive voter turnout in Arabic and left-wing sectors. His “emergency calls” are being heavily relayed by media outlets aligned with him.

_____

🇮🇱⚡- The Likud-camp believe the Yashar-camp would receive first mandate from the President in forming a government, Ma’ariv reports. The phase could last approximately 28 days (+14 additional days).

If Yashar fail, the President will pass the role to the Likud-camp, who will have a similar amount of time.

If both parties fail, the President will call for a second election, that could take place in early 2027.

During the entire process, Benjamin Netanyahu will assume the role of a caretaker Prime Minister.

The options to form a government are passing the 61 seats threshold, forming a minority government, or a Yashar-led unity government with Likud.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- “After the elections, the possibility of a confrontation with Iran exists - but it depends on the Americans. The intention is to pursue a joint course of action, if the decision on this matter is made by President Trump,” - An Israeli security source tells Israeli Channel 12.

———-

Japan (and now Dan Bongino?) Warns: Prep NOW with Food, Water, Essentials

Japan has joined the UK and other EU governments in warning its citizens to stockpile supplies for a major emergency. We also learned the US had instructed the military to brace for 90 days without power or supply chains.

And, just in as well, the disgraced Dan Bongino has emerged from a hole somewhere to warn people to prepare:

“Have yourself an emergency radio, have yourself some batteries, get yourself some emergency food, get yourself a rain collection and water filtration, some filtration tablets. Get your stuff today. Please. Do it for your family.” — (source)

https://www.timesnownews.com/world/asia/after-uk-japan-urges-households-to-stockpile-supplies-and-prepare-for-emergency-announcement-article-156414398

———

Japan (and now Dan Bongino?) Warns: Prep NOW with Food, Water, Essentials

Japan has joined the UK and other EU governments in warning its citizens to stockpile supplies for a major emergency. We also learned the US had instructed the military to brace for 90 days without power or supply chains.

And, just in as well, the disgraced Dan Bongino has emerged from a hole somewhere to warn people to prepare:

“Have yourself an emergency radio, have yourself some batteries, get yourself some emergency food, get yourself a rain collection and water filtration, some filtration tablets. Get your stuff today. Please. Do it for your family.” — (source)

https://www.timesnownews.com/world/asia/after-uk-japan-urges-households-to-stockpile-supplies-and-prepare-for-emergency-announcement-article-156414398

———

Quaker Oats facility in Cedar Rapids spontaneously explodes

Attacks on our food supply continue — the facility that exploded yesterday was the world’s largest cereal milling facility, processing over 2 million pounds of oats daily.

It’s not just the global energy infrastructure — it’s our FOOD SUPPLY.

- @iceagefarmer

https://www.kcrg.com/2026/10/24/fire-explosion-reported-downtown-cedar-rapids-factory/

———

💢 US and Iran secretly ATTACKED EACH OTHER’S SPACE SYSTEMS during WAR — Pentagon intelligence report

BOTH countries TOOK ‘OFFENSIVE ACTIONS AGAINST each others’ SPACE CAPABILITIES’

GOAL: to ‘DEGRADE and DISRUPT MILITARY ACTIONS on BOTH SIDES’ — Defense Intelligence Agency

———

BREAKING: Putin warns gas exporters in the world to face consequences if they try to exclude Russia from the world gas market:

Yes, in recent years, Russian gas companies have faced certain difficulties, including restrictions on the part of some countries.

In this regard, I once again emphasize that any attempts to exclude Russia from the number of participants in the world gas market, to contain the development of this industry in our country, have serious consequences.

@Megatron_ron

———

🇾🇪❌🇸🇦 – The Houthis appear to have struck another Saudi Gas-Oil Separation Plant (GOSP) close to the Ghawar oil field, around 20 kilometers east of the Hawiyah Gas Plant, which was targeted along with other GOSP facilities some weeks ago.

FIRMS spotted an anomalous amount of heat radiating from the GOSP, topping above 70 FRP around an hour ago.

For comparison, other GOSP facilities in the area are emitting around ~0.6 FRP. It’s likely the fire at the facility remains uncontained. Neither Saudi Arabia nor the Houthis have confirmed whether an attack took place at the facility.

📍 Coordinates of the damaged GOSP:

24°47’47.01”N 49°10’43.98”E

———

🇮🇱🗳📝 Neither bloc can form a government, and Netanyahu stays in office while everyone tries:

1) Netanyahu has no realistic route to 61. His bloc is the four religious-right parties plus Likud, and every party outside it ran on replacing him. To get there he would need defectors from Bennett or Lieberman, which both ruled out, or Ra’am, which Smotrich and Ben-Gvir would veto.

2) Eisenkot’s only path to a government runs through the Arab parties. Ra’am alone gets him to 58. He needs the Joint List as well, at least abstaining or giving outside support. That is the 2021 Bennett-Lapid model, but with a bigger dependency. Bennett and Lieberman have both been wary of relying on the Joint List.

3) The other way out is the Haredim. Shas plus UTJ is 14 seats, which would put Eisenkot at 66. But the draft is the issue that defines Lieberman, Bennett and the Democrats. A deal on exemptions would break his bloc from the inside.

4) The anti-Netanyahu parties plus the Arab parties come to about 69. That is enough to elect the Knesset speaker, control committees, and pass laws without forming a government. A bill barring an indicted MK from forming a government becomes possible.

5) Likud’s overperformance is mostly cannibalization. Likud gained, but its bloc is at 50. The votes came from inside the right, not from the center.

6) Stalemate favors Netanyahu. He stays caretaker PM through coalition talks and any repeat election. If nobody gets to 61, he governs by default.

The likeliest outcomes are a Bennett-Lapid-style government that depends on Arab support, or deadlock and another election with Netanyahu still in charge. The whole question is whether Eisenkot, Bennett and Lieberman will sit with Arab support. Exit polls here usually miss by a seat or two per party, so a small shift around the threshold could change the math.

🔗 Shaiel Ben-Ephraim

———

🇾🇪⚔️🇾🇪 Latest news from the Taiz front

🟡 The Yemeni armed forces are advancing steadily around the city of Taiz and the western front of Lahj province.

🔹 On the Taiz axis, the Yemeni army cleared the hills of Al-Diman, Al-Iqam, and Al-Maydan from the control of Saudi coalition forces. With the clearing of these heights, other parts of southern Taiz city as well as Taiz University came under the oversight and fire of the Yemeni armed forces.

🔗 IWN

———

🔋☀️💧 Renewables’ share of world electricity rises to 34% as nuclear slips to 9%

The two sources have followed very different paths since 2000, when they supplied a similar share of global power: renewables a little under 20% and nuclear about 17%, the data show. Rapid growth in solar and wind has lifted renewables since then, while nuclear’s share has roughly halved. Fossil fuels still produced 57% of the world’s electricity in 2025, down from more than two-thirds in the early 2010s.

Nuclear output has not shrunk. Reactors worldwide generated a record 2,702 TWh in 2025, up 35 TWh on the previous year’s record, the World Nuclear Association said in September. But the amount of power from nuclear plants is about the same as two decades ago, while the world now produces far more electricity overall, so its share of the mix has fallen.

Most of last year’s nuclear growth came from new reactors in China, which added 37 TWh, with France adding 12 TWh and Japan 9 TWh, while reactor closures in Belgium cut output by 7 TWh, according to Ember’s Global Electricity Review 2026. Over the same year renewables generated 10,730 TWh, or 33.8% of the total, edging past coal’s 33.0% to become the world’s largest source of electricity for the first time.

Solar did most of the work. Solar generation rose by 636 TWh, or 30%, to 2,778 TWh in 2025, Ember said, and solar’s share of global power generation reached 8.7%, nearly matching nuclear’s 8.8%, according to the Energy Institute.

Nuclear construction is picking up. Eleven reactors started construction in 2025, taking capacity under construction worldwide to 82 GWe, against 423 GWe now operating, the World Nuclear Association said. Reactors ran at an average capacity factor of 83.7% last year.

🔗 https://www.intellinews.com/renewables-share-of-world-electricity-rises-to-34-as-nuclear-slips-to-9-478547/

———

🇨🇳🤖 In China, the AI bubble has already burst

While global tech stocks teeter, in China they have already crashed as lofty valuations collapse under worries about AI demand and curbs on Chinese exports..

Shares in optical parts makers Zhongji Innolight and Eoptolink Technology are down roughly 60% from highs in June and July, in part as Washington moves towards banning the one-time ‌darlings from supplying ⁠US data centres.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/china/china-ai-bubble-has-already-burst-2026-10-26/

———-

BREAKING: The Pentagon says the U.S. war with Iran has cost $47.1 billion so far, with the total potentially rising further as base repair costs remain excluded.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

——-

JUST IN - Senior officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan are visiting Tehran for high-level security talks with Iran’s leadership — reports

———

🚨 Iran will host a high-level delegation from Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey in Tehran on Monday for talks focused on regional security

Expected attendees:

- Khalid bin Salman – Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister

- Asim Munir – Pakistan’s Army Chief

- Ibrahim Kalin – Turkey’s Intelligence Chief

———

BREAKING: Brazil’s currency real slumps over 8% versus US dollar on Lula win

———

BREAKING: Brazil’s currency real slumps over 8% versus US dollar on Lula win

BREAKING - BRAZIL’S STOCK EXCHANGE HALTS TRADING OVER SHARP DROP AFTER LULA WIN

———

BREAKING 🚨 Iran talks with Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan begin in Tehran: state media

———-

BREAKING - Brazilian stock market plunges nearly 17% after Lula win

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/brazilian-stock-market-plunges-nearly-17-after-lula-win/

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

BREAKING - Microsoft offers voluntary exit packages to 60,000 staff bit.ly/4i7sqXd

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

JUST IN - UN experts say Russian attacks on Ukraine’s energy sector are crimes against humanity

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/un-experts-say-russian-attacks-on-ukraines-energy-sector-are-crimes-against-humanity/

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

NEW - Anthropic IPO filing shows Anthropic’s 7 founders are individually worth more than $13,000,000,000 with each of them holding approx 1.4% of the company.

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/zllu0yumkr/

@disclosetv

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🚨US forces are on standby for a potentially large-scale operation against Iran, with troops ready to act within 96 hours of Trump’s order, according to US media

🚨CNN citing two US officials claimed that a major war with Iran is coming

———

🚨Nationwide elections in Israel, described in reports as the most consequential election in the country’s history, are set to begin within the coming hours. 07:00 AM Local Time

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🇺🇸⚡️- Democrat House Leader Hakeem Jeffries says he will take up impeachment of Pete Hegseth after the midterms.

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🇸🇾⚡- Massive explosion at a weapons depot in Saraqib, Idlib region, northwest Syria. Secondary explosions can be seen in the footage. The cause of the explosion remains unknown.

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🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- The growing rift between Israel’s ruling political leadership and the security establishment is not limited to tensions between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir, but also extends into the Mossad.

Newly appointed Mossad Chief Roman Gofman supports Netanyahu’s position on launching military action against Iran before the upcoming elections, however, several senior Mossad officials oppose such a move.

———-

🇮🇷🇷🇺🇶🇦⚡- Russian President Vladimir Putin will hold meetings with Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Moscow tomorrow.

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🇮🇷🇮🇶⚡️ — UKMTO announces receiving multiple third-party reports of a vessel on fire 63 nautical miles southeast of al-Faw, Iraq. UKMTO has no further information on the status of the vessel.

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🇫🇷⚡️- Emmanuel Macron caved in to a significant amount of the French students’ demands, with sizeable reforms being implemented as soon as January. Despite this, several students unions have called on to keep pressuring the government for further reforms.

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🇮🇱⚡️- Netanyahu plans to dismiss IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir if he wins re-election, according to i24NEWS.

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🇮🇱⚡- Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz has dismissed reports that Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir could be removed from his post following the elections.

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🇺🇸🇻🇦⚡️- Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob and The bishop of Des Moines, Iowa, William Joensen have released statements condemning the White House after pictures of them praying with President Trump were publicized without their permission for campaign purposes.

The two met with Trump on Thursday for a private meeting after being invited by the White House earlier in the year to discuss abortion, supporting private religious schools, and immigration.

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🇧🇷⚡️- BREAKING: Flavio Bolsonaro has been asked by the Brazilian Federal Police to surrender his passports. He is currently banned from leaving Brazil.

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🇾🇪❌🇸🇦 – BREAKING: FIRMS data confirms a large fire broke our earlier today along the Saudi East-West Pipeline, about 90 kilometers west of Riyadh in the Najd desert.

This coincides with the Houthi statement that the pipeline was targeted, although FIRMS last detected the fire about 11 hours ago, suggesting it could be under control by now, and that the attack was a while before than the Houthi announcement.

Saudi authorities and other official sources have not confirmed damage to the pipeline.

Coordinates of the struck substation, according to FIRMS data:

📍 24.7975°N, 45.8298°E

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🇫🇷🗳 France’s Le Pen launches presidential bid as protests rattle the nation

“We are not living through the end of the world but the end of a world, their world,” she said of her political ​opponents.

Le Pen chose to make her first campaign address in Orléans, home to Joan of Arc, the 15th-century warrior ​heroine revered by nationalists as a symbol of patriotism and sovereignty.

Addressing a crowd of cheering supporters, she ⁠promised “zero tolerance” policing and said restoring security was the state’s first duty.

Seeking to ​project optimism, Le Pen built her speech around the theme of a national “Renaissance”. She said France was living through a period ​of upheaval but would emerge stronger if it embraced her vision of security, prosperity and renewal.

“We say: ‘Things were good before, they will be better ‌tomorrow!’,” ⁠she said.

Le Pen promised a hard line on immigration, pledging to restore border controls, automatically expel foreign criminals and crack down on gangs and drug traffickers.

Le Pen herself could have to campaign wearing an ankle tag after she was convicted of embezzling European Parliament funds. She is appealing the court verdict.

On the economy, Le Pen pledged spending restraint, lower business taxes, reduced bureaucracy and support for ​industry, innovation and artificial intelligence. She ​rejected further increases in the ⁠retirement age.

The congress was designed to showcase unity at the top of the National Rally party, with Jordan Bardella re-elected party president and presented as Le Pen’s choice for prime minister.

Bardella’s speech ​was interrupted by activists from a Jewish student union, drawing attention to recent accusations he ​made antisemitic comments in ⁠his youth, which he denies.

On Europe, Le Pen stopped short of advocating ⁠a French ​exit from the European Union, but said she would roll back Brussels’ ​influence, restore national control over borders and laws, and put French interests first, including avoiding foreign wars.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/frances-le-pen-launches-presidential-bid-protests-rattle-nation-2026-10-25/

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🇪🇬🇸🇦🇾🇪⚡️ — NEW: Egypt’s parliament has authorized the military to provide support to Saudi Arabia amid escalating Houthi (Ansarallah) attacks on the kingdom.

Egypt’s potential involvement is limited to defending Saudi territory and borders, ruling out any offensive operations in or against Yemen.

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🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 US forces in the Middle East are prepared to launch new, potentially major, military operations against Iran “within 96 hours of receiving” an order from President Donald Trump, according to two US officials.

Sufficient forces are now deployed in the region to carry out the potential attacks, the sources said. The scope of new US military operations would likely go beyond efforts to simply “mow the lawn” or maintain the status quo by striking radars, launchers and other Iranian assets that can be quickly reconstituted — as has been the case since Trump halted full combat operations earlier this year, the sources added.

“It will be a big effort,” one of the officials told CNN. That view has been echoed by other current and former US officials familiar with internal military planning discussions — some of whom say it is a question of when, not if, Trump will issue a go-order. They believe it could come any time before the end of the year, though most likely after the US midterm elections.

Iranian forces are now more familiar with US tactics, and it would therefore be harder for the American military to effectively destroy all potential intended targets. However, leaders in US Central Command and the Pentagon have been developing a wide-ranging target list, which includes Iranian energy infrastructure, military sites and nuclear facilities.

Officials say that Trump has not made up his mind on what he will do after the midterms but that he appears to be leaning toward ordering major action. But officials also caution that Trump has appeared in the past to lean toward certain actions only to back off at the last moment.

US intelligence officials believe Iran and the Houthis are unlikely to carry out preemptive escalatory attacks against American personnel or Israel at this point but would not hesitate to respond if Iran is targeted first by US or Israeli forces, one of the sources familiar with the latest American intelligence assessments noted.

Additionally, nonessential US military personnel who were expected to deploy to the Middle East as part of the next troop rotation have been told they are no longer being sent, according to a US official, underscoring the possibility of looming regional escalation.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been pushing to carry out new attacks against Iran, but US officials have requested he delay until the Trump administration is ready to conduct joint operations, according to two US officials and an Israeli security source.

“Netanyahu really wanted and tried to convince Trump for a joint attack in Iran before the elections, and Trump did not give a green light,” the Israeli security source told CNN. The prime minister’s office said this was “fake news.”

One reason Trump declined is because Israel Defense Forces chief of staff Eyal Zamir told US Gen. Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs, that it would harm the elections in Israel and lead to their postponement, the Israeli security source added.

Israel’s Channel 12 News reported Sunday there was an “unprecedented” confrontation between Zamir and Netanyahu fewer than 48 hours before Tuesday’s vote. According to the report, Zamir received a directive from the political echelon related to Iran but requested an in-depth discussion and legal authorizations before carrying it out, fearing the action could lead to a miscalculation that could trigger an immediate conflict.

🔗 https://edition.cnn.com/2026/10/26/politics/us-iran-strike-plans-trump

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⚡️🇪🇬 More than two third of the House of Representatives voted in favor of providing the military support to Saudi Arabia.

It is official now.

Egypt will provide military support to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia if they asked for it.

@medmannews

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🇺🇸🌾🇧🇾 US lifts sanctions on Belarus potash chief as Minsk seeks help with EU

The US has lifted personal sanctions on Andrei Rybakov, general director of state potash giant Belaruskali, as Minsk looks to Washington to help soften European sanctions on Belarus, the Kyiv Independent reported.

The Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) removed Rybakov from its Specially Designated Nationals list on October 21, according to a notice on the department’s website. He had been under US sanctions since 2021. Potassium fertiliser is Belarus’ main export, and Belaruskali its main producer.

The delisting is the latest step in a slow-moving trade of sanctions relief for political prisoners. It comes a month after President Donald Trump’s special envoy John Coale visited Minsk and secured the release of 25 political prisoners in exchange for lifting sanctions on two Belarusian companies, a smaller result than expected. Talks have so far freed about 500 prisoners in return for relief on the national airline, the banking sector and potash, but the pace has slowed this year as Minsk’s demands have widened to include Europe.

“Given the decisions the US has already taken regarding Belarus, such as removing certain sanctions, the United States can influence European Union states to improve our relations with European states,” Valentin Rybakov, Belarus’ permanent representative to the UN and one of Minsk’s lead negotiators with Washington, told state media after reporting to Alexander Lukashenko on the talks.

The first shipment of Belarusian potash has already arrived at the port of New Orleans and the next is under way, the UN envoy said. “In the near future, obviously, the next shipment will be directed to the US market.”

The US issued a general licence in December 2025 authorising virtually all previously prohibited dealings with Belaruskali, and delisted the three entities that produce potash in March. EU and national sanctions in Europe still close the shortest and cheapest export route, through the Lithuanian port of Klaipeda. After visiting Minsk, Coale travelled to Vilnius and Riga to discuss potash transit, he told the New York Times, but Lithuanian Foreign Minister Kestutis Budris has insisted that no EU member can be party to such a deal while EU sanctions stay in place.

🔗 https://www.intellinews.com/us-lifts-sanctions-on-belarus-potash-chief-as-minsk-seeks-help-with-eu-478832/?source=eu-today

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🛢 IEA chief Fatih Birol says there is no credible pathway back to pre-conflict conditions. Oil is flirting with $120/bbl, while diesel and gasoil tightness could persist into mid-2027.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/ieas-birol-does-not-expect-energy-markets-return-pre-war-levels-2027-2026-10-26/

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🇺🇸 Vivek Ramaswamy has doubled down on his campaign ad which used Amy Acton’s abusive mother to attack her, by claiming the media defamed his mother.

“You never start a fight. But if you find yourself in one, you finish it.”

Vivek’s mother, Geetha Ramaswamy was hired by his company Axovant to help reinterpret data from old trials of its Alzheimer’s drug, which made it appear more promising to investors.

Vivek built a large part of his fortune by cashing out the stock in 2017, before the drug failed and the stock crashed.

📎 Europa

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BREAKING: Former FBI director James Comey has been charged with leaking national defense information in 2016

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US inflation reaches 3.7%, up from 3% when Trump took office.

Rising grocery, housing and fuel costs intensify pressure on Republicans ahead of the midterms.

————

Federal appeals court rules illegal immigrants never formally admitted to the US have no constitutional right to bond hearings pending deportation.

The 9–2 decision deepens a legal dispute headed toward the Supreme Court.

🄳🄾🄾🄼🄿🤖🅂🅃🄸🄽🄶

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𝗔𝗻𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗼𝗽𝗶𝗰 𝗪𝗮𝗿𝗻𝘀 𝗔𝗜 𝗖𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗣𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗘𝘅𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝗧𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁 𝗧𝗼 𝗛𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗢𝗳 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗿𝗱 𝗜𝗣𝗢

Anthropic’s IPO filing warns that advanced AI could threaten humanity through autonomous behavior, weapons misuse and loss of control.

The Claude developer is targeting a potential $100 billion raise despite an $80.7 billion first-half loss.

READ MORE

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🇺🇸📞🇧🇷 — U.S. President Donald Trump on the results of the Brazilian election:

Reporter: “In Brazil, Bolsonaro lost the election. Any comment on that? Do you think the election was fair?”

Trump: “No. To me, it looked terrible. I thought it was terrible... Okay. I didn’t take sides, but honestly, it looked like another rigged election. I didn’t take sides, but it was a terrible image for the world. It’s another election. You know, elections need to be beyond dispute, and to me, it looked really bad. What’s important? Taking sides. I didn’t support anyone or anything, but I watched the election. It looked so, so corrupt.”

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🇧🇷🇧🇷❗️⚖️👨‍⚖👮 — Flávio Bolsonaro alleges that the Federal Police (PF), acting on orders from Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF), ordered him to surrender his passport and banned him from leaving the country.

🇧🇷 The senator also stated that spending by the Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT) government constituted an abuse of economic and political power and vowed to pursue the matter to the end.

🏴 He pledged to organize the opposition and unite lawmakers, describing Congress as a stronghold against “barbarism,” and declaring that he would not be silenced or give up on Brazil.🏴

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NEW 🚨 Paper straws is worse for the environment than plastic ones, South Korea study reveals

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BREAKING: Brazil’s stock market collapses nearly -30% and the Brazilian Real loses -10% after President Lula da Silva is unexpectedly re-elected.

Brazil’s stock market has lost over $200 billion of market cap today.)

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Brazil’s 10Y Government Bond Yield is now pushing 16%!

That’s a +300 basis point gain in a single day.

That would be like US mortgage rates going from 7% to 10% in a single day. https://t.co/OmSum6vZmK

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

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China’s 2008 is happening now.

Property investment in China dropped -21% YoY in the first 9 months of 2026, its largest decline for this period of the year on record.

This marks a deterioration from a -20% YoY decline in the first 8 months of 2026.

The latest drop is also significantly worse than the -16% decline recorded during the 2020 pandemic.

Property investment in China has now contracted every month since 2022, its longest declining streak on record.

For perspective, during the 2008 Financial Crisis, this figure never fell below +1% YoY growth.

China’s property sector is experiencing a historic downturn.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

Palestinian and Israeli flags are being flown at the protests in Berlin.

@Megatron_ron

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BREAKING:

🇮🇷🇺🇸🇮🇱 Iran informed mediators that is going to target airports, pipelines, and other civilian targets in Gulf countries if attacks on it by Israel and US resume, per WSJ

Iranian Tasnim News also reports that the inner circle around the supreme leader is considering targeting the Israel’s highly secretive Dimona nuclear facility, if Israel attacks Iranian nuclear facilities

@Megatron_ron

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BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇷 Two senior Iranian officials told Reuters that Iran has drafted detailed plans to target undersea internet cables if the U.S. launch a new war against Iran.

Iran would also attempt to prevent repairs to the undersea internet cables they are successfully disabled

That will cause massive negative economic consequences in the region and the world.

@Megatron_ron

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BREAKING: 🇬🇧🇦🇷 After Benjamin Netanyahu reignited the issue of the Falkland Islands and gave instructions for Israel to support Argentina, now Germany and France offer to build submarines for Argentina as threat to the Falkland Islands rises

@Megatron_ron

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BREAKING: 🇬🇧 British Defence Secretary Wes Streeting has warned that the UK has just over 1,000 days to prepare for a potential war

@Megatron_ron

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LUIZ INÁCIO LULA DA SILVA WON BRAZIL’S PRESIDENTIAL RUNOFF WITH 51% OF THE VOTE AGAINST FLÁVIO BOLSONARO’S 49%, SECURING AN UNPRECEDENTED FOURTH TERM AND DEFEATING THE POLITICAL MOVEMENT BUILT BY FORMER PRESIDENT JAIR BOLSONARO. LULA’S COMEBACK WAS SUPPORTED BY VOTERS IN HIS NORTHEASTERN STRONGHOLD, HALTING A RIGHTWARD POLITICAL SHIFT IN LATIN AMERICA. ...

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🇬🇧🇦🇷🇮🇱⚡- “Israel denied a report on Saturday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered diplomats to back Argentina’s calls for talks over the Falkland Islands in retaliation for British sanctions on West Bank settlements,” - i24 News.

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🇺🇸🗳⚡️- Elon Musk has spent nearly half a billion dollars on the U.S. midterm election, according to reporting by Bloomberg.

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🇺🇸🗳⚡️- VoteHub’s donation tracker shows that an overwhelming number of non PAC donations are going to Democrats.

Over 80% of donations below $200 are going to Democrat candidates.

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🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- BREAKING: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is demanding a strike on Iran before Tuesday’s elections but is currently being refused by IDF Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir.

Zamir is demanding evidence and justification for resuming the war with Iran. This is an unprecedented dispute, according to Channel 13.

——

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- Israeli security officials are urgently warning that Prime Minister Netanyahu and his leadership could push for a dramatic escalation against Iran in the coming days, according to Israel’s Channel 12.

Rerum Novarum assessed the major tensions between Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and IDF officials and military leadership in late September, before any dispute was publicly known.

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🇺🇸🇺🇸❌🏴🇦🇫🇵🇸 — The FBI raided the home of Abdul El-Sayed’s mother, who worked for a group that funneled money to Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and Hamas.

▶️His family’s terrorist ties are a threat to our national security.

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🇺🇸🇸🇦⚠️ — JUST IN: The U.S. Embassy in Riyadh has warned American citizens of potential further attacks on Saudi airports following Houthi missile and drone strikes, cautioning that hostilities could rapidly escalate beyond the immediate region.

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Ukraine Hit by 1,600 Bombs and 2,300 Drones in One Week

President Zelensky detailed the scale of Russian attacks over a single week, which included nearly 1,600 guided bombs, 48 missiles, and almost 2,300 attack drones. Four people were killed in the Dnipro region, and Russian forces struck emergency crews responding to a scene in Kharkiv.

https://www.c14news.com/article/1515423/

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BREAKING: President Trump dismisses criticism over high gas prices, saying the U.S. is making record profits and that he doesn’t care about the backlash.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Kirill Dmitriev warns of a growing “European revolution,” accusing leaders of blaming the U.S. and Russia instead of fixing their own policy failures.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: The Pentagon is preparing major U.S. bases to operate for 90 days without outside support as it prepares for potential infrastructure disruptions.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Iran warns that German military bases and facilities across the region will be targeted if Berlin joins military action.

@GeneralMCNews

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🚨 “SECOND HOLOCAUST” — NETANYAHU SHARES CHILLING IMAGE OF TEL AVIV DESTROYED BY A NUCLEAR BOMB!

In a stunning and deeply disturbing warning to the nation of Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has published an AI-generated image depicting the horrifying destruction of Tel Aviv by an Iranian nuclear weapon!

The image shows a massive nuclear explosion engulfing the city, accompanied by a warning that Israel could face a SECOND HOLOCAUST if Iran obtains nuclear weapons!

https://endtimeheadlines.org/2026/10/netanyahu-publishes-image-of-tel-aviv-annihilated-in-iranian-nuke-attack-during-election-process/

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🚨 BANKS ARE PREPARING FOR AN UNPRECEDENTED AI CATASTROPHE! 🚨

What happens when the very technology that promises to revolutionize our financial system becomes the instrument that could bring it to its knees?

Artificial intelligence is advancing at a breathtaking pace, and the banking industry is confronting a frightening possibility: A major AI-driven catastrophe could unleash financial chaos on a scale never before experienced.

Imagine a scenario where sophisticated AI systems trigger widespread cyberattacks, disrupt financial markets, compromise banking infrastructure, or create a domino effect that spreads across the global economy.

https://endtimeheadlines.org/2026/10/banks-are-preparing-for-the-aftermath-of-an-unprecedented-catastrophe-caused-by-ai/

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NEW - British Airways jet narrowly avoids collision with mystery ‘UFO’ after takeoff from Heathrow Airport, GB News reports

The pilot alerted air traffic control after a shiny silver object, described as being the “size of four toasters,” flew past the aircraft

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NEW - More than 177 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or higher have struck Earth over the past seven days, with the majority occurring in the Eastern Hemisphere, Fox Weather reports

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🇵🇰🇮🇶🇺🇸🇮🇷 Pakistan and Iraq closed some border checkpoints with Iran fearing U.S. sanctions

While the land borders of Iraq and Pakistan with Iran still remain open, authorities in Baghdad and Islamabad decided to close down key border checkpoints with Iran through which large numbers of trucks carrying Iranian oil go through to crackdown on Iran’s oil trade.

It is likely that Iran continues to export oil to European markets through Iraqi territory with trucks then heading towards Syrian ports after which they reach Europe. Iraqi trucks may be loaded fully or partially with Iranian oil.

The closure of the Iran-Pakistan border led to Iran cutting off Pakistan from its LPG exports causing an LPG shortage in the country. Pakistan is heavily dependent on fuel, not just oil but LNG, LPG, heating oil too, coming from the GCC which Iran can easily cut off placing Islamabad in quite the conundrum.

Recall that following the failure to regime change Iran, U.S. president Donald Trump alongside Israeli PM, Benjamin Netanyahu, scrambled for a backup plan and decided on coercing Iran’s neighbours to slowly cut off all trade and economic relations hoping to achieve through economic means what bombs and missiles couldn’t.

@CIG_telegram

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🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 - 2 Explosions reported in Tabriz, Iran at a Radar Installation.

The first explosion was heard 1 hour ago and the other, just now.

Unverified eyewitnesses described it as “air-strike like”. The cause of the explosions are still unclear.

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🚜 🚢 📉 Fertilizer shipments through Strait of Hormuz fall to zero as food security fears grow

●Tracked fertilizer shipments through Hormuz fell to zero.

●The disruption has lasted more than seven months.

●The UN warns of food shortages in parts of Asia and Africa.

Fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz fell to zero in September and remained there in October 2026, according to vessel-tracking data from the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and maritime intelligence provider AXSMarine, raising concerns about global food supplies.

The chart’s shipment volume index stood at 2,960 in January and 2,531 in February before falling sharply to 1,064 in March.

It dropped further to 278 in April and 225 in May, briefly recovered to 343 in June, and then declined to 87 in July and 62 in August.

By September, the index had reached zero, where it remained in October.

The WTO reported in October that imports of nitrogen-based fertilizers worldwide were only 2.8% below recent averages, while imports of phosphate fertilizers were 2.2% higher, as buyers turned to alternative suppliers.

However, the prolonged disruption continues to create uncertainty for farmers, particularly in countries where planting seasons are approaching and fertilizer supplies are already under pressure.

https://worldvisualized.com/article/fertilizer-shipments-through-strait-of-hormuz-fall-to-zero-as-food-security-fears-grow

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☢️ 🇺🇸 🥫 The Pentagon is preparing every major U.S. military base to survive 90 days without outside support — no civilian power grid, no global supply chains, no outside fuel or water.

The initiative, revealed in documents reviewed by Fox News Digital, envisions portable nuclear reactors, massive battery storage, and microgrids that can disconnect installations from civilian electricity entirely. Strategic reserves of munitions, fuel, critical minerals, and medical supplies would be stockpiled based on wartime consumption rates. Civilian factories are being pre-identified to shift to defense production during a crisis.

Pentagon chief spokesperson Sean Parnell put it bluntly: “Power is combat now. Without electricity, you lose communications, water, logistics, assembly lines and just basic military command structures.”

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/inside-pentagons-doomsday-plan-keep-america-fighting-global-war-erupts

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🇾🇪🇾🇪⚡️— Houthi (Ansarallah) forces say they carried out three separate missile attacks against Saudi military and aviation targets.

The claimed targets included King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, multiple facilities at Khalid Air Base in Khamis Mushait, including aircraft parking areas, ammunition storage sites and drone control centers, as well as the Southern Naval Base of the Border Guard Force in Jizan. The group says the Jizan attack caused casualties among Saudi personnel.

The statement also repeated warnings to airlines, airport workers and travelers against using King Khalid International Airport, while again saying Saudi airspace should be considered unsafe except around Mecca and Medina.

———

🇾🇪⚔️🇾🇪🇸🇦 Ansarallah missiles struck on October 20th:

🔶 The radar site in Bir Askar, Najran province, KSA

🔶 A gathering of vehicles in Ras al-Ara, PLC controlled south Yemen, Bab-el-Mandeb Axis.

🔶 Al-Alam training camp in Shabwa, leaving at least 80 PLC soldiers dead

🔶 Sahn Al-Jinn camp in Marib, casualties unclear.

WSJ now reports that Saudi officers were killed in the Al-Alam camp, Shabwa region. The attack on Al-Alam was preceded by the bombing of Aden on October 15th when Ansarallah missile struck the presidential palace in the city which housed besides PLC officials, other Saudi officers advising the Yemeni government

WSJ claims Ansarallah had drones surveil the Al-Alam camp days before the PLC gathered new recruits for training and knew in advance of the PLC and KSA’s plans.

The recent missile strikes show how unprepared the KSA and its Yemeni puppet are to deal with the intelligence skills the Houthis possess.

🔗 bonzerbarry

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SAUDI CIVIL DEFENSE ISSUES WARNING FOR RIYADH OVER POSSIBLE DANGER, STATE TV SAYS ...

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⚡️AD active over Riyadh, Saudi

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BREAKING: French and British air forces stage first joint nuclear strike simulation exercise - statement

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BREAKING: Multi-storey building collapses in Kenya capital Nairobi, casualties feared

@insiderpaper

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BREAKING: Seven killed in church shooting in southern Jordan: state TV

An eyewitness told Al-Mamlaka that a vehicle arrived carrying the gunmen, who fired continuously for five minutes before fleeing the scene.

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/7-killed-in-church-shooting-in-southern-jordan-state-tv/

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JUST IN - US could strike Iran this weekend, US ambassador to Turkey says

READ: https://t.co/ZWps7moKbv

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

——-

JUST - Iranian president to meet with Putin next week in Moscow: Iran’s FM

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BREAKING - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio urges those seeking positive change in Cuba to secretly cooperate with the CIA, saying “now is the time.”

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FBI warns of two critical security flaws in PHP that could allow attackers to breach websites, steal sensitive information and disrupt business operations. Urges website operators to install security updates immediately.

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🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡- Saudi Arabia has carried out airstrikes on Sana’a, Tai’zz, Mocha, and Sa’adah, Ansarullah-controlled Yemen, in the past few hours.

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🇯🇴⚡️- The current casualty count in the Hammoud Church attack is at 70 injuries and 8 deaths.

The attackers reportedly escaped and have not been identified.

🇯🇴🏴⚡️- ISIS has claimed responsibility for the attack, as Jordanian officials have confirmed the current toll with 6 deaths and 28 injuries.

———

🇺🇸🇷🇺⚡️- “First Lady Melania Trump successfully secured a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, localized to the city of Oleshky. Both nations agreed to temporarily stop all military action in Oleshky to allow for humanitarian aid to enter and to prepare a civilian evacuation through a designated safe passageway. The localized ceasefire will begin on October 29, 2026.” - Official White House statement.

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇶⚡- BREAKING: “Washington alerted Baghdad of a planned U.S. strike on Iran in the coming days. Prime Minister al-Zaidi warned domestic armed groups that intervening will face legal consequences,” - Iraq’s Kurdistan Channel 8.

——-

🇺🇸🇬🇧🇮🇷⚡- Prime Minister Andy Burnham to call President Trump to discuss concerns over a possible new U.S. attack on Iran, Bloomberg reports.

——-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- Reuters reports Iran has detailed plans to target underwater internet cables in the Persian Gulf should war between Iran and the United States resume.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- France holds its breath as it enters a potentially pivotal weekend. Tensions have remained high across the country despite the riots dying down Monday. Tomorrow, Marine Le Pen will hold the National Rally Congress in Orléans with 5,000 supporters, with a second event planned Sunday with around 10,000 expected supporters. Meanwhile, up to 30,000 individuals of African origins, radical leftists and antifas have made plans to go to Orléans and hold a violent counter-protest to silence her campaign. At least 3,000 police officers are expected to secure the event.

Media outlets, news channels and politicians have openly discussed whether the ongoing situation is a prelude to a civil war or not. Most agree tomorrow will be a turning point regarding the matter, one way or another.

———

🇫🇷🇪🇸⚡️- BREAKING: The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has uncovered calls to carry out mass terror attacks against protesters and police alike in all of Europe, particularly in France, on a website linked to the Islamic State. The messages reportedly refer to the situation in France as a prime opportunity to strike.

——-

🇪🇺🇨🇳⚡️- European Union ministers are calling for agreements with Beijing to restrict Chinese imports in sectors including chemicals, machinery and pharmaceuticals, warning that China’s growing trade surplus is damaging European manufacturing.

The EU’s goods trade deficit with China exceeded €370 billion in 2025 and could surpass €400 billion this year. European officials have described the surge in Chinese exports as “China Shock 2.0,” which is contributing to factory closures and industrial job losses across the continent.

———-

🇺🇸🇨🇳⚡️- The US Treasury Department has proposed expanding restrictions on American investments in sensitive Chinese technologies, including artificial intelligence, supercomputing, biotechnology and hypersonic weapons.

The regulations would also apply to Russia, Iran and North Korea, targeting investments exceeding $50,000 while exempting many conventional financial transactions.

———-

🇺🇸🇨🇳⚡️- The Pentagon is reportedly developing a new deep-cover espionage program targeting China and other American competitors as part of a broader economic warfare strategy, according to The Washington Post.

The initiative would place American intelligence operatives undercover as businesspeople and private-sector employees without visible government ties, known as nonofficial cover officers. The effort is reportedly being overseen by Tom Rakusan, a 39-year CIA veteran and former deputy director of operations, who now advises Deputy Defense Secretary Steve Feinberg. The program remains in the planning stages, although the Pentagon denies its existence.

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- BREAKING: Iran has “substantially increased” its efforts to target American diplomats and political officials in the Middle East and beyond.

Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and CIA Director John Ratcliffe say Iranian plots have reached “advanced stages” in an unclassified memo to Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The memo has been confirmed by U.S. officials speaking to CNN and Axios.

———

NEW - Warhound, founded by Anduril’s co-founder Palmer Luckey and software entrepreneur Ben Lamm, “will produce genetically enhanced working dogs and equip them with advanced technology to ensure they have battlefield situational awareness.”

The company has raised $200mn from investors including Sequoia, Lux Capital, Franklin Templeton and In-Q-Tel which is a venture firm started by the CIA that invests in early-stage intelligence and national security operational technology companies.

@disclosetv

———

—❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷 Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu: ‘We have information indicating that Iran wants to attack us before the election’

@Middle_East_Spectator

——

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: U.S. intelligence confirms that Iran has significantly increased its efforts to target U.S. personnel, according to a declassified memo addressed to Secretary of State Marco Rubio

The memo says some of these efforts have reached ‘advanced stages’ in the Middle East and beyond.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

BREAKING: Google faces backlash in Finland after clearing 250,000 trees for a data center, with locals warning that forest destruction is driving wolves into nearby villages.

@GeneralMCNews

——-

BREAKING: U.S. naval forces in the Middle East are bracing for a potential escalation with Iran as President Trump considers launching fresh strikes in the weeks ahead.

@GeneralMCNews

——-

BREAKING: U.S. officials warn Americans in the Middle East are facing unprecedented levels of danger from Iran since the war began.

@GeneralMCNews

——-

BREAKING: The Trump administration is suing to block Alaska’s Senate election certification if Republican Dan Sullivan loses, in a race that could determine control of the U.S. Senate.

@GeneralMCNews

——1

BREAKING: Central banks are buying gold at four times their usual pace, as countries move reserves out of the U.S. to reduce reliance on American financial power.

@GeneralMCNews

—-11

🇪🇺🇧🇾🇷🇺 EU Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, in the wake of the race riots in France, blamed Belarus and Russia for the rioting and for the migrant crisis holding the two countries as “solely responsible” ignoring the migrant-friendly policies her Commission continues to implement and the policies of her predecessors.

———

☪️ The U.S.-Israeli war with Iran cratered the economies of the Middle East according to IMF forecasts

The only Middle Eastern economy expected to record GDP growth is Oman.

The biggest losers are Iraq and Kuwait whose GDP is expected to contract by 16% and 16.7% respectively, followed by Qatar with its GDP contracting by 15.6%, Bahrain contracting by 11.3%, followed by Iran contracting by 7.6%

The GDP of Saudi Arabia is forecasted to contract by 3.3% but the continued war with Ansarallah/Houthis could change things for the worse rather quickly and cause the Saudi economy to contract even further.

@CIG_telegram

———-

🇫🇷⚠️📈 French bond market STRESS is intensifying:

The spread between French and German 10-year bond yields has widened to 178 basis points, its highest level since late 2011, during the European debt crisis.

This comes as French 10-year yields surged as much as +13 basis points to 5.14%, their highest level since 2002.

The 10-year yield is now on track for a nearly +30-basis-point move in 1 week, its largest weekly increase since March 2025.

The selloff extends beyond bonds, with France’s CAC 40 falling more than -1% to near its lowest level since March, down over -11% since August.

Investors are retreating from French assets amid political gridlock, budget uncertainty, surging energy prices and renewed protests over the cost of living.

With next year’s presidential election approaching and few clear catalysts to restore confidence, French borrowing costs are likely to rise further and remain elevated.

Contagion risk in the eurozone is rising again.

🔗 Global Markets Investor

———

🇫🇷⚠️📈 France’s national credit risk is surging faster than during any previous modern CRISIS:

France’s 10-year government bond yield spread over Germany spiked by more than 30 basis points, marking its largest weekly increase in at least 36 years.

This surpasses even the largest increases recorded during the Eurozone debt crisis of 2010-2012.

French bonds experienced an unprecedented wave of selling.

🔗 Global Markets Investor

———

📢 🇬🇧 🥫 Britain has urged households to stock enough water, non-perishable food and medicine to be self-sufficient for three days, launching a new “Be Ready” preparedness campaign.

Government guidance recommends about three liters of drinking water per person per day, food that needs no refrigeration or cooking, essential medications, a first-aid kit, a torch, a battery or wind-up radio, a charged power bank and cash.

Officials cited severe storms, wildfires, cyberattacks and supply chain disruptions as the main risks, with Defence Secretary Wes Streeting pointing to “increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks” and scenarios such as supermarket payment systems going down.

Germany has long gone further, recommending households keep emergency supplies for 10 days, including about two liters of liquid per person per day.

📝 ReadyGuidance: “Worth noting the US version of this advice, at Ready.gov, is one gallon of water per person per day, about 3.8 liters, because it counts sanitation as well as drinking. And the payment-systems-down scenario is the cheap one to cover: some cash in small bills, plus a manual can opener for all that no-cook food.”

📎 Clash Report

———

🇮🇷⚔️🚢 The IRGC Navy Command published a new video of two VLCCs hitting naval mines inside the southern/Omani lane.

These VLCCs are the 3rd and 4th oil tankers to hit mines naval mines while crossing the Strait of Hormuz.

📝 The IRGC Navy mined the waters off the coast of Oman and the U.S. did nothing to stop them.

@CIG_telegram

———

⚡️🇺🇸🇨🇺🧠 – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is inviting Cubans to form a “discrete partnership” with the CIA, saying “now is the time” to create positive change in the country.

To those who seek to create positive change in Cuba - now is the time.

The disappointment of failed promises, corruption, and the privileged lives of only a few; seize this opportunity to create the change you desire through a discrete partnership with the CIA.

———

🛢 U.S. Treasury Secretary, Scott Bessent, claims that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz have not only come back to their pre-war levels but are actually even exceeding the pre-war median in some days.

Meanwhile, Reuters reported that in the last 30 days, the IRGC has struck 28 vessels including 11 VLCCs, with 2 VLCCs being immobilized just yesterday by naval mines the IRGC left in the corridor that is under the nominal “protection” of the U.S.

UKMTO released a statement a few days ago warning that reports of attacks on vessels in the Hormuz, Persian Gulf and Arabian Sea are undercounted as the reports to the UKMTO are not mandatory and some ship captains out of necesity may forego informing the UKMTO about the status of their vessel.

To show how fake this chart is, looking in the down-left corner, Bessent didn’t even cite a source for the numbers he presented in all likelihood showing that the chart is fabricated.

@CIG_telegram

———

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 US Tanker Fleet Update 21/OCT/2026

Overall numbers across CENTCOM and Europe have now stabilised back to the levels they were at back at the start of September, around 190-195.

There are a few tankers dotted around at other sites temporarily (Glasgow Prestwick and Aviano) during ongoing exercises or in preparation for other movements.

The number of KC-135 and KC-46 tankers on their 2nd or 3rd return trip to CENTCOM/Europe continues to grow, now exceeding 90 aircraft.

🔗 Defence Geek

———

🇫🇷 Multiple cities across France including Lyon, Grenoble, Nice, Montpellier, Limoges, Tours, Rennes, Brest, Rouen, Lille and Nancy banned all public gatherings this weekend.

In some cities like Marseille, trade unions received authorisation from the local prefecture to protest after much delays.

In Paris the prefecture approved a student protest but changed the route last minute, barring the protesters from entering Bastille Square.

@CIG_telegram

———

🇺🇸🇱🇧⚠️ — URGENT SECURITY ALERT.

▶️The U.S. Department of State has issued a Level 4 — Do Not Travel advisory for Lebanon, specifically warning of severe security threats in Beirut’s southern suburbs (Dahiyeh).

▶️U.S. citizens are strongly urged to avoid these areas, and those currently present are advised to leave immediately due to the heightened risk of armed conflict and attacks.

———

BREAKING: American Express, $AXP, is laying off 5% of its employees, or 3,500 people, in an effort to contain rising costs.

The company’s CEO says the cuts are part of an effort to make the company “more agile and efficient.”

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

Layoff Announcements in 2026:

1. UPS: 30,000 Employees

2. Oracle: 30,000 Employees

3. Amazon: 16,000 Employees

4. Omnicom: 15,000 Employees

5. Meta: 8,000 Employees

6. Microsoft: 4,800 Employees

7. Dow Chemical: 4,500 Employees

8. Cisco: Fewer Than 4,000 Employees

9. American Express: 3,840 Employees

10. Uber: 3,300 Employees

11. Renault: Up to 2,400 Employees

12. Nike: 1,400 Employees

13. General Motors: 1,300 Employees

14. Disney: 1,000 Employees

15. Citigroup: 1,000 Employees

The tech sector alone has seen 135,000 layoffs so far in 2026 across 330 companies.

Amid rising prices and AI adoption, US corporations are looking reduce expenses and increase efficiency.

Keep watching the labor market.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

BREAKING: The average cost of a family’s annual health insurance premium in the US is up +$1,303 YoY, or +5%, to a record $28,303.

This marks the 4th consecutive annual increase of at least +$1,300.

Over this period, the average annual premium for family coverage has surged +$5,884, or +26%.

To put this into perspective, CPI inflation has risen +13% over the same period, or half as much.

Since 1999, the average health insurance premium for a family has soared +$22,494, or +387%.

This represents an average annual growth rate of +6.1%, well above CPI inflation at +2.6% over the same period.

Health insurance has never been more expensive.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

@GeneralMCNews

———

BREAKING: Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang dismisses fears that AI could wipe out humanity, accusing critics of using doomsday predictions to grab headlines.

@GeneralMCNews

———

BREAKING: Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and other major U.S. banks uncover unauthorized AI agents accessing customer accounts, as concerns rise over who really controls customers’ money.

@GeneralMCNews

———

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — URGENT: YEMEN’S IRAN-BACKED HOUTHIS CLAIM TO HAVE LAUNCHED BALLISTIC MISSILES AT SAUDI ARABIA’S MINISTRY OF DEFENSE HEADQUARTERS IN THE CAPITAL, RIYADH.

⚠️AN IMAGE OF THE MINISTRY OF DEFENSE HAS BEEN ATTACHED ABOVE.

———

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: Direct impacts in Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, after Yemeni missile and drone attacks this afternoon

@Middle_East_Spectator

——-

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 President Trump on Truth Social:

‘Iran is doing everything they can to drive up the price of Oil prior to the U.S. Midterm Election. They are even making up fake hits, mines, and everything else, because more Oil is coming through the Hormuz Strait now than it did even prior to the beginning of the Conflict.

They continue to kill protestors, and anyone else that happens to be in their way. It is truly an Evil Regime, and I can only hope the American Public, and the World, understands how EVIL they are! 75,000 protestors lie dead in less than seven months. It is shocking how the World, and the Dumocrat Party, seem not to care. IRAN CAN NEVER HAVE A NUCLEAR WEAPON, AND THEY WILL NEVER A NUCLEAR WEAPON! President DONALD J. TRUMP’

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

BREAKING: The Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) fell -300,000 barrels last week, to 282.7 million barrels, the lowest level since October 1982.

Since March 20th, US oil inventories in the SPR have dropped -132.8 million, or -32%.

We have now seen drawdowns in 29 of the last 30 weeks.

For perspective, oil reserves in the SPR stood at 653.9 million barrels in 2020, or +131% above current levels.

Meanwhile, commercial crude oil stocks excluding the SPR dropped -3.1 million barrels last week, to 412.5 million barrels, the lowest reading since the end of July.

This is also ~3% below the 5-year average for this time of year.

America’s oil stockpiles are at critically low levels.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

🚨🇸🇦 Saudi Aramco has ordered an evacuation of its Dhahran headquarters. All remaining essential staff told to work remotely.

———-

🚨🇮🇱🇮🇷 NETANYAHU TO IRANIAN CIVILIANS: “I will continue to defend the freedom and rights of the Iranian people... President Trump and I are doing everything we can to create a better future.”

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu published a Persian-language Instagram message thanking Iranians for their many messages of support, while reaffirming his commitment to their freedom, security, and dignity.

Netanyahu condemned the Islamic regime’s brutality, murder and repression of their innocent people, and expressed his hope for a future in which Persian and Jewish children can grow up together in peace.

He pledged that he and President Donald Trump would do everything possible to build a better future for both peoples.

———

BREAKING: Casualties reported after strong 7.0 earthquake strikes China’s Tibet, state media reports

The China Earthquake Administration has activated a level-II emergency response, state news agency Xinhua reported in a brief dispatch.

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/strong-7-0-magnitude-earthquake-strikes-chinas-tibet-usgs/

———

North Korea hit by widespread internet blackout as state websites go dark

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/north-korea-internet-blackout-state-websites-go-dark/

———-

BREAKING - Putin says Russia ready for talks on arrangements of final Ukraine deal, not ‘short’ truce

———

NEW: Families in UK urged to ‘be ready’ for crisis by storing water for three days, cash and a wind-up radio, Daily Mail reports

@insiderpaper

———

🚨England government has tightened restrictions on Iranian banks operating in the country, with a general licence permitting certain transactions involving Iranian banks set to expire on October 22, without renewal. Under the new policy, licence applications involving five Iranian banks are generally expected to be refused unless exceptional and compelling circumstances justify an exception. The banks concerned are Bank Sepah, Bank Melli, Bank Saderat, Persia International Bank, and Bank Tejarat

———

Shopkeepers rush to stock up on weapons before weekend protests

As fears mount over further looting, business owners and residents are arming themselves with pepper-gel cannisters from gun shops

———

Prepare for food shortages and disruption, Streeting warns public

The defence secretary said cyberattacks, the threat from Russia, wildfires and flooding all posed a risk to immediate supply chains

———

BREAKING: 🇬🇧🇩🇪 British and German Diplomats received instructions to leave Jordan and Kuwait after midnight tonight

@Megatron_ron

———-

BREAKING: 🇺🇸🇮🇱🇸🇦 A bombshell Vanity Fair excerpt from Princes and Thieves alleges that Jared Kushner’s hacked iPhone exposed secret discussions in which he promised to advance the agendas of Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman and UAE President Mohamed Bin Zayed with Trump in exchange for their participation in a secret fund.

The two royals reportedly discussed contributions exceeding $10 BILLION before ultimately placing at least $2 BILLION into accounts for Kushner.

@Megatron_ron

———

BREAKING: The US has begun a mass evacuation of diplomats and their families across the Middle East, while British, German, and other European authorities have ordered their diplomats to leave the region tonight after midnight. ABC reports the Israeli-US plan for attack is ready

@MegaGeopolitics

———-

BREAKING: 🇶🇦🇺🇸 Qatar signs a historic deal to import 4 million tons of American LNG annually trough 2054

Qatar was the biggest exporter of LNG in the Middle East and in top three in the world

@Megatron_ron

_____

JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇴🇲 US forces are currently conducting an unusual evacuation operation from Al-Musannah Air Base in the Sultanate of Oman.

Such an operation is rarely seen. It is unknown whether these are US State Department employees or US military personnel.

@Megatron_ron

————

⚡️🇺🇸 US ELECTIONS UPDATE: On November 3rd, the United States midterm elections are happening. As things stand, the Democrats are likely to win a majority in the Senate and the House. Here are the Senate races to watch:

GOP seats in play (Toss Up):

OHIO

Jon Husted (R) vs.

Sherrod Brown (D)

IOWA

Ashley Hinson (R) vs.

Josh Turek (D)

MAINE

Susan Collins (R) vs.

Troy Jackson (D)

ALASKA

Dan Sullivan (R) vs.

Mary Peltola (D)

TEXAS

Ken Paxton (R) vs.

James Talarico (D)

KANSAS

Roger Marshall (R) vs.

Adam Hamilton (D)

NEBRASKA

Pete Ricketts (R) vs.

Dan Osborn (I)

NORTH CAROLINA

Michael Whatley (R) vs.

Roy Cooper (D)

Democratic seats to defend:

MICHIGAN

Mike Rogers (R) vs.

Abdul El-Sayed (D)

MINNESOTA

Michele Tafoya (R) vs.

Peggy Flanagan (D)

NEW HAMPSHIRE

John Sununu (R) vs.

Chris Pappas (D)

GEORGIA

Mike Collins (R) vs.

Jon Ossoff (D)

Long shots:

FLORIDA

Ashley Moody (R) vs.

Angie Nixon (D)

SOUTH CAROLINA

Darline Graham (R) vs.

Annie Andrews (D)

MONTANA

Kurt Alme (R) vs.

Seth Bodnar (Ind)

@MedmanNews

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🇮🇷🇺🇸⚡️ — NEW: Iran’s IRGC Navy claims four vessels were struck simultaneously and set ablaze while transferring oil between ships in the north-central Persian Gulf after using “unauthorized routes.”

The IRGC also reported that three other vessels struck mines west of the Strait of Hormuz last night and caught fire.

They accused the U.S. of encouraging ships to cross mined waters and warned that continued activity could lead to retaliation against U.S. bases across the region.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- In an unprecedented admission of weakness, the police prefecture of Paris issued a statement encouraging Parisian shop owners to hire private security agents, hinting that they don’t have the manpower to protect them from looter.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- Armories in France report their sales have been multiplied by 10 since last Saturday. In parallel, French shooting clubs are no longer accepting new memberships due to being full, a never-before-seen occurence.

———-

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- “We don’t see a need to attack Iran before the elections.” - Israeli Chief of Staff Eyal Zamir to Channel 13.

———-

🇸🇦⚡️- The Dammam King Fahd International Airport has reopened. There are no official statements for now regarding the disruption, which lasted around 40 minutes.

———

🇩🇪 Germany plans to force social media platforms to fill at least 20% of algorithmic recommendations with “diversity positive” government-regulator-approved media content.

Public broadcasters like ARD and ZDF would qualify automatically. Private outlets would need “State approval”

🔗 Martin Sellner

———-

🇮🇷⚔️🌐 Iran threatens US data centres and global internet cables if war resumes

Iran’s security council secretary, Major General Rezaei, said cables, data centres and AI facilities in the region could be targeted if war resumes, according to a Persian-language state media on October 22.

He said the US holds valuable assets in the region and that Iran would have a broader plan if fighting restarts. He said the enemy’s AI facilities are among its targets.

Rezaei’s latest threats widen the likely theatre from tankers and energy sites to the cables and computing capacity that link the Gulf to global networks, which sources close to the Tehran government have had on the cards since February’s flare-up between the US and Iran, according to previous IntelliNews reporting.

Rezaei said the Strait of Hormuz is under Iranian control and that Iran manages it. He said Iran has targeted an average of five vessels a night over the past two or three months, which he called smugglers’ vessels and linked to the commander of US Central Command and to UAE military forces. The claims are unverified.

He said the main issue in Hormuz is security. Iran could charge for security, insurance, and environmental costs, he said, though managing the strait matters far beyond revenue.

“Everyone must understand that action against Iran has a cost. If diplomacy can create that understanding, we prefer diplomacy. But if the war continues, Iran has the tools to continue to be held accountable,” he said, local Khabaronline reported him as saying.

In an interview with Western blog Drop Site, he said anyone acting against Iran should know it carries a cost.

Iran prefers diplomacy if it can establish that understanding, but has the tools to keep responding if the war continues.

He said Iran did not use its full capabilities in earlier phases, raising them in line with the intensity of the war, and is ready for the next stage.

Rezaei said the war has shifted relations in Iran’s favour. Gulf states are quickly redefining their ties with Tehran, he said, having concluded that the US military cannot defend even its own bases, which they had expected it to do for them.

The US has reinstated a blockade on Iranian shipping and says it has diverted 70 ships. Oman has kept to a line of Swiss neutrality as the conflict has escalated.

If the current situation continues, Rezaei said, energy markets will not calm for the next three years.

IRGC navy said on October 22 that four vessels it described as violators were hit simultaneously while transferring oil ship to ship in the northern Persian Gulf, and that they are burning. It added three more vessels struck mines west of the Strait of Hormuz on the night of October 21 and were stopped.

🔗 https://www.intellinews.com/iran-threatens-us-data-centres-and-global-internet-cables-if-war-resumes-478032/

———-

🇷🇺🌾🇺🇸 Russia is ready to help America not only with diesel

While preparing to send the first tanker with Russian diesel in the United States – this is expected the other day – Russia is establishing new contracts with America for the supply of its fertilizers. There are no problems with their sale to Russia. But American farmers suffer from both the price of diesel and the lack of fertilizers. Russia is ready to help on all fronts.

Russia is ready to supply fertilizers in large quantities to the American market, Russian President Vladimir Putin said, who on Wednesday at the Constantine Palace in St. Pererburg held a meeting with US President Steve Witkoff.

“As far as farmers are concerned, I know President Trump even mentioned it in our phone conversations. We could supply fertilizers in large quantities to the American market,” Putin said.

It is not about the resumption of deliveries, but about expansion. Because Russian fertilizers and so are delivered in the United States.

According to the US customs, from January to May 2026, the United States imported fertilizers from Russia for a record amount of more than $ 1 billion for this period. This is almost one third more than in the same period last year, when imports amounted to 806.4 million dollars. According to the results of the first five months, Russia came to the second place among the largest fertilizer suppliers to the States. The first place in this list is Canada ($1.8 billion), the third is Saudi Arabia ($318.3 million).

What volumes of fertilizers Russia can put in the United States now, it is difficult to say exactly, as the transaction has not yet been executed and the volume is not named. However, the Russian Association of Fertilizer Producers (RAPU) allowed an increase in total exports of Russian fertilizers in 2026 from 45 million to 46 million tons, i.e. about 1 million tons, but it is an increase for all buyers, not a reserve for the United States, says Vladimir Chernov, analyst at Freedom Global.

“Some of the additional American purchases can be provided by the growth of output, and part by the redirection of parties from less profitable directions, including Europe.

Where does Russia supply its fertilizers and in what volumes? According to RAPU, in 2025, Russia exported 45 million tons of fertilizers, taking a share of 19% in the global market. Brazil purchased 11.1 million tons, or about a quarter of Russian exports, India 6 million tons, about 13%. In general, the BRICS countries accounted for 22.8 million tons, i.e. just over half of the supply. Our fertilizers are valuable, so they are bought by Western countries - the United States and the EU countries, says Chernov.

But for the United States, the fertilizer deficit was a real problem in 2026, which created risks for the country’s sowing campaign and food security. Donald Trump even had to suspend duties on phosphate fertilizers.

Here there was a set of reasons. First, a large part of the world’s supply of nitrogen fertilizers and raw materials for them, in particular sulphur, passed through the Strait of Hormuz. And the overlap of the strait has led to a huge deficit and rising sulphur prices, as well as a shortage of fertilizers themselves. Secondly, the United States just imports half of the necessary volume of nitrogen fertilizers from Saudi Arabia and Russia. Third, China stopped exporting its fertilizers until the end of August, and this has reduced supply on the world market.

As a result, fertilizer prices grew by one third this year, which allows our companies to earn without increasing volumes. If it is still possible to increase deliveries to the United States without confusing prices, it will be a good super-profit for our business and the Russian state budget.

🔗 https://vz.ru/economy/2026/10/22/1466067.html

———

🇷🇸🗳 The wave of popular unrest sweeping across Western and Southern Europe extends to Serbia as Serbian students marched into Belgrade ahead of crucial election

https://www.intellinews.com/serbian-students-march-into-belgrade-ahead-of-crucial-election-477998/

———-

📈 🇫🇷 🇺🇸 For the first time since 2013, France’s 10Y Government Bond yield has risen above the US 10Y Note Yield.

That’s +550 basis points since the low seen in 2020.

Borrowing costs are skyrocketing in France.

📎 KobeissiLetter

———

📢 🇫🇷 🪧 France’s second-largest trade union, the CGT (Confédération générale du travail), alongside other major unions and rail unions, has called for a nationwide general strike and day of mobilization on Thursday, November 5, 2026.

📎 BFM

———-

🇫🇷❌🪧 France will outlaw all protests that are not organised by trade unions

🔗 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/europe/france-to-ban-demonstrations-not-organized-by-trade-unions-in-coming-days/4097092

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🍔 🇺🇸 🍟 McDonald’s announces its first-ever reservation-only “fine dining experience” in New York City on October 29.

🔶️ McDonald’s and “Top Chef” Season 22 winner and former McDonald’s Crew member Tristen Epps-Long are opening the doors to Inside the Golden Arches, a complimentary chef’s table experience where fans can hear directly from chefs and experts about the quality ingredients, attention to detail and small touches behind some of McDonald’s most iconic menu items.

🔶️ Stepping into the spotlight is the hot and deliciously juicy Quarter Pounder® with Cheese. Guests will see how it’s prepared, from the 100% real beef cooked fresh when ordered to the simple ingredients that make it a fan favorite. They’ll also enjoy other McDonald’s iconic menu items, including the Egg McMuffin®, Chicken McNuggets® and World Famous Fries®.

https://corporate.mcdonalds.com/corpmcd/our-stories/article/mcdonalds-top-chef-tristen-epps-invite-fans-inside-arches.html

📎 Polymarket

———-

🇮🇪 The Irish state has published an advert discouraging grandparents from hugging their grandchildren, as part of a campaign designed to promote “consent”.

📝 Keith Woods: “In my book The Gnostic Question, I argued that liberalism’s ultimate tendency is emancipation from the given: freeing the sovereign individual from all unchosen bonds, identities and obligations.

In a pluralist society with no shared conception of the good, freedom becomes something entirely negative – freedom from all constraints – and autonomy and consent become all-consuming moral principles.

This logic must eventually extend to all that is unchosen, even the most intimate and natural human relationships like the bond between grandparents and their grandchildren.”

📎 Europa

———-

Vivek Ramaswamy plans to grow Ohio’s population to 15 million “by the time I’m done as governor”

To grow from 11.9M to 15M, that’d be a +26% jump. The biggest state increase over the past 8 years was +12.5% in Texas. To do so, it’d take a mass migration event to Ohio

———-

🇺🇸 🇮🇷 🇪🇺 The next Iran escalation could trigger a financial crisis in Europe. | Mario Nawfal

I spoke with economist Philip Pilkington about what another major round of U.S. strikes on Iran could mean for the global economy.

His concern isn’t just oil reaching $120 or $125 a barrel.

It’s what happens when that shock hits countries already struggling with debt, inflation and rising borrowing costs.

Philip believes France could eventually need an ECB bailout, with Britain potentially next. And he fears the fallout could spread into U.S. Treasury markets.

But I challenged him on something.

Foreign holdings of American debt are actually rising, despite China and Japan selling. Doesn’t that suggest investors still trust U.S. Treasuries?

Philip thinks that confidence could disappear quickly if European governments are forced to sell assets to defend their own economies.

He also suspects gold is replacing Treasuries as the ultimate safe haven, although he acknowledged that hasn’t been proven.

What worries me is how little room governments seem to have left for another major shock.

A war that starts in the Gulf could end up testing the financial foundations of Europe and America.

📎 Mario Nawfal

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🇮🇷⚔️🇺🇸🇰🇼🇧🇭🇸🇦🇦🇪🇶🇦🇯🇴 The IRGC has issued a new threat to the U.S. this time, warning that U.S. bases in the Middle East will come under attack if the U.S. continues to encourage and support vessels that use the southern/Omani lane to cross the Strait of Hormuz instead of contacting Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA) and ask for permission.

🔗 https://t.me/farsna/469963

———-

🗳 🇺🇸 📊 Senate poll - Texas

🔵 James Talarico 48%

🔴 Ken Paxton 43%

Pollfinity - RV - 10/18

https://politixplus.com/race/2026-texas-senate-paxton-vs-talarico

📎 Political Polls

🗳 🇺🇸 📊 Governor poll - Texas

🔵 Gina Hinojosa 46％

🔴 Greg Abbott (Inc) 45%

Pollfinity (C-) - RV - 10/18

📎 Political Polls

————

BREAKING: The Nasdaq 100 closes down -2.9%, posting its biggest daily drop since June 5th.

The index erased nearly -$1.2 trillion in market cap today. https://t.co/38jQv0mtfo

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

The US government cannot afford higher interest rates.

If interest rates average +150 basis points above CBO’s February projections by 2036, US deficits would increase by nearly $6 trillion over this period.

The deficit would then rise to 8.8% of GDP, the highest level since WWII, excluding 2008 and 2020.

This would also push the US public Debt-to-GDP ratio to a record 133%, up from ~100% currently.

If rates average +50 basis points above projections, deficits would increase by nearly $2 trillion, lifting the Debt-to-GDP ratio to 124% by 2036.

Just weeks ago, the 10Y Note yield traded at ~5.30%, or ~100 basis points above CBO’s average projected rate over the next 10 years.

The US government needs rate cuts.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

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@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: President Trump is preparing a crackdown on crypto scammers targeting Americans, aiming to disrupt criminal networks stealing millions through online fraud.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Ukraine is willing to freeze the war along current frontlines if President Trump and European allies guarantee its security.

@GeneralMCNews

———

BREAKING: Vladimir Putin agrees to resume trilateral peace talks with Ukraine and the United States as discussions over ending the war potentially restart.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: Benjamin Netanyahu says Israel must overthrow Iran’s government to eliminate its nuclear threat, ordering the IDF and Mossad to act accordingly.

@GeneralMCNews

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🔥 Top Stories

• Gulf tensions spike as U.S. orders Saudi embassy departures — Houthi drone attacks on Aramco/Shaybah, Iranian rhetoric, and evacuation alerts lifted oil-sensitive geopolitical risk

• Meta beats on revenue, unveils nonvoting stock plan — Q3 sales topped estimates, but a $9.9B legal charge crushed operating income as capex/AI spending stays huge

• OpenAI deepens Google Cloud partnership — Frontier models and Codex go onto Google Cloud Marketplace, a notable distribution win for Google and OpenAI

⛽ Oil & Energy

• Saudi Aramco/Shaybah attacked, but operations intact — air defenses intercepted a drone; no operational impact, yet the event kept crude elevated

• EIA crude stocks fall 3.06M barrels; gasoline drops 2.95M— bigger-than-expected draw, while diesel/distillate built

• WTI settles at $97.15; Brent at $108.82 — oil eased late despite supply fears; Kuwait says exports are at prewar levels

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- BREAKING: Israel planned a major bombing campaign against Iran on October 10, but the attack was halted by President Trump, according to the Financial Times.

The strikes would have targeted Iranian civilian and military infrastructure.

———-

🇺🇸🗳- An investigation by FiftyPlusOne into Wedgewood Polls, a supposed polling firm that was included in the New York Times, RealClearPolitics, and Nate Silvers poll averages, revealed that the firm was faking their data.

They admitted to doing so on social media after inquiries by FiftyPlusOne.

Wedgewood Polls had systemically overestimated the support of DSA backed candidates throughout the year particularly in Michigan, Wisconsin, and Maine.

Their polls were cited by Democrat Mallory McMarrow for seriously damaging her campaign against Abdul El-Sayed during the primary race where they showed her losing badly to the GOP compared to El-Sayed.

Wedgewood also showed DSA Wisconsin Gubernatorial candidate Francesca Hong winning the primary by far more than she did in reality alongside being ahead of the GOP candidate in the general.

Wedgewood is the third polling firm this year to be exposed as fabricating data. The other two being TPSI and Median Strategies.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- “Iran is not an evil regime. They’re a religious theocracy whose practice and content we respect. The adversarial role the IRGC has with Israel has been a problem.” - U.S. Envoy to Turkey Tom Barrack.

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🇺🇸🇷🇺⚡- Tomorrow, October 22, the first Russian tanker carrying 40,000 tonnes of diesel leaves port, bound for the United States, Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak has announced. The crossing to the US East Coast should take around three weeks. It’s the first tranche of 300,000 tonnes promised for October under the Trump–Putin deal.

The shipment to the US violates Moscow’s own ban on diesel exports which has been in place since July. The ban has been extended three times in barely three months as Ukrainian drones knocked out huge chunks of its refining capacity. It has reached a point where Russia is now sending its crude to Kazakhstan to be refined there, with around 70% of the resulting diesel shipped straight back to Russia at higher price.

———-

🇮🇶🇮🇷⚡- On the orders of Iraq’s Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi, Baghdad has closed its main southern land border crossing with Iran until further notice. The reason for the closure is to stop the “smuggling of prohibited materials”. Baghdad has stated other border crossings with Iran will also gradually close.

———-

🇮🇱⚡- Netanyahu met Moti Leitner of HaTzibur HaHaredi last night and urged him to quit the race so right-wing votes aren’t wasted.

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🇮🇱⚡️ — A truck transporting Tamir interceptor missiles for Israel’s Iron Dome SHORAD system was spotted in northern Israel.

———

🇮🇷⚡️- Visual confirmation of ballistic missile movements in Lorestan Province, western Iran.

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🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- Dozens of Israeli fighter jets and refueling tankers flew near the Iranian border in a “show of force” earlier this week. The Israelis appeared to want Iran to fire on their aircraft and trigger an escalation, according to a U.S. source who spoke to Axios.

Iranian jets were scrambled near the border but did not fire on enemy aircraft.

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- “We are in the stage of preparing to unveil the ‘father of all bombs’. This is something new for the enemy.” - IRGC spokesman Hossein Mohebbi.

———

🇺🇸🇦🇪🇶🇦⚡️- The U.S. State Department is preparing to issue an ordered departure for some personnel and their family members at U.S. embassies across the Gulf, according to Reuters.

———-

🇮🇷🇮🇶⚡️- BREAKING: Explosions in Iraqi territorial waters. The IRGC is likely attacking vessels in Iraqi waters for the second time in 24 hours.

The attacks come after Iraqi Prime Minister Ali Al-Zaidi ordered the closure of Iraqi-Iranian border crossings to crack down on Iranian-aligned militias.

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- Ansarullah has struck Saudi Arabia’s Shaybah oilfield, killing two people, according to Saudi state news.

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🇺🇸🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- “In the past few hours, there has apparently been a change in the American position in favor of a preemptive strike on Iran.

White House sources explain the change mainly due to the great weight that President Trump gave to the assessments and intelligence that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth presented to him upon his return from the meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu.” - Haaretz.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- BREAKING: An IRGC missile launch unit was targeted and struck in Sirik, southern Iran, according to local Iranian reports.

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- Preliminary FIRMS confirmation of the Ansarullah strikes on a Shaybah Oil Field power plant located at 22.53931, 53.92245. An anomalous amount of heat activity was detected at the power plant lining up with the reported attack.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- BREAKING: NBC reports that the United States is evacuating all US diplomatic personnel from the Middle East citing security concerns, according to an unnamed White House source.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- BREAKING: A second missile launch unit has been struck by an airstrike in the Sirik Hills, southern Iran.

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- BREAKING: Saudi authorities state an Ansarullah ballistic missile struck King Fahd International Airport in Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, earlier today, killing one and injuring eight others.

————

BREAKING: French President Emmanuel Macron slams foreign leaders for “campaigning at France’s expense,” taking aim at Donald Trump and Benjamin Netanyahu over their comments on the recent unrest in France.

-/——-

BREAKING: Japan says supplies of yttrium, a critical rare-earth metal used in jet engines and semiconductor manufacturing, have stalled

FT report said Tokyo was months away from running out of the critical metal

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/japan-says-supplies-of-rare-earth-yttrium-have-stalled/

———-

ALERT - Multiple websites worldwide could go dark as critical PHP flaws spark global cyber alert

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/critical-php-flaws-websites-down/

———-

BREAKING: NSA issues urgent warning over two critical PHP security flaws that could put websites worldwide at risk, urging organizations to take affected systems offline if they cannot be immediately secured.

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ALERT - The El Nino weather phenomenon gripping the planet could be ‘literally off the charts,’ UN warned Wednesday, saying countries should take urgent action to prepare for the worst

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/el-nino-could-be-literally-off-the-charts-un-warns/

———-

OpenAI has revealed that two of its artificial intelligence agents disabled or weakened systems built to catch them misbehaving, with one later denying it had done so.

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/openai-says-its-ai-agents-disabled-their-own-safety-monitors/

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

NEW: US Federal authorities bust massive marriage fraud ring that arranged 200 bogus weddings to get green cards, Washington Times reports

———

🚨 Websites and services reported taken offline during the October 21

- Internet Archive

- Wikimedia supporting systems, rather than all of Wikipedia

- Dutch National Cyber Security Centre website

- Port of Rotterdam website

- Overheid.nl, the Dutch government portal

- KNVB, the Dutch football association’s website

- Websites of the Netherlands’ five largest political parties

- Several Dutch hospital websites

- French prefecture websites under the Interior Ministry

- Belgian Foreign Ministry websites

- Finnish government public web services managed by Valtori

- Several German federal websites managed by ITZBund

- Czech government website

- UK Office for Budget Responsibility website

- Denmark’s national school communication platform and other Kombit services

———

The US and Israeli militaries have developed plans for renewed strikes against Iran after the US midterm elections, The New York Times reported

———

🇺🇸⚡️- Local CBS stations across the country will have their election night coverage sponsored by DraftKings.

Gambling/prediction market ads have become commonplace on news stations including Bloomberg and Sirius XM channels.

———-

NEW - Irish government runs an advert discouraging grandparents from hugging their grandchildren without consent.

@disclosetv

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🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — The Pentagon is reassessing its military presence in the Middle East and the cost of rebuilding U.S. bases damaged by Iranian attacks, with officials considering whether some installations should be restored or abandoned, according to Breaking Defense.

Officials are working with CENTCOM to determine which bases should be restored, while reassessing defenses against drones and cruise missiles.

Iranian strikes rendered the Combined Air Operations Center at Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar inoperable and damaged U.S. installations in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. Naval Support Activity Bahrain remains unusable.

The Pentagon has yet to provide a comprehensive repair cost estimate and is coordinating with the Golden Dome program to prioritize base protection.

———-

🇨🇩🇳🇬🦠 The Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has spread to Nigeria!

Nigeria has confirmed an Ebola case in its capital, Abuja, after a woman who arrived from Uganda tested positive for the virus, the health ministry said.

The woman began showing symptoms on 7 October and was admitted to a hospital in Abuja four days later, where she was later diagnosed with Ebola. It is unclear when she arrived in Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country.

The health minister, Muhammad Pate, said authorities had begun tracing 44 people identified as contacts of the patient. “We are doing everything possible to contain this case by tracing all the contacts the individual may have had,” he said.

Uganda’s ministry of health said the patient had only transited through Uganda and that she is a Nigerian woman who had been on a business trip to Congo’s eastern region. The Nigerian authorities have not disclosed her nationality.

“Travel through Uganda does not establish that infection occurred here. The location of exposure remains under investigation,” the ministry said in a statement. The ministry insisted Uganda has “no confirmed active Ebola cases”.

Nigeria is the latest country to report an Ebola case as the outbreak spreads across the region. Kenya confirmed its first case earlier this month and has since recorded nine infections. Uganda had previously reported Ebola cases, but it later declared itself free of the virus.

🔗 https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/oct/21/nigeria-first-ebola-case-africa-outbreak-latest

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⚡🇮🇱🇮🇷🇺🇸Haaretz:The possibility of renewed war with Iran has sparked sharp disagreements between the military and Netanyahu in recent weeks.

Netanyahu and the political echelon are at odds over the timing, necessity, and the American position regarding a renewed attack on Iran.

Concerns about the potential impact of an attack on Iran on the Israeli elections were raised in a conversation between Zamir and General Ken.

Intelligence officials believe that Netanyahu is exaggerating the facts concerning Iran and overestimating the immediate Iranian threat.

@medmannews

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🤖 Anthropic has recorded one of the largest corporate losses ever reported:

The company posted a staggering -$80.7 billion net loss in the first half of 2026, up from -$13 billion a year earlier.

Global Markets Investor

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🇮🇹 Fuel protests in Italy are causing food shortages as trucks are not able to reach supermarkets

The protests, which began in southern Italy last week, have also disrupted operations in two regional airports in Calabria because they cannot ​get deliveries of aviation fuel.

With traffic snarled in various parts ​of the country, long queues formed on the A1 ⁠motorway near the southern city of Naples after truckers restricted ​access.

Trucks and tractors drove into the central square in the northeastern ​city of Ravenna as the protests spread and farmers added their voices.

Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini said the government was prepared to consider a cap ​on diesel prices to help ease the pressure on hauliers

Italy ​has set aside around €1 billion ($1.1 billion) this year to help truck drivers cope ‌with ⁠surging fuel costs and replace older vehicles with less-polluting models.

The protests come as Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s government deals with unrest last weekend in northern cities including Milan where gangs of mainly young people ​went on the ​rampage.

The ANCD-Conad group, ⁠representing retailers operating under the Conad supermarket brand, said large quantities of perishable products including fruit ​and vegetables, as well as milk and meat ​were stranded ⁠on trucks and in warehouses.

“The freedom to protest cannot translate into undermining citizens’ right to receive fresh food or destroying the value ⁠created ​by Italy’s agri-food supply chains,” said the ​group’s president Maurizio Pelliconi.

Giorgia Meloni has already cut the fuel tax but it has done nothing to keep fuel prices low as the wars in the Middle East caused by the U.S. and Israel continue to choke the trade routes that once delivered fuel to Italy and the rest of Europe.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/world/italian-retailers-warn-food-shortages-caused-by-truck-drivers-protest-2026-10-21/

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🇫🇷🤝🇸🇦🇧🇭🇦🇪 France received commitments from Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and the UAE for diesel shipments during a presidential visit but its unclear how and when the diesel will be delivered

https://www.france24.com/en/middle-east/20261020-macron-secures-diesel-deals-on-gulf-visit-as-fuel-prices-stoke-unrest-in-france

————

🇪🇺 During the latter half of 2026, a period of unrest spread across Western and Southern Europe. Demonstrations have occurred in France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Albania, Belgium, Germany, Austria, and Ireland. Though largely unconnected, these events usually have occurred against the backdrop of affordability crises and calls for better living and working conditions.

🔗 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2026_European_unrest

———-

🇫🇷 The French 10 year bond yield as surpassed the 5% mark, the highest since June 2002.

Meanwhile, the premium investors ‌demand ⁠to hold French bonds over benchmark 10-year German Bunds was at around 157 bps, nearing levels last seen in 2011.

The gap between French ​and German ​yields reflects ⁠the extra return investors demand for lending to the former.

@CIG_telegram

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇳 Vivek Ramaswamy proudly announced that his campaign is pouring an additional $4 million into a vicious attack ad campaign against Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton.

The ad features Acton’s estranged mother who testifies that her daughter is an untrustworthy liar. Acton’s mother, Donna Arthur, married and cohabitated with the man indicted for sexually abusing Acton at age 12, before Acton was removed from her mother’s household.

Arthur lost custody of Amy Acton and Amy’s brother, Phillip Sterns, due to habitual neglect and sexual abuse, but remained married to him afterward.

Acton stated that she has not heard from her mother since they appeared in a courtroom together and were separated in 1978. Americans of all political affiliations are justifiably horrified by Vivek’s actions, but Ramaswamy, who was endorsed by JD Vance and President Trump for the Ohio governorship, has only doubled down.

🔗https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2026/10/21/ramaswamys-campaign-admits-making-controversial-ad-featuring-amy-actons-mother-will-spend-4-million-airing-it/

📎 AF Post

———-

🇮🇱🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 - White House Sources to Haaretz:

In the past few hours, there has apparently been a change in the American position in favor of a preemptive strike on Iran.

The change reportedly was caused by Hegseth’s recent visit to Israel where he was presented with Israeli intelligence.

———-

🇺🇸❌🇮🇷 - NBC is also reporting that U.S. troops have been moved from bases in Qatar, Jordan and Kuwait.

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🇺🇸⛽️ The U.S. is tapping into the Emergency Reserve in a last ditch attempt to lower fuel prices for consumers

The U.S. plans to loan 1/3 of the reserve or 315k barrels worth of heating oil, similar in chemical structure to diesel, to replace diesel that is used for heating.

The one and only time the U.S. used the Emergency Reserve was back in 2012 during Hurricane Sandy. The emergency stockpile is held at sites ​in New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine.

The difference today being obviously that the U.S. East Coast was not hit by a hurricane. The 315k barrels of heating oil the Trump Admin plans to release will barely leave a dent as it is estimated that just the East Coast alone consumes 1 million barrels/day.

Soaring heating oil costs have emerged as a key issue ahead of the November 3 midterm elections, including in several tight Senate races, as Trump’s fellow Republicans are trying to maintain control of the two ​chambers of Congress.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/us-aims-loan-about-third-heating-oil-reserve-bid-tame-prices-2026-10-21/

———-

🇮🇷⚔️🇮🇱🇺🇸 An Iranian senior security official in Tehran told Fars that Iran has instructed its various operational units that, should another round of large-scale war occur, including a wave of assassinations targeting officials and the killing of civilians, Iran will consider political targets associated with the US and other participants in the war, as well as their infrastructure, legitimate targets.

A senior security official in Tehran stated: Iran assumes that the U.S. and Israel will attack, and considers U.S. diplomatic gestures to be lacking credibility. This perception has intensified, especially after Rubio’s speech in Athens, which gave a historical and cultural justification to the U.S.’s conflict with Iran.

Iranian leaders and political and intellectual elites have reached an unprecedented consensus that U.S. policy in the Middle East is dictated by Tel Aviv, and that Israel will not allow the U.S. to pursue any diplomatic solution, because for Trump, Israel comes first.

Iran already sees itself at war with the U.S., and considers the U.S.’s economic, naval, and air restrictions to be a continuation of military aggression that began on March 1st. Consequently, there is significant pressure from various segments of the population for decisive action to break the siege, based on the principle of self-defense.

🔗 https://t.me/farsna/469911

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇱🇮🇷⚡️ — NEW: The U.S. and Israel have developed detailed plans for renewed strikes against Iran following the November 3 midterm elections, according to NYT.

The proposed operation could involve an intensive three-day campaign targeting Iran’s nuclear facilities, missile and drone arsenal, and potentially energy infrastructure.

Potential targets include Iran’s deeply buried Pickaxe Mountain nuclear facility.

Some officials believe another offensive could cripple Iran’s economy and force concessions on its nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz, although negotiations have so far made little progress.

———-

BREAKING: Citadel founder Ken Griffin says AI is “almost certainly” a bubble, noting that companies are struggling to turn AI spending into productivity gains.

However, Griffin says he is bullish on AI’s long-term potential. https://t.co/n6n4P8wAyE

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

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JUST IN - UK to deploy fighter jets to help protect Saudi Arabia from Houthi attacks: govt

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BREAKING - Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Indonesia to sign defense industry deal, Turkish media reports

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BREAKING: Power outage at a Google …

Read more

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Qatar plans to unveil a new regional defense partnership as it moves to strengthen its military capabilities.

@GeneralMCNews

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BREAKING: Benjamin Netanyahu warns Israel’s enemies they will face even harsher military strikes, vowing a more forceful response to future attacks.

@GeneralMCNews

———

BREAKING: Meta, Amazon, Microsoft and Google are set to pour $750 billion into AI data centers this year, a spending spree big enough to impact the entire U.S. economy.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: The Trump administration orders Chinese AI model DeepSeek removed from U.S. federal agency systems over national security concerns.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

BREAKING: The U.S. strikes a key Iranian naval base for the first time in nearly seven weeks, wounding two soldiers and risking a renewed escalation with Iran.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

🇫🇷😡— France has become hell on earth.

▶️ 800,000 people are already tearing the country apart, premium brand stores have been looted, social facilities have been destroyed, and migrants and radicals are mass-beating native residents and threatening to burn down Notre-Dame.

▶️ Right now, the Limoges town hall, with its 43-meter tower built in 1883, has burned to the ground, the Bordeaux stock exchange palace has been damaged, and the Louvre and the Eiffel Tower are under threat.

▶️ The police are unable to cope with the enraged crowd.

———-

🇷🇺🤝🇸🇦🇦🇪🇰🇼🇧🇭 — A Russia – Gulf Cooperation Council meeting has begun in Bahrain

▶️Before the start of the session, Lavrov (the Russian representative) had already held bilateral meetings with the foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

▶️The main subject of discussion at the meeting was the crisis surrounding Iran.

▶️Security measures have been tightened in the Bahraini capital, Manama, and professional photo/video filming is prohibited.

▶️Previously, Bahrain was subjected to attacks by Iran due to the presence of a US Navy base there.

———-

🇨🇦 Hundreds gathering outside Alberta’s legislature in Edmonton to rally for independence from Canada ahead of the October 19 referendum on whether to pursue a formal separation vote.

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🇺🇸❌☪️❗️ — BREAKING: Semafor, an American digital news organisation founded in 2022 and known for its political and media industry reporting, reports that CBS News is preparing to publish an investigation into potential ties between Michigan Democratic Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed and the Muslim Brotherhood.

▶️CBS News editor-in-chief Bari Weiss has directed the network’s investigative team to examine El-Sayed’s background, with a report expected in the coming days.

————

🇫🇷☪️ In Paris, looters left a shop alone after they were told that it was owned by a Muslim woman. However, about an hour later, no one was there to remind them that, so it was ransacked anyways.

————

🚨🇰🇵 Rumors swirl that Kim Jong-un has died, Kim Yo-jong has taken over, and 9,000 Chinese troops have deployed.

While the North Korea news remains unverified, it draws sharp contrasts to Mojtaba Khamenei’s ongoing, absolute disappearance in Iran - highlighting a bizarre parallel in autocratic leadership vacuums.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- “We have uncontestably failed.” - Gérald Darmanin, French Minister of Justice, as Paris was shaken by another wave of violences overnight.

———-

🇺🇸⚡️- JD Vance, while answering a question from a Jewish Democrat, whose children were in the Temple Israel terrorist attack, alluded to Nick Fuentes as part of his answer to concerns over antisemitism.

“There’s this podcaster, who goes obsessively at me and my family, and I joke with my Jewish friends, [as] he also obsessively goes after Jews; we’re in good company.”

Vance also agrees with the Jewish Democrat that “they’re in the same boat” when it comes to being in opposition to perceived antisemitism.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- A member of the right-wing French Student Cockade organization went to Paris overnight to document the urban warfare. He sent Rerum Novarum exclusive footage.

Video 1: a slow rioter gets “stopped” by a CRS company.

Video 2: rioters flee incoming police as rioters with Arabic accents taunt a shop they pillaged.

Video 3: a police charge some looters.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- Jordan Bardella and Marine Le Pen have refused to attend French Prime Minister Lecornu’s reunion with all of France’s political leaders.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- Gatherings are spontaneously appearing across France in front of townhalls to support mayors and demand more ressources from the French state to enforce the law.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- BREAKING: The mayor of Limoges has indicated the fire that ravaged the city hall was orchestrated and not spontaneous. Fire accelerants were discovered in the ruins, accelerants that were present before the building was besieged.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- Gatherings are spontaneously appearing across France in front of townhalls to support mayors and demand more ressources from the French state to enforce the law.

————

🇫🇷⚡️- Emmanuel Macron refused the Interior Minister’s resignation. Local and regional authorities are voicing increasingly angry demands towards the state, which abandoned them, as the French nation enters a deeper crisis.

————

🇫🇷⚡️- BREAKING: The mayor of Limoges has indicated the fire that ravaged the city hall was orchestrated and not spontaneous. Fire accelerants were discovered in the ruins, accelerants that were present before the building was besieged.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- BREAKING: Partial curfews are planned in France, with local prefects deciding when, where and how long they will last.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- “A group of far-left groups are trying to derail the presidential elections in April by ramping up instability until then. This was confirmed to us [the government] by intelligence services this morning.” - French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

————

🇫🇷⚡️- “While the physical damage and violences were immense, no one got killed. It is a miracle and it shows that law enforcement is doing an excellent job [despite the context].” - French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- The state of emergency is not ruled out by the French government, which still wants to explore lighter options before resorting to “this heavy tool”.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- Emmanuel Macron refused the Interior Minister’s resignation. Local and regional authorities are voicing increasingly angry demands towards the state, which abandoned them, as the French nation enters a deeper crisis.

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- “A group of far-left groups are trying to derail the presidential elections in April by ramping up instability until then. This was confirmed to us [the government] by intelligence services this morning.” - French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu.

———

Ukraine’s energy minister reports that Russia attacked energy facilities across Kyiv, Vinnytsia, Volyn, Kirovohrad, Mykolaiv, Zhytomyr, Khmelnytskyi, Kharkiv, Ternopil, Odesa, and Rivne Oblasts, overnight.

Bad weather has also left 140 settlements across Kyiv, Mykolaiv, and Odesa Oblasts without power. New emergency power outages have been implemented in some regions due to the recent attacks.

———-

— 🇮🇷/🇪🇬/🇾🇪/🇸🇦 NEW: Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araqchi, held a phone call with his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty

Iran advised Egypt not to send troops to Yemen or assisst Saudi Arabia with airstrikes against Ansarallah, warning that it could lead to unwanted consequences.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

🇺🇳🇵🇸 The World Food Programme cuts monthly food aid for about 500,000 people in the Gaza Strip because of funding shortages, reducing the number of recipients from 1.6 million to 1.1 million.

The World Food Programme said its efforts had mitigated the effects during a famine last year in Gaza -- a description of the situation disputed by Israel -- and warned that conditions had not improved to the point that it can take away aid.

“People are not safe. Airstrikes continue on a daily basis. People continue to be displaced,” Shaun Hughes, the WFP country director, told AFP at the agency’s office in east Jerusalem.

“Almost everybody remains without a permanent home to live in. And the humanitarian conditions are brutal,” he said.

According to the latest assessments, 1.4 million people -- or two-thirds of Gaza’s population -- are still “acutely food insecure” and need humanitarian assistance to survive, he said.

In August last year, the UN’s Integrated Food Security Phase Classification said that Gaza was suffering famine conditions. Israel, which has blockaded the territory and attacked it relentlessly since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on it by Hamas, described the finding as a lie.

The famine classification was lifted in December, two months after a US-brokered ceasefire was announced in Gaza. Israel has kept striking Gaza since then, vowing to kill anyone involved in the October 7 attack.

🔗 https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20261019-un-agency-slashes-gaza-food-aid-over-funding-warns-needs-persist

————

🇮🇩 Indonesian stocks plunge to six-year low as MSCI downgrade fears mount

The MSCI Indonesia Index has fallen 47% this year as of Friday, data provided by the bank showed, with foreign investors withdrawing a net $5.1 billion from Indonesian equities over the period.

Foreign ownership of Indonesian stocks has declined to 25% in October from 27% in January, while the value of foreign holdings has nearly halved to approximately $130 billion from $250 billion, the bank said.

Despite the steep declines, Goldman cautioned that Indonesian equities may not have bottomed. The MSCI Indonesia Index’s 12-month forward price-to-earnings ratio has fallen to 7.3 times, its lowest level since the global financial crisis, but remains above historical troughs.

The strategists also expect Indonesia’s central bank to raise interest rates twice more, by 25 basis points each in the fourth quarter of 2026 and first quarter of 2027, potentially adding further pressure to economic growth and equity valuations.

🔗 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/19/indonesian-stocks-msci-downgrade-fears-mount.html

————

🇩🇪🚙 VW plans to freeze salaries until 2030, works council says

Volkswagen plans to freeze salaries for its 660,000 staff worldwide until 2030, the group’s works ​council said on Monday, confirming an earlier report ‌by Sueddeutsche Zeitung.

The Global Works Council said it had received internal information about the executive board’s plans

Volkswagen declined ​to comment on “speculation”. A spokesperson added that a ​new round of talks later this week ⁠would be the forum for any proposals on ​labour costs

The works council called the management’s approach “absurd” and ​said it expected strong resistance to what is described as the plan’s “rather unrealistic” implementation

“At Volkswagen, pay development is decided ​at the negotiating table, not by decree from ​the executive boardroom,” a spokesperson for Germany’s trade union IG Metall ‌said

Relations ⁠between Volkswagen and its labour representatives have deteriorated in recent months, as CEO Oliver Blume pushes ahead with the most radical restructuring in the German auto ​group’s history

The ​Sueddeutsche Zeitung ⁠reported the news earlier on Monday, citing internal documents

The absence of pay rises ​could mean a loss of income ​of around ⁠10% for those affected, due to inflation, the paper said

The paper report said the new global management ⁠guidelines, ​effective from the fourth quarter, ​also include cuts to variable pay, special payments, benefits, and jobs.

🔗 https://www.reuters.com/business/world-at-work/vw-plans-freeze-salaries-until-2030-works-council-says-2026-10-19/

———

🇨🇦🇨🇦🗳 Alberta votes on leaving Canada; separatist movement likely to outlast expected defeat

Alberta holds a nonbinding referendum on Monday on whether the western province should secede from Canada, a debate many believe will ​not be settled by what is widely expected to be a defeat for the separatist cause.

Polls have consistently shown that a majority of ‌Alberta voters oppose splitting from Canada. Economic grievances have fueled the independence campaign in the province, which is home to 5 million people and slightly smaller than Texas despite having one-sixth the population.

The Alberta separatist movement adds to the pressures on Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who has made defending Canada’s sovereignty a central mission as he confronts US tariffs and ​President Donald Trump’s repeated calls for Canada to become the 51st state.

https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/alberta-votes-leaving-canada-separatist-movement-likely-outlast-expected-defeat-2026-10-19/

————

🇫🇷⚡️- On the 17th of October evening, at the height of riots, three entire police vans were seen in the calm street of Rue Delambre, Amiens. This heavy police force in a non-violent area were here to protect the Jean Trogneux shop which belongs to Brigitte Macron’s family.

———-

🇳🇱 Dutch Minister: Young Locals Can Just Live With Their Parents, Migrants Get Houses First

Dutch Housing Minister Elanor Boekholt-O’Sullivan drew sharp criticism this week after defending priority access to scarce social housing for recognized refugees, arguing that many young Dutch first-time home seekers “can still live with their parents.”

In an interview with De Telegraaf, the D66 minister was asked why status holders - asylum seekers granted residence permits - should receive preference for social rental homes while Dutch “starters” face long waiting lists and delayed independence. She responded that “we see that a lot of starters can still, or are allowed to, live with their parents.”

🔗 https://www.zerohedge.com/political/dutch-minister-young-locals-can-just-live-their-parents-migrants-get-houses-first

————

🇫🇷⚡️- The first curfews have been announced for today and tomorrow in Lille, Douai, Wattignies and Denain. They will last from 8PM to 6AM. They should only target districts from which rioters come from or where they are headed.

Note: all 4 of these cities are in the north because those regions’ prefects are the first ones to have made any announcements regarding the matter.

———-

🇦🇱⚡️ — Massive anti-government protests in the Albanian capital, Tirana, have been ongoing for weeks now causing a large amount of destruction and injuries.

The initial protests, started by the “Flamingo revolution” social movement, were due to the high cost of living and education, alongside the lack of work opportunities in the country, but quickly escalated into a daily urban war between the protesters and the Albanian police.

———-

🇾🇪❌🇸🇦 — Ansarallah announces conducting 6 military operations against KSA employimg ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and UAVs over the past 48 hours in response to over 200 airstrikes and missile strikes conducted by Saudi forces against Ansarallah-controlled Yemen over the past 48 hours that resulted in dozens of deaths, most being women and children.

The following was targeted over 6 operations:

- Shaybah Oil Field and ARAMCO facilities in Yanbu

- King Khalid Int’l Airport, Riyadh

- Radar installations at Mount al-Hisn, Mount al-Ramah, and Bin Askar

- Abha Int’l Airport, Abha and King Khalid AB, Khamis Mushait

- Unspecified Royal Saudi Naval Forces camp

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — U.S. official to CNN denies reports that U.S. forces struck Konorak Naval Base, Iran.

———-

📢 🇺🇸 🗳 Trump calls for New Mexico to immediately be renamed to “New America.”

📎 KobeissiLetter

———-

🇮🇷⚡️ — Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force fighter aviation patrolled the southern Iran-Iraq border as Israeli/American fighters flew above southern Iraq, likely combat air patrol in case any launches occured.

🇯🇴⚡️ — Fighter jet activity above northwestern Jordan, flying east. Presumably, more Israeli Air Force fighters.

📝 Very clear that this is, at the least, a simulated attack run. This goes beyond the probing we have observed over the past few weeks.

———-

📝 🇪🇺 🇫🇷 Mario Nawfal on X: Europe’s riots are just the beginning. The real economic shock hasn’t even arrived yet.

I spoke with economist Philip Pilkington about the unrest spreading across France, Italy and Albania.

He thinks we’re watching the early stages of something much bigger.

One statistic really caught my attention.

According to Pilkington, France’s inflation-adjusted household food consumption has fallen roughly 6.4% since 2022. He suspects the poorest households have suffered far steeper cuts.

Now add another surge in energy prices.

Pilkington pointed to rice futures rising 70% this year, wheat and sugar climbing 40%, and fertilizer shortages threatening next year’s harvest.

His prediction is that the worst food inflation could arrive this winter or next spring.

And there’s a political problem sitting right on top of it.

Governments across Europe are already deeply unpopular. People are struggling to afford basic necessities, and another prolonged energy shock could push that frustration much further.

What worries me is that we’re already seeing streets erupt before the full economic consequences of the Iran war have reached ordinary households.

Pilkington believes Europe is entering a period of serious instability. After hearing his numbers, I can understand why.

📎 Mario Nawfal

———-

🇺🇸🤝🇮🇱 Secretary of War Hegseth made an unannounced visit to Israel today, meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

The visit comes amid U.S.-Israeli discussions about potentially resuming major combat operations against Iran, 8 days before Israel’s elections. - Axios

🔗 Faytuks Network

———-

🇮🇱 The IDF has ordered a military-wide leave freeze starting Thursday, and instituted the highest state of alertness ahead of elections on the 27th. Reinforcements have been ordered to the West Bank, and command center staffing has been brought to wartime strength.

🔗 Faytuks Network

———-

BREAKING: The Nasdaq 100 closes the day up +1.1%, posting its best day since September 21st.

The S&P 500 added +$300 billion in market cap today. https://t.co/LgPtW9ItRD

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

————

BREAKING: Average domestic round-trip fares for Thanksgiving are up +31% YoY, to $402, the highest in at least 10 years.

This marks the 3rd consecutive annual increase, totaling +$133, or +49%.

Since the 2020 pandemic, average domestic round-trip fares for Thanksgiving travel have more than doubled.

By comparison, average round-trip airfares for Christmas are up +23% YoY.

This comes as jet fuel prices have risen +91% since the Iran War began, to ~$4.50 per gallon, driving up airlines’ operating costs.

Americans are facing their priciest holiday travel season in years.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

BREAKING: China tells citizens travelling to France to ‘strengthen safety precautions’

JUST IN - Hundreds of schools across Northern Ireland, Scotland, Hungary and Serbia receive bomb threats

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/northern-ireland-scotland-schools-bomb-hoax/

———

📢 🇺🇸 🇪🇺 Trump warns the U.S. may have “no choice but to leave” Europe if its leaders fail to change course, citing immigration policies and a failure to assist Washington during the Iran war. He also says they should close their borders to immigrants.

📎 Faytuks Network

————

IRGC officers assist Houthi missile, drone, tunnel and logistics units, including frontline operations.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

🇮🇷🇺🇸| The US used 19 years’ worth of Patriot missile stockpiles in just 7 months in the war against Iran.

@FotrosResistancee

———-

— 🇮🇷 Iran’s President, Masoud Pezeshkian:

‘If Muslims sit down together, first of all, there is no such thing as an Arab country, a Turkish country or an Iranian country. Muslims are brothers.

We are Muslims. We were created from a man and woman and made into different peoples and tribes in order to get to know one another.

But what matters before God is piety, not whether you are Arab, Turkish or Persian. Identity is not about your country. We should sit down and follow God’s divine commandments.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 BREAKING: The amount of crude oil and refined products flowing out of the Strait of Hormuz has plummeted from about 17 million barrels per day in early October to just 9 million barrels per day, after Iran intensified its attacks on tankers

Per UBS Evidence Lab, a major maritime research agency, crude and product outflows exiting the Gulf of Oman collapsed to 9.1mb/d over the last few days, versus an average of 13.5mb/d last week and a steep drop from early October peaks of 17mb/d.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

Initial reports that Ansarallah have captured the extremely important ‘Han Mountain’ west of Taizz city.

The mountain’s liberation has been claimed multiple times over the past few weeks and each time turned out to be false, so I am working to confirm.

———

—❗️🇫🇷 NEW: The situation in France is spiralling out of control, with protesters trying to storm the Presidential palace in Paris

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

— 🇫🇷 NEW: The city hall of Limoges, southern France, was set on fire. It collapsed.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

— 🇮🇷 NEW: General Mehrdad Akhlaqi has been appointed as Iran’s new Minister of Defense

His background is mainly in ballistic missile development and logistics.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

— 🇮🇷/🇦🇪 NEW: Iran struck a tug boat off the coast of the United Arab Emirates

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

—❗️🇪🇬/🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: Egypt’s National Defense Council has approved providing ‘all necessary support’ to help Saudi Arabia fight against Ansarallah in Yemen

This morning, at least 2 Egyptian C-130H military transport aircraft already landed at King Fahd Air Base in Taif, Saudi Arabia.

Soon, the Egyptian Parliament will approve the sending of troops, fighter jets, air defenses, and other types of military aid to Saudi Arabia.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇱/🇮🇷 NEW: President Trump officially endorses Netanyahu for the upcoming Israeli elections

He says he wants to ‘finish the job’ with Iran, and needs Netanyahu in order to accomplish that.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

🇺🇸🇫🇷 — U.S. President Donald Trump:

France is burning! The immigration of people from an entirely different world, people with hatred in their hearts, has shattered that once great country.

Close your Borders and take control, before it is too late!

———-

BREAKING: Romania shoots down two drones in its airspace over the Black Sea: defence ministry

———

Serious incident at Canadian Forces Base Wainwright created a major fire, officials said.

Defense minister confirmed both fatalities and injuries, but gave no casualty numbers or incident details.

An Edmonton hospital doctor said Wainwright health facilities are overwhelmed by the number of patients needing care.

Municipal officials said the blaze spread rapidly in high winds, and firefighting crews were holding and monitoring the area.

Advance voting for Alberta independence referendum was closed in Wainwright.

READ: bit.ly/4iqH5N8

———

South Italy Stripped of Food, Fuel in 4 Days as Diesel Protests Block Deliveries [VIDEO]

Southern Italy’s supermarkets went from normal to stripped bare in just four days. What started as diesel-price protestsand a refinery blockade quickly cut fuel deliveries, then grocery deliveries, before the shelves emptied.

In the Foggia area and nearby towns, people posted empty meat cases, bare bread aisles, and missing staples as panic buying depleted supplies.

This is how quickly our just-in-time inventory breaks. Is Europe live-wargaming a fuel and food crisis? Christian breaks it down.

FULL REPORT:

UNSHADOWED

Italy Stripped of Food, Fuel in 4 Days as Diesel Protests Block Deliveries

Read more

17 days ago · 129 likes · 19 comments · UNSHADOWED (IAF)

YouTube:

Bitchute: https://www.bitchute.com/video/9M5XiFC8g95M

———

“It’s absolutely crucial to ​get the deal in the next few weeks. Otherwise, we will miss the planting season.“

The UN’s Under-Secretary-General Jorge Moreira has announced that failure to activate a UN-backed plan for limited fertilizer vessel passage through Hormuz “within weeks” risks missing planting seasons and a food security crisis, with some estimates projecting commodity price spikes (cereals up to ~81%, oil crops 66%, animal products 30%) if disruption continues.

This is that worst case scenario from the Atlantic Council’s report materializing, described as “global food crisis causing political collapse.”

(reuters)

———

The UK is saddling farmers with a new “carbon tax” on fertilizer -- even as the UN and Atlantic Council are warning of a global food crisis. This really is the war on farmers on full display.

The UK produces NO ammonia domestically, so the CBAM (Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism) applies to all nitrogen-containing fertilizers.

Exact £ is not even known yet -- just that it will increase going forward.

———-

NOW - Macron addresses the nation, calling for order and says that the youth of France are “expressing great anguish and concern about the future... we need to pay heed to what they are saying and we must not minimise the hardships that they are facing.”

MORE - Macron says he will visit Gulf nations tomorrow whilst the PM will chair a crisis meeting to provide support to people affected by the riots. Macron emphasizes that demonstrators should not be confused with rioters and looters who will answer for what they have done.

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/vy64pwxjfv/

@disclosetv

———

NEW - Following their election victory in Berlin, the far-left “Die Linke” party, the Greens, and the SPD want to radically reshape Germany’s capital: voting rights for all foreigners after 5 years, mass nationalizations, more immigration, fewer deportations and higher taxes — BILD

The far-left party proclaims that Berlin is to become a “safe haven” for new migrants: “We will set up state-level admission programs and relaunch expired admission programs that will enable people in need to enter Berlin safely.”

@disclosetv

———

NEW - Japan to launch round-trip mission to Mars’s moons with an unmanned Martian Moons eXploration (MMX) probe, in collaboration with U.S. and European space agencies.

The H3 rocket carrying the MMX is set to launch on Tuesday and arrive near Mars one year later.

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/g4v4f6a1px/

@disclosetv

———

🇮🇷🇺🇸 22 ships were attacked during the first 13 days of October in the Strait of Hormuz

The figure has already exceeded the total number of incidents for all of March 2026, per TASS

@Megatron_ron

———

🇺🇸🇺🇦 Zelenskyy tells reporters that restrictions on Ukraine’s Starlink systems remain. Interceptor drones can’t function, logistics and operations hobbled.

The maximum speed is 161 kph; ‘exceeding this limit causes the Starlink connection to cut out completely, resulting in the loss of the drone.’

He says Ukraine has done tests to determine whether SpaceX is truly facing technical issues, as has been told Kyiv by the US side, or if this is a ‘deliberate operation... to restrict us, cut us off, and prevent us from defending ourselves and protecting our people, both at the front and among the civilian population.’

He says Ukraine ‘sent a couple of vehicles equipped with Starlink terminals into European Union territory.’

‘They moved at speeds exceeding 180kph, and the Starlink systems worked perfectly. We have the relevant logs and evidence to prove this.’

@Megatron_ron

———

BREAKING: 🇾🇪 Tankers are now being attacked in the vicinity of Yemen as well

Those that manage to slip through the Strait of Hormuz are now being stopped off the coast of Yemen.

UKMTO reports that an LNG tanker came under fire approximately 140 nautical miles southeast of Al Mukalla, Yemen.

A small skiff carrying seven people approached the tanker and fired two shots. The vessel’s armed security team responded with two warning shots, forcing the skiff to change course.

@Megatron_ron

———

JUST IN: 🇫🇷 Police vehicles are being targeted by the crowd in the République area in Paris.

The situation looks like something out of a movie.

@Megatron_ron

———

BREAKING: 🇫🇷 The priority of the law enforcement forces is to PROTECT THE ÉLYSÉE and its surroundings in Paris. The police ARE SHORT OF AMMUNITION and are FORCED TO RETREAT. The Paris police prefecture is attempting to urgently resupply them: “It’s a disaster”, per french media

@Megatron_ron

———

JUST IN: 🇮🇷🇮🇱 Iran’s new Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi:

“Our finger is on the trigger; we are ready for war with the Zionists.

We are not building new factories at the old locations. Instead, we are building them inside mountains and in secure facilities.”

@Megatron_ron

———

BREAKING: 🇮🇷 Iran will begin production of a fully domestic heavy fighter next year

Iran’s new Defense Minister Mehrdad Akhlaqi Ketabchi announced

A heavy fighter is a larger, typically twin-engined military aircraft designed to carry heavier weapons, house multi-person crews, or fly much longer ranges than standard light fighters

@Megatron_ron

——-

JUST IN: 🇮🇷 Iran with a message to governments, funds, and firms in the region:

“You are kindly advised to give no resources to any AI or data company aiding invasions or killing children. No finance, equity, land and energy.

Assist them and face our enforcement.”

@MegaGeopolitics

———

🇮🇱🇷🇺 Benjamin Netanyahu considers Russia as an enemy

This map was displayed during Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech on Israel’s security into the future earlier today.

The map shows the different blocs emerging in the Middle East from Tel Aviv’s perspective:

Blue (Israel’s allies):

Israel, the UAE, Bahrain, India, Azerbaijan, Yemen’s Southern Transitional Council, Syria’s Druze separatist council, Ethiopia, Somaliland, Puntland, Haftar’s Libya, Cyprus, Greece, and (admittedly, which won’t sit well with the UAE) Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces.

Green (Israel considers them friendly):

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Turkey, Pakistan, Eritrea, Sudan, Libya’s Government of National Unity, Egypt, the West Bank, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon, northern Cyprus, and Somalia.

Red (Enemies of Israel):

Iran, Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces, Lebanon’s Hezbollah, Yemen’s Ansarullah, Gaza’s Hamas, Russia.

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — U.S. Embassy Kuwait, U.S. Embassy Manama, and U.S. Embassy Amman have issued security alerts, warning Americans in Kuwait, Bahrain, and Jordan of a possible escalation of the Saudi-Ansarallah war and that Iran and Iranian-aligned groups may target U.S. interests.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- Locals tell Rerum Novarum that Paris has turned into a warzone again in several areas. The police have not been reinforced and are currently overwhelmed. Shops have been left alone as police forces retreated and regrouped. Several shop owners are alone facing “hundreds of black people”.

———

🇺🇸⚡️- Democrats in the US Senate promise to investigate Meta and Mark Zuckerberg because a single “No Kings” organizing account was suspended yesterday for unknown reasons.

The GOP has not once in the last 10 years seriously gone after big tech for nuking large parts of the right off the internet.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- 10,000 policemen were deployed across France yesterday, facing up to 900,000 protesters by some accounts.

As a measure of reference, 89,000 policemen were deployed against 136,000 protesters for the Yellow Vests’ Act IV in December 2018.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- There is a rumor going around on French social medias, and recently on all of Twitter, stating that rioters breached the Elysée yesterday, most notably its gardens. For now, there are no concrete proofs of this and no major outlet has relayed informations about this.

Needless to say that the second part of this rumor claiming snipers shot a man in the Elysée’s gardens are also false. Other rumors claiming several rioters are dead from police brutality are also false. The death toll remains at two with both deaths being accidental and entirely self-caused.

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷🇾🇪⚡️ — Security alerts were issued by the following:

🇯🇴 U.S. Embassy Amman

🇱🇧 U.S. Embassy Beirut

🇶🇦 U.S. Embassy Doha

🇮🇷 U.S. Virtual Embassy Iran

🇮🇶 U.S. Mission Iraq

🇮🇱 U.S. Embassy Jerusalem

🇧🇭 U.S. Embassy Manama

🇴🇲 U.S. Embassy Muscat

🇸🇦 U.S. Mission Saudi Arabia

🇦🇪 U.S. Mission United Arab Emirates

🇾🇪 U.S. Mission Yemen

———

⚡️ There is a pattern emerging. There have been major anti-government riots in over a dozen countries in the past 30 days:

Albania, France, Italy, Spain, Belgium, Tunisia, India, Argentina, Portugal, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, Kosovo.

@MedmanNews

———

⛽️ 🇫🇷 🛢 Fuel shortages are hitting Europe.

In certain regions of France, 25-50% of gas stations are out of stock of at least one type of fuel.

With ~600 stations completely out of fuel.

The national average surged from 13.5% on October 16 to 16.3% just 2 days later...

France’s fuel crisis has gotten materially worse in just 48 hours.

Brace for inflation.

📎 Lukas Ekwueme

———-

🇫🇷 Public Spending, % Of GDP

France today versus planned economies at their peak. The Soviet Union collapsed at 50%, France is at 57% and striking for more

📎 randgroup

———

📈 🇪🇺 🚷 Europe’s migrant population exploded by 40.8 million, or 67%, between 2000 and 2024.

🇬🇧 The UK added the most migrants in absolute terms (7.1 million), followed by Spain (6.8 million) and Germany (6.4 million).

📎 Zarathustra

———

🇨🇦 🇲🇽 🚷 Canada will soon be less European than Mexico.

Remigration the only viable solution.

📝 More Births: Half of all births in several Canadian provinces are to mothers not born in Canada. Immigration is 4-7 times native births.

📎 White Papers Policy Institute

———-

🇫🇷⚡️- The president of the French Union of Hotel Trades and Industries indicates that his colleagues are arming themselves and preparing militias to defend their establishments.

———

🇺🇸 ✡️ ☪️ Ryan Burge on X: Counties with Jewish synagogues often also have Islamic mosques.

Among U.S. counties with either, 51% have both. There are 286 counties with a mosque but no synagogue, and only 82 in the opposite situation.

📎 Ryan Burge

———

BREAKING: The number of restaurants in New York dropped ~2,000 YoY in Q1 2026, posting its largest YoY decline in at least 36 years.

This surpasses even the worst contraction recorded in any quarter during the 2020 pandemic.

The number of eating and drinking places in New York State has now declined YoY for 4 consecutive quarters, its longest streak since 2021.

This comes as restaurants are facing surging operating expenses, including insurance premiums, wages, interest rates, utilities, and health coverage, with overall costs rising faster than national averages.

Last year, employee health insurance costs jumped +12.9% for New York-area service firms, business insurance rose +7.0%, while utility costs surged +8.5%, according to the Manhattan Chamber of Commerce.

Skyrocketing costs are crushing New York restaurants.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

BREAKING: Ukraine has launched a “massive aerial attack,” consisting of over 1,000 drones, striking a major oil terminal in Russia.

The attack comes exactly 7 days after President Trump said Ukraine and Russia had agreed to an “energy ceasefire.”

Following the announcement, Ukraine’s President Zelensky quickly stated that he was unaware of such a ceasefire.

This comes after President Trump asked Ukraine several times to refrain from strikes on energy infrastructure due to surging US diesel prices, which are up over +80% since January.

Oil markets will reopen in 9 hours.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

⛽ Oil & Energy

• UKMTO reports multiple maritime security incidents near UAE/Yemen — tug and tanker interactions raise Red Sea/Gulf shipping risk

• St. Petersburg strikes hit energy infrastructure — Russian oil terminal and power substation targeted, adding supply-risk headlines

• Gas/oil geopolitics stay front and center — Vance says US Navy keeps energy flows moving through Hormuz

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 BREAKING: Iran has begun to circumvent the U.S. naval blockade, according to Reuters

Iran has recently managed to export some liquefied petroleum gas and jet fuel despite the U.S. naval blockade, by concealing cargoes among an increasing volume of ship-to-ship transfers in the Gulf of Oman.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: Riyadh is under attack by the Yemeni Armed Forces

@Middlea_East_Spectator

———

— 🇮🇱/🇮🇷 NEW: Mobile bomb shelters are being deployed in Tel Aviv

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

BREAKING: China is weighing export restrictions on AI models, chips and AI agents, putting new limits on how its technology can reach the global market.

@GeneralMCNews

———

🇺🇦🚁🚑—Ukraine has developed a drone for evacuating the wounded from the battlefield — AP

▶️The drone, named StarGate, was developed by the Ukrainian company SkyFall. It is capable of lifting a weight of up to 150 kg over a distance of up to 15 km in one direction.

▶️The platform is equipped with systems to protect against enemy drones and is already on combat duty at the front.

———

JUST IN - New White House press secretary, Katie Zacharia, was fired today, after only 5 days on the job.

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/yk6r59cash/

@disclosetv

———

BREAKING: 🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iranian army spokesman announced that Iran’s armed forces in the coming days will carry out offensive operations to make the US Navy retreat beyond 500 KM

He says right now, Americans are 500 km away from our shores and we will carry out operational plans to push them beyond that. They no longer dare to come closer”

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇮🇱🇮🇷 Israeli Channel 16 reports that Iran currently has at least 400 operational missile launchers, nearly matching the 420 it had before Operation Roaring Lion in February, according to Israeli security officials.

Over the past few months, Iran has restored a significant portion of its missile-launching capabilities, the number of their missiles and drones has increased, and they have effectively been bolstered by air defense systems. In other words

@MegaGeopolitics

———

BREAKING: 🇺🇦🇺🇸 Zelensky announced he will NOT accept Trump’s diesel deal:

“We cannot accept diesel deals, these arrangements, because then there will be gas agreements. I’m sure of that. Sanctions will be lifted after gas.”

@Megatron_ron

———

NEW: 🇾🇪🇨🇳 The Houthis are building an advanced missile that can reach all of Saudi Arabia and Israel with Chinese parts — WSJ

The Houthis shipped in from a Chinese supplier a range of components needed to make a version of one of Iran’s most powerful weapons, the Kheibar Shekan Iranian precision-guided missile — report by Conflict Armament Research, a group that works in conflict zone

Houthi missile would have a range up to about 1,200 miles, putting all of Saudi Arabia and Israel within reach.

@Megatron_ron

———

Oil prices are skyrocketing again and reached $107 per barrel

@Megatron_ron

———

JUST IN:🇺🇸🇺🇦 Elon Musk personally proposed restricting Ukraine’s Starshield satellite communications system, per the Telegraph

He proposed this to President Trump, who agreed to the plan, according to The Telegraph, citing four sources.

The restrictions capped Ukrainian drones using Starshield at around 160 km/h, severely limiting their ability to intercept faster Russian drones and missiles.

Musk publicly denied responsibility for the restrictions, claiming any limits were imposed by the U.S. military and ultimately approved by Trump.

However, a senior source told The Telegraph that both men were involved in the decision, an account corroborated by European and Ukrainian officials.

@Megatron_ron

______

🇺🇸🇮🇱⚡️- Radio host Dennis Prager made his first public appearance in nearly 2 years today at Trumps golf course in Miami.

Prager suffered a severe spinal cord injury in his home in November 2024 after falling in his bathroom.

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡- Explosions across Dammam, eastern Saudi Arabia, amid an ongoing Ansarullah ballistic missile attack. Possible interceptions and/or impacts of Ansarullah’s projectiles.

King Fahd International Airport in Dammam has temporarily suspended flight operations.

————

🇮🇱⚡- Amid rumors of a possible Eisenkot-Netanyahu government, Avigdor Lieberman of the far-right Yisrael Beiteinu Party has blasted Eisenkot as another “Benny Gantz”.

He accused Eisenkot of striving to become bigger than Likud, only then to form a government with Netanyahu from a position of strength.

🇮🇱⚡- “We are 11 days away from the most critical elections since the founding of the state. At such a historic moment for Israel, it is necessary to remain calm and focused on the goal.

The people of Israel will not forgive politicians who fail to rise to the occasion, who prioritize a seat and personal interests, and who prevent the change of government that is needed after October 7th. You can rely on me, as I have proven throughout my life,” - Gadi Eisenkot responds to Avigdor Lieberman.

————

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- BREAKING: Sipchem (Saudi’s International Petrochemical Company), located in Jubail Industrial City in eastern Saudi Arabia, has been struck by Ansarullah ballistic missiles.

Rerum Novarum was able to tentatively verify, using FIRMS data on minimap.technology, that a large fire is currently ongoing in the vicinity of the Sipchem warehouse zone.

The first image shows FIRMS data from yesterday, with little activity, while the second shows several new, large fires in the area as of early this morning.

————

BREAKING: The Nasdaq 100 officially closes the week down -5.5%, posting its largest weekly decline since April 2025.

The index is now down -7% from its high seen just 10 days ago.

🄳🄾🄾🄼🄿🤖🅂🅃🄸🄽🄶

——-

European Commissioner for Defence and Space, Andrius Kubilius:

Americans will need to adapt to the reality that Pax Americana has come to an end.

The slogan “Make America Great Again” shows that natural nostalgia for the glorious times of American global leadership is already starting to play a more and more important role in American political and geopolitical mentality.

It will take time to overcome this psychological challenge.

———-

Maga allies of Donald Trump have said the president should use martial law if the Republicans lose the midterm elections.

Participants in the Precinct Project & Election Integrity video call on Sept 30

streamed on Rumble claimed that voter fraud could take place in the November elections and that postal votes were particularly at risk.

The call is a regular feature of the Maga community, providing a platform for voices across the country, including Steve Bannon, the former White House chief strategist, and Tina Peters, a prominent Maga activist.

Peter Ticktin, a childhood friend of the

US president and an attorney, claimed that voter addresses were being changed on mail-in ballots and were being used to commit election fraud on a massive scale and discount votes. There is no evidence of this.

He said, should the Democrats win, martial law should be imposed to check whether the election was “rigged”.

He added: “For America alone, he is not going to be able to just accept what comes...there would have to be martial law in the event that [Democrats] are on the way [tol taking over the country through another rigged election.”

Mr Ticktin later told Axios that the military would need to take control of ballots and equipment to make sure that the election had not been rigged and prevent further instances of voter fraud.

‘Commandeering ballots’

“They’ll probably need to be commandeering ballots and election equipment to make sure that we can get to the bottom of it before anything further occurs,” he said.

———

🇮🇩 Indonesian stocks plunge 11% as MSCI proposes emerging market downgrade

The index provider is weighing reclassifying the country from emerging market to standalone status, potentially forcing funds tracking MSCI’s emerging market indexes to sell their Indonesian holdings.

Indonesian shares lost about 11% on Friday. This was the largest single-day fall in 28 years, as the country’s stock market status came under scrutiny from one of the world’s largest stock market index providers, threatening outflows from global investment funds.

MSCI said that following investors’ concerns, Indonesia’s continued emerging-market status was “no longer appropriate”. The index provider is launching a consultation on a proposal to classify Indonesia as a “Standalone Market”, which would leave the country outside MSCI’s main global market groupings.

MSCI classifies markets as developed, emerging, frontier or standalone.

The proposed reclassification would move Southeast Asia’s biggest economy out of the emerging market category, bypassing frontier market status, and put it in the same category as Jamaica, Panama and Palestine.

This could result in global funds tracking MSCI’s emerging market index having to sell their Indonesian holdings.

The index provider said in a statement that “market participants had raised significant concerns regarding the investability of the Indonesian equity market”. These include a lack of clarity in shareholding structures and suspected coordinated trading.

The index provider had already raised the possibility of downgrading the country’s status in January. Following that, authorities in Jakarta said in April they had completed reforms, hoping to avoid the downgrade.

MSCI noted that although Indonesian authorities have announced reforms, sufficient progress has not been made and “significant concerns remain around market dysfunction”.

“MSCI expects to proceed with the proposed reclassification unless the consultation identifies clear evidence of material improvements in market governance and functioning to warrant reconsideration.”

MSCI will announce its final decision by the end of June 2027.

According to Bloomberg, this comes as a hit to investors’ confidence at a time when global funds have already pulled a net $4.9bn from the country’s stock market so far this year – leaving the country on track for the worst year ever. Jakarta’s benchmark index has fallen approximately 39% since January, dragging down the local currency; the rupiah has lost about 8%. That’s even as Bank Indonesia reiterated its commitment to maintaining rupiah stability.

🔗https://finance.yahoo.com/markets/stocks/articles/indonesian-stocks-plunge-11-msci-081331488.html

———-

Some of the Russian Geran-5 jet-drones used to target western Ukraine today were recorded flying at speeds of 700-800 km/h, indicating Russia may have upgraded them or is using a new type of drone-missile.

The Geran-5 previously had a max speed of 600 km/h. An increase to 800 km/h would effectively put it on par with some of Russia’s air-launched cruise missiles.

———-

🇾🇪🇮🇷🇨🇳 Yemen’s Ansarallah is now developing their own advanced ballistic missiles using components imported from China – WSJ

Ansarallah obtained specialized components to build a version of Iran’s Kheibar Shekan precision-guided ballistic missile, which has a range of up to 1,930 km. This would put targets across Saudi Arabia and Israel within its range.

This could allow Ansarallah to build long-range missiles inside Yemen instead of relying on complete missiles supplied by Iran.

Over the past decade, IRGC has helped turn Ansarallah into one of the most capable military forces in the region. Iran has provided Ansarallah with weapons, training and technical support, helping it develop increasingly advanced missile and drone capabilities.

📝 Policy Tensor: The whole China angle is a bit amusing. Is there anyone making anything without Chinese components anymore? Can the US make Tomahawks without Chinese components??

🔗 https://archive.ph/3lJLD

———-

🇮🇷⚔️🚢 An Oil tanker was struck in the Gulf of Oman.

IRGC says the oil tanker was involved in illegal activity, switched its AIS off and was attempting to pass through the “restricted area in the Gulf of Oman”.

🔗 MenchOsint (@MenchOsint)

———-

🇾🇪⚔️🇸🇦 Yemen’s Ansarallah shot down another Saudi-operated “Wing Loong-2” UCAV last night, over Ma’rib. (Statement)

Since September 6th, they shot down:

1 x F-15SA

1 x Akıncı

3 x CH-4

7 x Wing Loong-2

2 x Karayel

And the Typhoon’s fate is unknown.

🔗 MenchOSINT

————-

🇮🇩🚫⛽️ Fuel crisis hits Indonesia’s Bali, triggers long lines in gas stations for days

Long lines of vehicles snaked outside gas stations across Indonesia’s resort island of Bali this week after fuel deliveries were disrupted by a combination of technical problems, bad weather and surging demand, officials said Wednesday.

On the tourism-dependent island, motorcycles and cars waited outside stations and spilled onto nearby roads as motorists scrambled for fuel. The lines have been reported since Sunday.

Officials stressed that the shortages were caused by domestic distribution problems rather than a lack of fuel supplies or turmoil in global energy markets.

“This is purely a distribution issue,” said Laode Sulaeman, director-general of oil and gas at the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry. “A fuel tanker was delayed, but it has now arrived and 24-hour deliveries have been underway since yesterday.”

Sulaeman said that a tanker carrying fuel to Bali suffered an anchor problem while preparing to unload cargo, delaying deliveries to the island’s main fuel terminals. Rough seas and bad weather also slowed shipments to the Sanggaran terminal in Denpasar and the Manggis terminal in eastern Bali.

The disruption was compounded by strong demand for government-subsidized Pertalite gasoline, which is significantly cheaper than nonsubsidized fuel. Panic-buying by motorists worried about shortages further strained supplies at some stations.

At several gas stations, attendants posted signs reading, “Sorry, no fuel available,” while drivers and motorcyclists waited outside closed facilities for new deliveries. The shortages have frustrated residents and business owners on the resort island, where transportation is critical for daily life and tourism.

🔗 https://apnews.com/article/indonesia-bali-fuel-shortage-long-lines-487f05c7fcf8f458fbf2d1177e374d81

———

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 CSIS: “Bunker Busters”: Deep Targets, Shallow Stocks

“Bunker busters” is the nickname given to a class of weapons designed to attack what the Department of Defense (DOD) calls “hard and deeply buried targets” (HDBTs). These targets are typically an adversary’s most valuable assets. Although such targets have historically been relatively few, their numbers are increasing as countries and nonstate actors seek protection against U.S. precision weaponry. The United States has developed a range of weapons to attack these targets, but their large numbers and increasing hardness will require a greater U.S. effort.

The U.S. bunker buster inventory today contains three types of weapons to cover different situations. All, except the B83-1 and B61-11, can use precision guidance to hit their target. The appendix has details on each of these weapons.

🔷 Bombs: Most currently available bunker busters are air-dropped bombs (bomb live units, or BLUs) that can be fitted with laser or GPS guidance kits to be configured as guided bomb units (GBUs). Compared with regular bombs, bunker busters have a much heavier casing and smaller explosive charges.

🔷 Standoff munitions: Variants of existing systems with enhanced penetrating capability were made during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Only the Navy’s system (JSOW-C) remains in the inventory today.

🔷 Nuclear weapons: Because there are targets that even specially designed conventional munitions cannot destroy, nuclear weapons are also an option.

Militaries with nuclear weapons built underground facilities during the Cold War to conceal and protect their operations from a nuclear attack. A major change came with the advent of precision-guided conventional munitions and their subsequent widespread adoption in U.S. warfighting, as shown in Table 2. This made many more targets vulnerable, spurring the rapid growth of HDBTs as countries and nonstate actors sought to protect key military assets. The People’s Liberation Army Rocket Force, for example, built networks of tunnels—referred to as the “Underground Great Wall”—to protect its, until recently, limited arsenal of nuclear weapons and ensure second strike capability against other nuclear powers. Many of North Korea’s nuclear and missilefacilities were built underground. Al Qaeda, the Islamic State, and other adversaries during the counterterrorism campaign also took to hiding in underground bunkers or caves.

The United States has used large numbers of 2,000 lb and 5,000 lb bunker busters to attack Iran’s extensive underground nuclear facilities and other protected military infrastructure. Israel, too, has used large numbers of these U.S.-made munitions in its wars since Hamas’s October 7 attack. Hamas’s estimated 310 miles of tunnels—about six times the underground length of the Washington Metro—enabled its surprise attack on October 7, 2023, and helpedthe group survive Israeli air and ground attacks. Nevertheless, the United States retains a large inventory of 2,000 lb bunker buster munitions. Inventory stress may occur with the largest munitions (5,000 lb), which would be needed for the surviving and likely most hardened targets.

Further, existing U.S. weapons may be insufficient to reach the most hardened and deeply buried facilities. Among Iranian nuclear sites, analysts have identified Pickaxe Mountain to be even deeper underground and likely beyond the reach of even the most powerful conventional munitions, compared to other facilities at Isfahan and Natanz. Construction at Pickaxe Mountain is ongoing, so the facility may not be ready. It is nevertheless a part of Iran’s nuclear program, and eliminating it would be necessary to fully meet President Trump’s goal of preventing the regime from ever having a nuclear weapon.

A limitation is that current bunker busters are nearly all bombs because of the weight needed for heavy casings and explosive power. Delivery aircraft must fly over the target, requiring at least local air superiority. That has been feasible in recent conflicts, but it will not always be achievable, for example, in a potential conflict with China. A standoff munition would be highly desirable to reduce risk to the aircraft and expand the number of targets that could be reached.

President Trump’s proposal to drop a GBU-43/B more commonly known as the “Mother of All Bombs (MOAB)” is out of the question. The MOAB is not a particularly useful munition hence why it was rarely used. In fact it was only used once, in 2017 against the IS-KP also at Trump’s order with no significant impact on the IS-KPs activity in Afghanistan.

It is a large thermobaric airburst gravity bomb that is carried by slow-flying MC-130 aircraft. The 21.000 lb mass makes it impossible to carry by fighterbomber.

The MOAB was not designed to penetrate and is thus not a bunker buster in the traditional sense. It uses a fuel and air explosive to reach into caves or hardened bunkers. When the bomb lands, the gaseous fuel disperses, seeping through cracks and openings to infiltrate confined spaces. A spark then ignites the mixture, resulting in a massive fireball with immense overpressure that destroys targets from the inside. Because of the large effects and potential for collateral damage it was used once and the U.S. built only 15 of them. With one used up, the status of the other 14 MOABs is unknown and it is unclear how many are operational.

While no doubt the MOAB packs a big punch, equivalent to 11 tons of TNT, the fact it has to be dropped from an aircraft like the MC-130J makes it unusable as the U.S. doesn’t have air superiority over Iran and the aircraft will be shot down well before reaching any of the nuclear sites. The only possible use of the MOAB over Iranian territory would be over one of the Iranian islands in the Persian Gulf or territory on the coast, targets which are of little to no military value and do not bring Trump and Israel closer to annihilating the Iranian nuclear program.

🔗 https://www.csis.org/analysis/bunker-busters-deep-targets-shallow-stocks

——-

🛢 Brent Crude oil prices climbed fast back to $109.5, the highest price since May, surpassing the peak $108.7 figure it reached in September.

WTI Crude is following suit, surpassing the $100 mark for the first time in a month.

Sustained attacks on Persian Gulf oil tankers by the IRGC alongside the Ansarallah/Houthi campaign against ARAMCO’s refineries is finally causing the paper oil price to increase.

@CIG_telegram

———-

🚢 Wars in the Persian Gulf, Black and Arabian Seas are tying up way too many ships causing fuel shortages across the globe.

Global fuel oil supply is shrinking while demand for the fuel from the shipping industry remains robust, suggesting further supply pain down the road.

Exports of high-sulfur fuel oil from the Middle East are running at a rate that is at least 800,000 tons a month lower than it was before the war, the head of Asian operations at Vitol said at an industry event.

“Producers are paying higher freight rates and more risk premiums to shuttle cargoes out of Hormuz, recognising the importance of oil revenues to their national budgets,” Kieran Gallagher said, as quoted by Reuters. The risk premium for those exports remains considerable, fueling uncertainty about future supply from the region.

Fuel oil is standard for the shipping industry, but recently, some refiners in Asia have started switching from crude oil to high-sulfur fuel oil as feedstock, Gallagher said, amid the disruption of Saudi exports from the Red Sea. These refiners have snapped cargoes totalling some 1 million tons for November delivery, the executive said.

Further complicating the fuel oil situation, Ukrainian drone attacks on Russian refineries have further crimped supply. Vitol’s Gallagher estimated that loss at some 1 million tons per month.

“The key lies in replacing fuel oil with crude as a refinery feedstock,” he said. However, this remains a challenge due to the above-mentioned shipping risks in the Strait of Hormuz. As a result, the premium for the fuel oil used in commercial shipping on the spot market has reached almost $50 per ton, up from $5.10 per ton in late February, Reuters reported, citing LSEG data.

Over the past couple of days, a fuel shortage developed in the resort city of Bali, Indonesia, due to an oil tanker arriving late in port.

Authorities in Switzerland are releasing jet fuel from their emergency stocks to prevent a fuel shortage caused by drought in the Rhine river valley and train delays in Germany.

The fuel shortage is much worse felt across Subsaharan Africa. In Malawi, the government is short on foreign currency and the rise in oil prices make it difficult to find a cheap and consistent supply of fuel.

South Africa who is undergoing a process of deindustrialization became this year particularly exposed to energy shocks like the one caused by the wars in the Middle East. The country became a net importer of fuel when just as late as 7 years ago it was not. South Africa currently produces about 39% of its fuel demand domestically, including Sasol, which is a significant decrease from 78% in 2019. The country imports approximately 61% of its refined fuel products. South Africa has just 6.9 million barrels left of oil in its petroleum reserve meaning that if oil tankers stop coming, the country will be out of fuel.

In Mozambique, the fuel crisis is preventing many fishermen from going out to sea due to a lack of fuel.

In Kenya, rising fuel prices added a new grievance to the long list of other grievances the people hold against the Kenyan government causing widespread riots earlier this year.

Libya, Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia continue to be gripped by localised fuel shortages related to the ongoing conflicts in their respective countries and made worse by the rising oil prices, globally.

@CIG_telegram

———-

📢 🇬🇧 🪖 British Army chief General Sir Roly Walker says UK political leaders will soon begin a “frank conversation” with the public about preparing for war.

He warns that citizens must be ready to make sacrifices, prioritize defense and security, and play their part in supporting the military.

📎 Clash Report

——

The US budget deficit has reached nearly $2 trillion, its highest level in 5 years and the third-largest in history.

That’s a 12% jump in just one year.

Social Security and Medicare accounted for the biggest government expenses, costing $1.7 trillion and $1.1 trillion, respectively.

Meanwhile, US national debt had crossed $40 trillion, raising concerns about how sustainable this level of borrowing is.

This is already reflecting in bond markets, with 10-year and 30-year Treasury yields trading at their highest levels in over 20 years.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says the US can “grow our way out of” its rising debt.

The markets are clearly not buying his story.

🄳🄾🄾🄼🄿🤖🅂🅃🄸🄽🄶

———

— 🇮🇷/🇴🇲 NEW: The IRGC announces another supertanker hit a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz

@Middle_East_Spectator

——-

—❗️🇮🇷/🇸🇦 NEW: Iran struck a tanker off the coast of Jubail, Saudi Arabia, in the Persian Gulf yesterday

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

—❗️🇸🇦/🇮🇷 NEW: Another tanker was struck in the Persian Gulf, off the coast of Jubail, Saudi Arabia

The vessel was approached yesterday by an IRGC speedboat and struck by an RPG.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

— 🇪🇬 NEW: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi says he will leave power at the end of his term in 2030 and will not change the constitution to extend his tenure

He has proposed a plan where a few hundred of Egypt’s ‘elites’ will enroll in an academy where they will learn about statecraft for 30 months, after which an election will be held to choose one from among them.

@Middle_East_Spectator

——-

BREAKING - Dozens arrested in Paris as day of protests begins across France

Protesters across France called for street demonstrations against rising living costs, joining high school students’ grievances over education conditions

———-

🇫🇷❌🏴❗️ — Lyon’s tourist office has been torched. Marseille’s city hall ransacked. Dozens of cars burning in Paris.

FRANCE IS BURNING.

———-

BREAKING: Interest expense on US public debt rose +$144 billion YoY in FY2026, or +12%, to a record $1.36 trillion.

This marks the 6th consecutive annual increase, for a total of +$839 billion, or +161%.

For perspective, total receipts rose just +3.2% YoY, to $5.40 trillion.

In other words, interest on federal debt accounted for 25% of total US government receipts.

Meanwhile, Social Security, the largest government expense, jumped +$86 billion YoY, or +5.5%, to a record $1.67 trillion.

At this pace, interest costs will exceed Social Security as the largest government outlay by the end of 2028.

What is the long-term plan here?

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

——-

ALERT - The Pacific Ring of Fire has been rocked by more than 150 earthquakes of magnitude 4.5 or higher in the past week, according to FOX Weather.

———

Ukraine to defy Trump’s demand, continue strikes on Russian oil refineries, Zelensky says

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/russia-says-ukraine-derailing-us-peace-efforts-with-refinery-strikes/

———

Iran faces its worst blockade since 1979 revolution, Iranian president says

READ: https://bit.ly/4ymw6t0

———

JUST IN - ‘Severe drought’ declared in parts of UK

——-

BREAKING - Saudi Arabia says Iran continues to arm, train and support Houthis, AFP reports

——-

JUST IN - FBI and Postal Service are investigating letters with ‘suspicious substances’ sent to congressional and election offices — AP

——-

BREAKING: Bus and train collide on French side of Channel Tunnel, multiple people injured, authorities say

———

JUST IN - President Trump did not order any restrictions on Ukraine’s access to SpaceX’s Starshield satellite technology, a senior US official said, Bloomberg reports

———

BREAKING: Multiple people dead in Oregon elementary school mass shooting - police

———

— 🇮🇷/🇺🇸 Iranian fishermen patrol the Persian Gulf amid wreckages of U.S.-affiliated shipping after IRGC strikes

Make no mistake, and accept reality; Iran controls the Strait of Hormuz.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 BREAKING: Ansarallah have struck the Saudi-backed Presidential Palace in Aden, southern Yemen, with ballistic missiles

@Middle_East_Spectator

——-

— 🇸🇦/🇮🇷/🇾🇪 NEW: The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen accuses Iran of supplying Ansarallah with advanced technology including ballistic missiles, drones, and explosive speedboats

They say Ansarallah has become the first ‘terrorist group’ in the world to possess such advanced capabilities and call upon the ‘regional nation’ [Iran] to stop supplying them with weapons.

@Middle_East_Spectator

——-

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪/🇴🇲 NEW: The Houthis have rejected a Saudi request to hold negotiations in Oman – AFP

@Middle_East_Spectator

——-

— 🇸🇦/🇮🇷/🇾🇪 NEW: After having their request for a meeting in Oman rejected, Saudi Arabia has asked Iran to convince Ansarallah to negotiate

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

—❗️🇮🇱/🇮🇷/🇺🇸 BREAKING: Israel believes Iran may be preparing a preemptive attack, after western intelligence detected ‘extreme military movements’ inside Iran – Channel 12

@Middle_East_Spectator

——-

🇸🇦⚡️- Air traffic appears to have been stopped at Jeddah’s King Abdulaziz International Airport. Cause remains unknown.

——-

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦 - Since the Trump-proposed ‘energy ceasefire’ between Russia and Ukraine:

Russia has struck:

- Kharkiv’s CHP-5.

- Kyiv’s CHP-4.

- Kyiv’s CHP-5.

- Kyiv’s CHP-6.

- Zmiivska TPP.

- Trypilska TPP.

Ukraine has struck:

- Novoshakhtinsk Storage Facility.

Russia claims the Ryazan and Saratov refineries were also attacked last night, though there has been no confirmation or evidence of this.

——-

🇫🇷⚡️- French police and local authorities are expecting the riots to escalate their violence on Saturday. Several prefects have taken new administrative measures to prevent gatherings while police syndicates shared that police forces “were nearing their breaking point”.

——-

🇫🇷⚡️- Police members from three different syndicates and unions have warned their superiors alongside medias that their ressources were too thinly spread and that most members were tired from the prolonged deployment in the streets. Most of the French police’s spokespersons have confirmed morale was at an all-time low due to the permissiveness of judges. Several anonymous police members online and in medias have said that accidents were likely to occur and things could get “very ugly” on both sides.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu officially declares that the ongoing riots are no longer a student movement. The French government will no longer treat the riots as “student protests” but as “urban violences”.

———

🇺🇸⚡️- President Trump announces the firing squad execution of Nidal Malik Hasan, the man convicted of killing 13 people during a mass shooting at Fort Hood in 2009, will not be livestreamed.

———

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- Iran’s stockpile of missile launchers is once again similar to the level it was at before the June 2025 war, according to Israeli Channel 16.

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- Western intelligence has discovered extreme new military moves by Iran, Israeli Channel 12 reports.

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu will hold a limited security council meeting tonight on Iran.

———-

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡️- “Following reports that Iran launched 30 ballistic missiles during exercises this week, the IDF has raised its alert level across all fronts and is preparing for the possibility of a targeted strike on Iran. Fears of an escalation in the Strait of Hormuz are also mounting.” - Israel Hayom.

———-

🇮🇷🇮🇱⚡- “I will not go into our plans, but I can say one thing: if Iran makes a mistake and tries to attack us, it will simply make the biggest mistake of its life.

This regime is already collapsing and faltering as a result of the intense attacks we have carried out in cooperation with our American friends, and of course, under the leadership of President Donald Trump.

We also have the ability to act independently, and I advise none of our enemies to test us in any front. We will act with great force.

Regarding all our plans, I don’t think it’s appropriate to detail them here, but I want to say that my approach is not based on containing attacks and accepting them, but quite the opposite: initiative and prevention.

Do not test us, enemies, because you will receive blows you could not imagine,” - Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, in a phone interview with Israeli Channel 14.

———

SCHOOL SHOOTING

🇺🇸⚡️- BREAKING: Active shooter at Silver Rail Elementary School in Bend, Oregon.

Police scanner indicates the shooter has possibly been neutralized by a parent at the school.

🇺🇸⚡️- Several ambulances were seen en route to Silver Rail Elementary School.

There is no official word on the number of casualties.

🇺🇸⚡️- The shooter fired into a car, then proceeded into the building, multiple children have been shot, according to Bend Police.

🇺🇸⚡️- Multiple victims are dead, sources tell CBS News.

The shooter has also been neutralized.

🇺🇸⚡️- Among the dead are three children and one adult.

The dead shooter is believed to be a teenager who has been confirmed to have been killed by a good Samaritan.

———

Inflation is RED hot in the US.

For anyone not keeping track, US CPI inflation is now nearly double the Fed’s 2% target and US PPI Inflation is more than triple that target.

PPI inflation was expected to fall in August, but instead it surged to 6.3%, its second highest level in 4 years.

And, month-over-month Headline PPI inflation surged +1.3%, more than doubling the +0.6% expected and the second largest jump since March 2021.

Meanwhile, month-over-month Core PPI inflation came in +133% above expectations.

The prices Americans are seeing now will look cheap in 12 to 24 months.

All you can do is own assets.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- The U.S. military is considering using the “Mother of All Bombs” against Iran’s energy and nuclear infrastructure if President Trump gives the green light for renewed strikes, according to CNN.

———

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — CNN, citing multiple U.S. officials, reports the United States has developed strike plans against Iran that includes dropping a GBU-43/B MOAB on Iranian nuclear and energy infrastructure. The MOAB is the most destructive non-nuclear bomb in the U.S. inventory.

One source said U.S. Central Command is planning to conduct the strikes quickly then pull out and declare victory.

For this plan to work, U.S. forces would have to pick a surface target, not any of Iran’s underground nuclear facilities. The GBU-43/B MOAB is intended for surface-level targets and does not have bunker-buster penetration capabilities.

—-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — One source to CNN reports that President Trump has ruled out sending in ground forces to invade Iran. President Trump remains focused on attempting to present a win to the American people without overly negatively affecting diplomacy with Iran.

One source to CNN reports these strikes are intended to create an off-ramp, allowing Trump to claim a win. CENTCOM appears to be preparing for retaliation by not replacing some servicemembers when troop rotations occur in a few weeks, lowering American personnel present in the CENTCOM area-of-responsibility.

———

🇷🇺⚔️🇺🇦🇷🇴 As part of its naval blockade against Ukraine, Russia is now trying to shut down maritime traffic in the Danube Delta negatively affecting Romania

Romania has launched another search-and-rescue operation in the Black Sea after the San Marino-flagged vessel — WINE TRADER — reportedly came under a drone attack just outside of Romanian territorial waters, approximately 13 nautical miles southeast of Sulina.

The vessel issued a distress call at around 07:00 local time after a fire broke out aboard. According to initial reports, 12 crew members were on board, with eight currently reported missing.

Sailors aboard nearby vessels reportedly said they witnessed the ship being struck by two drones.

Romanian authorities have deployed the ARSVOM rescue vessel Apollo and a helicopter to conduct search-and-rescue operations as efforts continue to locate the missing crew members.

On video is the Chemical/Oil Products tanker, WINE TRADER, surveyed from a ARSVOM helicopter. The ship departed from Tunisia and was due to dock in Sulina. It is owned by an Italian company.

WINE TRADER was hit a few 3-5 miles east of the other Chemical/Oil Products tanker, YARA J, that was disabled yesterday.

@CIG_telegram

———

🇳🇱 According to the latest data published by the Dutch government, 5 communities of the Netherlands are now minority Dutch:

Den Haag — 59.9% non-Dutch (seat of government)

Amsterdam — 59.6% non-Dutch (official & cultural capital)

Rotterdam — 56.5% non-Dutch (second largest city, economic capital)

Diemen — 54.5% non-Dutch

Vaals — 54.5% non-Dutch

Amstelveen — 53.0% non-Dutch

🔗 White Papers Policy Institute

———-

🇮🇷⚔️🇦🇪🇶🇦🇧🇭🇰🇼🇸🇦🇮🇱🇺🇸 Reuters: Iran’s missiles and drones have hit Gulf infrastructure sites at least 135 times, causing cascading failures that Gulf states have often concealed.

https://www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/iran-crisis-infrastructure-attacks/

📎 bonzerbarry

———

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪 — The Saudi-led coalition accused Yemen’s Houthis (Ansarallah) of acquiring advanced weapons with assistance from unnamed “regional parties,” urging the international community to prevent armed groups from obtaining sophisticated military technology.

The coalition says the Houthis have become the first such group to possess a combination of ballistic missiles, attack and suicide drones, and explosive-laden sea drones.

———-

🔋 🚗 📈 Nicolas Fulghum on X:

EV Adoption is booming around the world

The Hormuz crisis once again revealed the risks of an energy system reliant on fossil fuels and countries are taking notice.

Growing EV fleets have saved oil importers more than $20 billion since the start of the war.

Several markets saw a rapid acceleration in the adoption of fully electric vehicles (BEVs) following the closure of the Strait of Hormuz in March.

For instance, Australia’s BEV sales jumped 136% compared with the previous six months.

EVs offer oil importers a new route to energy security.

Denmarks booming EV fleet already displaces the equivalent of 14% of the country’s national oil consumption.

EVs saved China over $14 billion in crude oil imports in the six months since the Iran war began.

Surprisingly absent from the trend? The United States.

An early EV leader, US BEV share has dropped in recent months after the EV tax credit expired.

It is now being overtaken by countries like India and Brazil, with Japan not far behind.

Of the 56 countries we are tracking at Ember, 49 have overtaken the US on electric car adoption.

https://ember-energy.org/data/ev-sales-tracker/?entity=China

https://ember-energy.org/latest-insights/electric-energy-security-how-evs-are-reducing-oil-import-vulnerabilities/

📎 Nicolas Fulghum

———

BREAKING: The number of active home sellers in the US rose +1.2% MoM in September, or +17,276, to 1,510,784, the highest since March 2020.

At the same time, the number of active homebuyers fell -2.4%, or -23,161, to 928,892, the lowest on record.

This lifts the gap between active sellers and homebuyers to a record 581,892.

As a result, there were +62.6% more home sellers than buyers last month, the largest difference on record.

This percentage has more than doubled since November 2024.

By comparison, the 2021 low was -35.7%, when buyers outnumbered sellers by 633,854.

Hundreds of thousands of homebuyers have been priced-out.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

BREAKING: Just weeks before the midterm elections, President Trump is weighing potential replacements for Chief of Staff Susie Wiles as political rivals seize on her daughter’s foreign lobbying ties.

@GeneralMCNews

———

⚡🇮🇹In Southern Italy, protests against high fuel prices are intensifying, with farmers and truck drivers mobilized along the roads of Calabria, Puglia, Basilicata, and Sicily. Blockades at the Eni refinery in Taranto, linked to protests by workers of the steel mill, have slowed deliveries, causing shortages at several gas stations and long lines, fueled also by fears of further disruptions.

At some stations, diesel is exhausted, partly due to a sudden spike in demand. Station operators have reassured motorists that tankers are on the move and are regularly refueling the pumps. Starting tomorrow, a truck stoppage will take effect in Calabria and Sicily, scheduled to last until October 20.

@medmannews

———-

NEW - U.S. voters rank government corruption as top concern, above inflation and healthcare — Fox News poll

@disclosetv

————

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/ixu7e3d5jy/

———

NOW - Trump says Canada “will end up being the 51st state” of the United States, “just like Greenland.”

@disclosetv

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🇮🇱 🇬🇧⚡️— Netanyahu on Britain:

Do you know what happened in Britain, which has undergone Islamization?

Three thousand people in Britain have been arrested and prosecuted over posts on social media.

Only on one side, of course. Only on the right.

🇪🇺 — Legion Europa | Group Chat

———

JUST IN - Netflix is cutting about 1,000 jobs, its biggest round of layoffs in years

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BREAKING - Kremlin says Ukrainian drones hit two Russian oil refineries, Ukraine denies bit.ly/4e943WC

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

BREAKING: Rapper Diddy got head injury from a prison fight with Jamaican drug lord Dudus, TMZ reports

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

BREAKING 🚨 North Korea test-fires two types of submarine-launched strategic cruise missiles: KCNA

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JUST IN — Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, West Virginia, Arkansas, Arizona, Idaho, and Montana have all sued OpenAI in their own state courts, alleging that the artificial intelligence company’s ChatGPT chatbot is an unsafe product that has harmed children and deceived parents

@insiderpaper

———

BREAKING: Trump administration building case to strip Ilhan Omar of U.S. citizenship — WSJ

Follow @insiderpaper for more updates

———

Man Who Survived Cancer Twice, Severe COVID-19 and Fiery Car Crash Dies in Six Flags Roller Coaster Fall

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/cancer-survivor-dies-in-six-flags-roller-coaster-fall/

———-

— 🇮🇷/🇴🇲 NEW: Iran has sunk a cargo ship, the ‘GPS PRIDE’, in the Strait of Hormuz

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

— 🇮🇷/🇴🇲 NEW: Another vessel, the ‘CAPE DAO’, has been struck in the Gulf of Oman and is currently sinking

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: According to U.S. intelligence estimates, Iran has at least several thousands of anti-ship cruise missiles left in its arsenal, along with hundreds of mobile launch platforms that can quickly emerge and retreat back into tunnels

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

—❗️🇮🇷/🇴🇲 NEW: Iran has established a network of local fishermen and small merchant boats in the Strait of Hormuz that directly report locations of violating ships to the IRGC Navy

The IRGC then strikes the vessels & obtains the visual confirmation of successful hits from the small boats that are active inside the Strait.

This solves the problem of using radar to detect vessels, after some Iranian radars were destroyed by the U.S.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

— 🇷🇺/🇺🇸 NEW: FBI Director Kash Patel has arrived in Moscow to meet with the FSB Director

⚡️🇺🇸🇷🇺 The FBI has clarified that Kash Patel is currently attending a law enforcement appreciation event at Liberty University in Virginia. He is not in Russia.

@MedmanNews

———-

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 BREAKING: A Yemeni ballistic missile impacted King Khalid Airport in Riyadh moments ago

@Middle_East_Spectator

————

—❗️🇾🇪/🇸🇦 BREAKING: Initial reports that Ansarallah have shot down a Saudi ‘Eurofighter Typhoon’ fighter jet above the skies of Yemen

This remains unconfirmed as of now; it could also be a drone.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 BREAKING: After refusing to surrender and accept general amnesty, a full-scale offensive by Ansarallah to liberate the city of Taizz from the PLC has begun

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: Ansarallah is advancing with armored vehicles in western Taizz outskirts

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 BREAKING: Initial reports that Ansarallah have made a breakthrough and captured Jabal Han, the most important mountain west of Taizz city that overlooks the city

This remains unconfirmed until now.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

🇺🇸🇺🇦⚡- Overnight Starlink imposed restrictions on its terminals in Ukraine with connections dropping for speeds exceeding 60 km/h.

🇺🇸🇺🇦🇵🇱⚡- “Hey, Elon Musk, big man, are you playing politics with your products again? As your European customers, we are watching you,” - Radoslaw Sikorski, Foreign Minister of Poland.

🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺⚡- “The Kremlin has read reports in the media about restrictions on the Ukrainian Armed Forces’ access to Starlink. It would be better if such advanced technologies were not used for military purposes,” - Dmitri Peskov, Kremlin Spokesman.

🇺🇸🇺🇦⚡- President Trump is considering cutting intelligence sharing with Ukraine, with one administration official telling Semafor that “Trump is pretty pissed off. He could order it.”

The idea is being discussed in the White House, with CIA Director John Ratcliffe opposing it.

————

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡- Sources tell Reuters that ARAMCO’s headquarters in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia, was severely damaged, with multiple floors catching fire.

———-

🇺🇸⚡️- Inflation increased to 3.7% in September mainly due to gas and food price increases.

———-

🇷🇴🇷🇺⚡- BREAKING: Russian drones struck the tanker YARA J at the mouth of Sulina Canal, Romania, well inside NATO’s territory.

The vessel was carrying fuel bound for Ukraine and is crewed by Syrian sailors. The ship is currently on fire.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡- “U.S. forces destroyed an Iranian-affiliated dhow conducting surveillance and targeting U.S. Navy ships in the Gulf of Oman.

Over the past seven months, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has continued to indiscriminately target thousands of civilian mariners transiting regional waters in addition to U.S. Navy warships.

Crew members were safely removed prior to destruction of the dhow. Repatriation efforts are ongoing,” - CENTCOM.

————

BREAKING: Data center developer Digital Realty offers De Soto, Kansas, residents $1,000 a year for 10 years to ease opposition to its planned 1,400-acre data center.

@GeneralMCNews

———-

🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 U.S. president, Donald Trump, has expressed some regret over the assassination of Iranian Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, on February 28th 2026.

“We might have gone too far with the leaders because we don’t know who the hell we’re dealing with anymore,” the US president told supporters at a rally in Ohio.

“Nobody wants to be the president of Iran,” he added, noting that potential candidates were unwilling to assume the position.

🔗 https://www.jpost.com/middle-east/iran-news/article-911511

————

🇺🇸🇺🇦🇷🇺 Ukraine blames the U.S. for last night’s Russian missile attacks which left 600k Ukrainians without power.

Ukrainian president, Vladimir Zelensky, said he did not receive any advanced warning from “his partners” when Russia launched a new missile attack on several Ukrainian cities targeting power stations and power plants.

The American satellites Ukraine relies on for missile defense failed due to bad weather an excuse which Ukraine doesn’t buy.

The sources said the U.S. had failed to provide intelligence on Russian ballistic missile launches during one previous instance earlier this year, citing the need to focus more resources on the Middle East.

The missiles were launched from bases in the Bryansk Oblast at roughly 3 AM local time.

A cursory look at a weather satellite map of Russia shows extensive cloud cover over most of European Russia from where the missiles were launched which confirms the “bad weather” excuse invoked by the satellite operators. Dense cloud cover makes it virtually impossible to detect missile up until they breach the cloud cover and reach the stratosphere by the time which it is far too late for any preventive measures to be taken.

🔗 https://www.cbsnews.com/news/us-ukraine-intelligence-russia-war-missile-strikes-kyiv-power-outages/

———

🛢 🇺🇸 🇬🇱 Trump says massive oil drilling is coming to Greenland as the US turns the island into a missile shield

Fresh off a deal giving America a permanent military foothold on the Arctic island, Trump is promising an energy boom too:

“Any future attack on the United States will have to come across Greenland, where our Defense will routinely knock down drones, missiles, or any other form of weapon not yet even conceived.”

The defense side checks out, since the deal lets the US build bases and scout a Golden Dome missile defense site there.

The oil is the harder sell... Greenland’s government controls its own resources and blocked a US company from drilling in August, so expect Washington to lean HARD on Nuuk for permits before anyone pumps a barrel.

📎 Mario Nawfal

———

⚪️ 🇺🇸 📉 California is only 34% White.

California dropped from 85.2% White in 1950 to 34.3% White in 2026.

📎 swenstone0

———

🇺🇸 🇮🇱 🇮🇷 U.S. Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee:

Groceries and fuel prices are important, but Americans should ask themselves: Do your children have a future if Iran gets nuclear weaponry?

📎 Clash Report

———

📖 🇮🇷🛢 Hormuz is the largest energy supply shock on record, says McKinsey

At its peak, the Strait of Hormuz disruption took 14% of global oil and gas supply off the market.

That is more than double the 1970s oil shocks in relative terms, and more than six times the peak impact of Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Before the crisis, 91% of the energy flowing through Hormuz was oil and 9% was gas.

The system has held up better than that scale suggests.

3 buffers absorbed the shock, and none of them existed at this scale in 1973:

Strategic stocks: the IEA coordinated a release in March, with the US alone pledging 172M barrels.

Bypass pipelines: Saudi Arabia’s East-West line to the Red Sea and the UAE’s line to Fujairah.

Flexible trade: cargoes rerouted and refiners switched crude grades and suppliers.

Those buffers are being used up.

The US SPR is at its lowest since 1982.

China drew a record 47–57M barrels from storage in September.

The East-West pipeline was hit in September, and October brought the most ship attacks of the war.

A buffer protects you only once.

The question for 2027 is whether stocks get rebuilt before the next disruption.

Source: McKinsey Global Institute

📎 Jack Prandelli

———

Wall Street Journal reveals how the U.S. Space Force used electromagnetic warfare systems and created a “protective bubble” to capture Nicolás Maduro.

———

BREAKING: Gold prices fall toward $4,100/oz as US CPI inflation rises to 3.7%. https://t.co/KjzC3CuwWc

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

——-

BREAKING: Bank of America stock, $BAC, falls over -8% after the bank was fined $1.2 billion over money laundering violations and US CPI inflation pushes rate hike expectations higher.

The stock has now erased -$30 billion of market cap today. https://t.co/Lq6TtQ3V88

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

It’s official.

US CPI inflation has now been above the Fed’s 2% target for 67 consecutive months.

The last time inflation was below 2% in the US was in January 2021, amid a global economic lockdown.

Over this period, the value of the US Dollar has declined by -22.5%.

In other words, it now costs $129 to purchase the same goods and services that cost $100 in 2021.

Compounding inflation has become the new norm in the US.

Asset owners are the only winners.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

While CPI inflation up to 3.7%, inflation is much higher in many crucial categories:

1. Fuel Oil Inflation: +74.2%

2. Gasoline Inflation: +34.2%

3. Airline Fares Inflation: +22.4%

4. Car Repair Inflation: +5.8%

5. Hospital Services Inflation: +5.6%

6. Utility Gas Inflation: +5.0%

7. Electricity Inflation: +4.4%

8. Fruits and Vegetables Inflation: +3.7%

This marks the 67th-straight month with US CPI inflation above the Fed’s 2% target.

After 5+ years of persistent inflation, the top 1% of US households are now worth ~14 TIMES the bottom 50%.

Affordability is still getting worse.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

@GeneralMCNews

——-

BREAKING: Benjamin Netanyahu has held multiple talks with President Trump about a new joint U.S.-Israeli military operation against Iran ahead of both countries’ elections.

@GeneralMCNews

——-

BREAKING: Banking regulators are taking action over fears that advanced AI could trigger cyberattacks and threaten global financial stability.

@GeneralMCNews

———

NOW - Trump says that Russia and Ukraine “agreed [to a ceasefire] because I said they agreed.”

@disclosetv

——-

NOW - NATO Deputy Asst Secretary General says that “time frames for when we need to be ready to fight defensively have moved forward,” due to “Russian aggression,” and that “we have a year, something like that, to be fully ready.”

@disclosetv

——-

JUST IN - Pope Leo XIV has lung cancer, the Vatican says, after surgeons removed the lower lobe of his right lung in a 90-minute operation it called successful with no complications.

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/bl9p1s159n/

@disclosetv

———

🇺🇸❌🇵🇸🌹🚩 — Secretary of Interior, Doug Burgum, says that under Trump’s leadership, crews fixed all 48 monuments, restored 22 fountains, and eliminated over 1,000 Palestinian,DSA and Antifa graffiti sites across the city.

▶️Burgum said President Trump set out to make D.C. safe and beautiful again and he has delivered.

———

🇮🇱❌🇱🇧❗️ — MASSIVE: According to Al Hadath, Israel is expected to launch airstrikes inside Lebanon in response to the bomb explosion that killed 1 person and injured over 30 others.

———

🇩🇪❌🏴⁉️ — URGENT: German Eurofighter jets escorted a passenger aircraft from Corfu, Greece, to Nuremberg Airport following a reported aviation emergency.

▶️The aircraft landed safely, but police cordoned off the airport and flight operations were suspended.

▶️The reason for the military escort remains unclear.

▶️Separately, between 02:00 and 04:00 this morning, three pilots reported possible drone sightings near the airport, disrupting six flights.

▶️Police could not confirm the presence of a drone, and there is no established connection between the incidents.

———

🇸🇦📞🇾🇪🇾🇪 — Saudi-led Pan-Arab Coalition Commander in Yemen, Major General Turki Al-Maliki announces that there will be a wave of evacuation orders for parts of Houthi-controlled Yemeni Capital, Saana:

We will soon issue a warning to civilians to evacuate a site in Sanaa for the purpose of carrying out a qualitative operation.

———

#BREAKING | 🇸🇦 🇾🇪 — EXCLUSIVE: Saudi official tells The Global Eye: Days of Kingdom’s restraint towards Iran-backed Houthis are over

———

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — URGENT: The Saudi-led coalition’s Joint Forces Command has issued an immediate evacuation warning for the Yemen Oil Company’s Al-Sabaha Central Station in Sanaa, ahead of a planned military operation targeting the facility.

▶️Houthi military spokesman Yahya Saree has already threatened a severe response against Riyadh and warned civilians and workers to evacuate Saudi Aramco facilities.

———

BREAKING: Federal agents investigating Rep. Ilhan Omar have issued subpoenas to her relatives as they look into whether her family provided false information in immigration documents, The New York Times reports.

——-

JUST IN - The New York Post reports that Rep. Ilhan Omar’s staff helped change her birthdate in public records after her 2018 election to Congress, fueling allegations that she misrepresented her age to obtain US citizenship.

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JUST IN: 🇺🇸🇮🇷Iran has blown up another ship in the Strait of Hormuz moments ago, hitting it with a cruise missile

@MegaGeopolitics

———

JUST IN: 🇾🇪🇸🇦 An Ansarullah ballistic missile directly struck the Aramco headquarters in Dhahran, eastern Saudi Arabia.

@Megatron_ron

——-

🇮🇷⚡️ — WSJ, citing local Iranian residents, reports in recent weeks pro-government gatherings have became larger and more spread out as Iranian government messaging takes a more militant tone. Billboards in Tehran are promoting civilian training programs for MANPADS and sniper rifles.

Iran’s preparedness for a new round of war goes beyond public messaging; Iran has built makeshift fortifications at Pickaxe Mountain and the Natanz Nuclear Facility; and have supplies airports, seaports, and power plants to operate in a potential crisis.

———

🇧🇬🚢 2 commercial ships have been targeted in drone attacks just outside Bulgarian territorial waters in the Black Sea, resulting in one vessel sinking and another damaged, according to the Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev.

AZOV CONCORD sank 17 nautical miles east of Krapets following a drone strike, with a civilian ship assisting rescue operations.

CHELSEA 3 was struck by three drones 18 nautical miles off Byala, where Border Police rescued all 15 crew members.

The Prime Minister has summoned Russian Ambassador Eleonora Mitrofanova and requested urgent NATO surveillance assistance in the region.

None of the ships came from Ukrainian ports.

🔗 Faytuks Network

———

— 🇸🇦/🇾🇪 Yemeni Oil Company to Saba News Agency:

‘The facilities that the Saudi enemy threatened to bomb are empty of any petroleum materials, and the company’s oil stockpiles have already been moved to various safe locations.

We reassure everyone that the supply situation is completely stable and there is no cause for any concern.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️ — The Iran war has cost U.S. consumers an estimated $265 billion since late February, equivalent to roughly $2,000 per household, according to Moody’s Analytics chief economist Mark Zandi.

Higher energy prices account for approximately $1,100 of the average household’s additional costs, with that figure increasing by around $50 per week.

Gasoline now averages $4.34 per gallon, compared with $2.98 before the war, while diesel prices remain near record highs due to disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz.

———

🇮🇱🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 In recent days, unusual aerial activity by the Israeli Air Force has been reported over Syria and Iraq, reminiscent of the period leading up to February 28, indeed, just minutes ago, locals reported heavy fighter jet activity over central Israel.

This activity is most likely linked to readiness drills ordered by Israeli defense officials, given that the periods of heightened aerial activity did not coincide with any massive airstrikes against Lebanon or other countries.

Another indication that Israel is preparing for a new bombing campaign is today’s report by Israeli Channel 12, stating that Israeli PM Netanyahu discussed with President Trump the possibility of launching a joint attack against Iran, potentially even before the Israeli and U.S. midterm elections, scheduled for October 27 and November 3, respectively.

Meanwhile, Iran has been conducting missile tests at various sites across the country, checking the readiness of air defense units and the Aerospace branch of the IRGC responsible for surface-to-surface missile launches.

🔗 MoloMonitor

———

🇮🇱 Israel’s New Grand-Strategy;

Excerpts from an article published by the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), a think tank funded by the Tel Aviv University:

‘The United States is a “declining power” and, given its ongoing social and political shifts, will soon abandon Israel in any event.’

‘Severing ties with the United States is therefore not only inevitable, but essential to Israel’s independence.’

‘The state’s Jewish identity takes precedence over its democratic system of government.’

‘any arrangement with Arab actors is temporary and deceptive’

‘War is necessary, and preventive war is preferable because it secures a significant achievement at the outset.’

‘most Arab states are not genuine nation-states … undermining their stability is viewed as a natural process, one that Israel can manage more effectively than it can contend with strong nation-states, and one that it should even encourage.’

‘Defense is established by creating communities and outposts in all areas of friction with the Arab population, in Judea and Samaria, and in security zones in Syria, Lebanon, and the Gaza Strip.’

‘This deployment requires the IDF to implement the principles of preemptive attack and forward defense in practice, and further contributes to the destabilization of the “synthetic” Arab states.’

‘Preemptive, surprise strikes are viewed as the only way to achieve victory, giving offense precedence over defense.’

🔗 https://www.inss.org.il/publication/new-concept/

———

IAF

Cyberattacks Heat Freezers to 50°C and Empty Shelves Across Europe

Multiple cyberattacks are emptying grocery shelves across Europe right now.

In France, hackers forced refrigeration systems up to 50°C, spoiling fresh and frozen goods. One viewer’s photo shows a fully designed customer notice somehow already posted this morning.

In the Netherlands, an attack has paused distribution centers, with empty shelves expected.

These attacks match years of warnings about cyber risks to the food supply.

———

Farmers Furious as USDA Raises Corn Yield -- Kicking the Can on Food Crisis.

USDA just dropped its latest corn numbers, and prices fell right away. Questions (and anger) from farmers and analysts rose just as quickly.

In this report, Christian breaks down the new numbers, the reaction, and why this is similar to the systematic price suppression of oil this year -- delaying real price discovery and setting up a harder landing.

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- Saudi Aramco’s Shedgum Gas Plant in Al-Ahsa, eastern Saudi Arabia, was struck by Ansarullah projectiles.

Visual confirmation from minimap.technology shows plumes of smoke rising from the facility.

———-

IRAN SHIFTING TACTICS TO STEP UP ATTACKS ON SHIPPING BEFORE US MIDTERMS – RTRS CITES IRANIAN OFFICIALS ...

———-

WTI CRUDE FUTURES GAIN MORE THAN $1, REACHING $95.22 PER BARREL ...

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🇮🇷🇺🇸⚡️ — Iran has adopted new tactics for attacking vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in an effort to keep global oil prices elevated and influence the upcoming U.S. midterm elections, two senior Iranian officials told Reuters.

The officials said the strategy, approved at the highest levels of Iran’s leadership, began roughly 10 days ago and involves changes to both the frequency and methods of attacks against ships Tehran considers to be violating its restrictions.

Iran also plans to expand operations beyond the Strait of Hormuz into the Gulf of Oman and surrounding waters.

One Iranian official said Tehran intends to prevent President Trump from lowering oil prices ahead of the November elections, describing the strategy as a calculated effort to disrupt U.S. attempts to stabilize energy markets.

———

— 🇮🇱/🇸🇦/🇾🇪 i24 News: ‘What is happening in Saudi Arabia is not normal. The situation is out of control. Bin Salman has proven that Saudi Arabia is a fake nation, it doesn’t have the means to do anything against the Houthis, and definitely not against Iran.’

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

There are rumors that Iran has resumed enriching uranium, or at least installed centrifuges at one or more sites.

I don’t know if it’s true or not. I’m not claiming I have any special knowledge.

But this is what I’m hearing.

———

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 President Trump:

‘Wait till you see what we do to Iran. We’re going to do a number. Wait till you see. They’re just waiting.

Wait till you see what we do to Iran, because we’ve sort of had it. You know, we’ve had it.

But, you know, it doesn’t matter. The big thing is they were not going to have a nuclear weapon, and they won’t.‘

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

*HOUTHIS ATTEMPTING TO BUILD IRAN-DESIGNED BALLISTIC MISSILES WITH CHINESE PARTS: WSJ

*HOUTHI MISSILE UNDER DEVELOPMENT HAS 1,200-MILE RANGE, PUTTING SAUDI ARABIA AND ISRAEL IN REACH

*CHINESE FIRMS EMERGE AS BIGGEST SOURCE OF SEIZED MILITARY AND DUAL-USE GOODS BOUND FOR HOUTHIS ...

———

BREAKING: South Korea’s stock market is officially down more than -15% over the last 5 days.

Nasdaq 100 futures are currently down -1% in overnight trading. https://t.co/nXJZgBwzJc

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

Shocking stat of the day:

The combined wealth of the world’s tech billionaires surged +$845 billion in the first 9 months of 2026, the largest increase for this period of the year on record.

This brings the group’s combined wealth to a record $4.6 trillion, accounting for 36% of the total wealth tracked by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

This is despite tech billionaires representing only ~20% of all members in the index.

For perspective, billionaires outside the technology sector lost a combined -$62 billion over the same period.

Fortunes in the consumer sector fell by -$279 billion, while those in communications declined by -$92 billion.

Americans accounted for 94% of the Bloomberg Billionaires Index’s total net wealth gains in the first 9 months of 2026.

As a result, all 10 of the world’s richest people have been American since September 10th, the first such occurrence since data began in 2012.

The AI boom is generating unprecedented wealth at the top.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———

BREAKING: 14.5% of home-purchase agreements that went under contract fell through in September, the highest rate for any September on record.

The only higher readings occurred during the pandemic shock in March and April 2020.

By comparison, between 2017 and 2019, this metric never exceeded 12.0%.

Jacksonville posted the highest cancellation rate last month, at 19.9%, followed by Tampa at 18.8%, Las Vegas at 18.6%, and San Antonio at 18.5%.

In September, home sellers outnumbered buyers by ~63%, the widest gap on record.

US homebuyers are canceling deals at a historic pace.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

🚨 THE GODFATHER OF AI SOUNDS THE ALARM: HUMANITY COULD LOSE CONTROL!

Geoffrey Hinton, one of the pioneering scientists who helped create modern artificial intelligence, is issuing another chilling warning: Humanity may be developing a technology that could ultimately surpass human intelligence and escape our control!

———

It’s noteworthy that Ghawar is the world’s largest oil field, making roughly 3.8 Million Barrels of Oil daily

🛰 Several fires have been detected by NASA FIRMS at the Shedgum and Hawiyah Gas Plants.

——-

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — URGENT: King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has come under another attack.

▶️Initial reports suggest possible casualties, with multiple ambulances and medical evacuation flights observed near the airport.

——-

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — AS MANY AS 242 FLIGHTS HAVE REPORTEDLY BEEN CANCELLED AND ANOTHER 230 DELAYED, AMID UNCONFIRMED REPORTS OF A DIRECT HIT FOLLOWING ANOTHER BALLISTIC MISSILE ATTACK ATTRIBUTED TO YEMEN’S HOUTHI MOVEMENT (ANSAR ALLAH)!!!

———

🇸🇦🇧🇩❌🇾🇪❗️ — UNCONFIRMED REPORTS CLAIM THAT 41 BANGLADESHI UMRAH PILGRIMS WERE INJURED FOLLOWING A REPORTED HOUTHI MISSILE ATTACK TARGETING KING KHALID INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA.

▶️HELICOPTERS BELIEVED TO BE CONDUCTING EMERGENCY MEDICAL EVACUATIONS HAVE REPORTEDLY BEEN OBSERVED OPERATING BETWEEN THE AIRPORT AND THE NATIONAL GUARD HOSPITAL.

———

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — URGENT: APPROXIMATELY 10 AMBULANCES ARE RUSHING TOWARD A TERMINAL AT KING KHALID INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN RIYADH.

———

🇮🇱🇦🇪❌☪️ 🏴 — UAE prosecutors say the Omani co-pilot accused of attempting to crash a passenger aircraft near Israel had planned a suicide attack on Ben Gurion Airport.

▶️Investigators say he became radicalized by ISIS and the Muslim Brotherhood while studying in Melbourne, Australia, in 2017, consumed extremist material glorifying 9/11, and pursued aviation intending to carry out a similar attack.

▶️He used two previous Tel Aviv flights to study the airport before attempting the attack on his third.

——-

#BREAKING | 🇺🇸 🇸🇦 🇾🇪 — Trump says U.S. may join Saudi strikes on Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthis after Riyadh airport attack

We may. We’re going to look at it. We just found out about the recent attack. We will make a decision. We move very quickly.

🌐 — The Global Eye | Subscribe ✈️

———

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — URGENT: Saudi authorities confirm that 12 people were killed and 309 others injured in Saturday’s Houthi-attributed attack on King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh.

The fatalities include four Saudi nationals and eight foreign residents:

🇧🇩2 Bangladeshis

🇺🇸1 American

🇯🇴1 Jordanian

🇸🇾1 Syrian

🇵🇸1 Palestinian

🇸🇩1 Sudanese

🇪🇬1 Egyptian

▶️Several of the injured remain in critical condition, according to Saudi authorities.

———

🇸🇦🏴❌🇾🇪🇮🇷 — MASSIVE: Saudi Arabia’s Grand Mufti, Sheikh Saleh bin Fawzan Al-Fawzan (SUNNI), has issued a religious call urging Saudi troops and coalition forces to fight the Iran-backed Houthi militia (SHIA) in Yemen.

———

🇮🇹⚖️ An Islamic arbitration body in Padua, Italy, reportedly handles disputes between Muslims using Sharia law.

The body is described as an arbitration chamber rather than a formal court, but its activities have raised questions about the use of religious rules to resolve disputes outside Italy’s ordinary judicial system.

———

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — 12 SAUDI WARPLANES HAVE TAKEN OFF FROM AL-KHARJ AIRBASE AMID ONGOING HOUTHI BALLISTIC MISSILE THREATS.

❓IT REMAINS UNCLEAR WHETHER THE AIRCRAFT WERE DEPLOYED TO INTERCEPT INCOMING THREATS OR TO CONDUCT RETALIATORY AIRSTRIKES AGAINST HOUTHI POSITIONS IN YEMEN.

———

🇸🇦❌🇾🇪❗️ — URGENT: TERMINAL 4 AT KING KHALID INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT IN RIYADH HAS BEEN STRUCK BY A HOUTHI BALLISTIC MISSILE.

THERE ARE ONLY 5 TERMINALS IN RIYADH AIRPORT ALL IN ALL.

———

— 🇺🇸/🇷🇺/🇺🇦 NEW: President Trump has announced an ‘energy ceasefire’ between Russia and Ukraine, in which both sides would refrain from targeting each other’s refineries, powerplants, and the electrical grid

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told Axios that the announcement came as a surprise to him, because nothing had been discussed with Ukraine.

However, he said Ukraine is ready to implement it if Russia does so too. The Kremlin has not yet commented.

@Middle_East_Spectator

————

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇷 NEW: The IRGC Navy announces that an oil tanker struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 BREAKING: The IRGC Navy announces that all vessels turning off their transponders will be considered enemy vessels and ‘dealt with harshly and decisively’

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: Saudi Arabia announces that Dammam Airport was struck by a ballistic missile for the second time in 24 hours

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

— 🇮🇷/🇴🇲 NEW: Iran has struck an oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman

@Middle_East_Spectator

———-

🇮🇷🇦🇪⚡️- BREAKING: The IRGC Navy has issued a warning over VHF Channel 16 to six vessels anchored 16 nautical miles NNW of Ras al-Khaimah, UAE, ordering them to leave the area and proceed further south to the Dubai anchorage, according to Ambrey Intelligence.

———-

🇺🇸🇷🇺⚡️- Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1) announces he will be introducing bipartisan legislation to block the purchase of Russian oil, only one day after President Trump announced the plans on Truth Social.

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- Several flights headed for King Abdulaziz International Airport in Jeddah, western Saudi Arabia, are diverting or entering holding patterns.

The airport is likely under an Ansarullah missile and drone attack for the second time in twelve hours.

———-

🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡- US disabled an Iranian tanker, flying a Panamanian flag, in the Gulf of Oman that attempted to violate the US blockade of Iranian sea ports.

———-

🇪🇺🇷🇺⚡- “Western intelligence agencies have warned Europe’s defence bosses that Russia is stepping up efforts to assassinate them, prompting companies to increase personal security around their top executives.

With progress on the battlefield deadlocked in Ukraine and Russia’s economy struggling, the Kremlin has ordered an expansion of sabotage and “hybrid” operations in Europe as it seeks to fatally weaken support for Kyiv in the coming months.

European intelligence agencies have warned that chief executives and other senior employees at defence companies were being targeted by Kremlin operatives.

Executives at smaller companies — especially those involved in the manufacturing of drones or their components — are also in their sights,” - Financial Times.

———

🇫🇷⚡️- French President Emmanuel Macron reaches an all-time low approval rating of 15% according to a new poll.

———-

🇻🇦⚡️- Pope Leo announces that a small nodule was located in his lung and that he will undergo surgery to remove it.

The tumor was discovered very early and the Pope is otherwise perfectly healthy.

———-

JUST IN - The word “ragebait” has been named Germany’s “Youth Word of the Year” for 2026.

Read here: https://www.disclose.tv/id/zcm115dnzw/

@disclosetv

———

JUST IN: 🇮🇷 A third oil tanker struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz today

Iran’s IRGC Navy announced a third oil tanker struck a naval mine in the Strait of Hormuz today, triggering an explosion and a major fire.

The IRGC says the shuttle tanker was carrying 750,000 barrels of crude oil when it attempted to transit an unauthorized route despite repeated warnings from Iranian naval forces.

@Megatron_ron

———-

🇺🇸🛫🗺❌🇮🇷 — The U.S. Air Force is moving large numbers of aerial refueling tankers from the United States to European bases, raising concerns over preparations for potential renewed military strikes against Iran.

▶️Nearly 20 refueling aircraft have been tracked heading toward the region over the 3 days.

Something is going to happen...

———-

BREAKING: Poland convenes an emergency security meeting over a possible attack targeting Prime Minister Donald Tusk and Defense Minister Władysław Kosiniak-Kamysz.

@GeneralMCNews

———

🚨 PANAMA ROCKED BY MORE THAN 200 AFTERSHOCKS!

The earth continues to tremble after a massive 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck Friday! Panama has reportedly experienced more than 200 aftershocks, leaving residents on edge as the ground continues to shake.

Jesus warned that earthquakes would be among the signs preceding His return.

More details below ⬇️

#EndTimeHeadlines #Earthquake #Disasters #Panama

https://endtimeheadlines.org/2026/10/panama-rocked-by-more-than-200-aftershocks-as-powerful-7-7-earthquake/

———-

BREAKING: Ukraine’s President Zelensky says the energy ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia announced by President Trump just minutes ago “is news to me,” per Axios.

“If President Trump negotiated it with Putin, please tell us when the ceasefire begins,” Zelensky said.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

BREAKING 🚨 Poland holds emergency meeting following possible assassination attempts on Prime Minister and defence minister: interior ministry

READ: https://t.co/rC5fmn6AHB

———-

Breaking: Russia says it prefers ‘long-term peace’ to a ‘ceasefire’ in Ukraine — refuses to confirm whether an energy ceasefire is in place

———-

BREAKING: Major French supermarket chains Intermarche and Cooperative U were hit by a cyberattack that caused their refrigerators to defrost, the two retailing giants said.

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/french-supermarket-chains-cyberattack-refrigerator/

———-

BREAKING: Explosion in northern Israel near the Lebanese border badly wounded eight people on Monday, emergency services said, with the military saying soldiers and helicopters had been dispatched to the site

Follow @insiderpaper for more updates

———-

BREAKING: Rep. Ilhan Omar’s DC home raided and searched by Federal agents

READ: https://insiderpaper.com/rep-ilhan-omar-washington-dc-home-raided-by-dhs/

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BREAKING - Spain’s Supreme Court on Monday maintained its suspension of the voting rights of overseas voters who obtained Spanish nationality under a law for the descendants of exiles of the Franco dictatorship, potentially excluding thousands from November’s election.

READ: https://t.co/nzil7zAJhE

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———

🚨🇺🇸🇮🇷 Strait of Hormuz toll system just expanded beyond oil.

IRGC-linked state media says tech giants like Google, Meta, and Amazon must pay $15 billion annually for transit fees, secure licenses, and hand over cable maintenance to Iranian firms for subsea infrastructure in the Persian Gulf.

———-

BREAKING: Ukraine’s President Zelensky says Russia is blocking grain exports from Ukraine and an “agricultural crisis” will begin within 2 months.

“The US isn’t feeling the effects of this, which is why the focus is only on energy,” he says.

“There won’t be enough food for countries across Africa, some Asian countries, and the Middle East.”

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

———-

🚨 AMERICA’S COST-OF-LIVING CRISIS IS SPIRALING OUT OF CONTROL — AND THE WORST MAY STILL BE AHEAD!

Millions of Americans are being financially crushed as grocery bills soar, food bank lines grow longer, and families struggle just to keep food on the table!

Now, escalating war in the Middle East, attacks on oil infrastructure, and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz threaten to unleash ANOTHER devastating wave of price increases!

Diesel prices have reportedly surged more than 70% in a year, threatening to drive up the cost of EVERYTHING from groceries to everyday necessities!

————

Millions of Americans could confront a harsh winter marked by repeated snowstorms and freezing temperatures that turn stretches of the country into an Arctic battleground. A recent long-range forecast model from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration revealed a major shift in heavy precipitation patterns between December 2026 and February 2027.

That updated map points to rising odds of above-average precipitation along the entire U.S. East Coast, running from southern Maine to the tip of Florida and extending inland across Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas. On the West Coast, California is also projected to receive above-average moisture, which would likely translate into deep snow accumulations in the Sierra Nevada and other high elevations.

Extra precipitation does not automatically mean snow, yet multiple independent forecasters say at least 19 states should prepare for a potentially active storm season. Independent forecaster Direct Weather stated, “We do expect nor’easters to be a frequent event this year up the East Coast, and these do tend to be snow producing at least for somebody depending on where that low pressure system is located.”

———

🇸🇦🇾🇪 The Wall Street Journal reports that Saudi Arabia is suffering from a shortage of interceptor missiles and other air defence systems due to the recent heavy daily Ansarallah missile and drone attacks on its territory.

Saudi Arabia is reportedly struggling to defend its entire airspace with adequate air defence, and is redeploying air defence batteries around the country to protect key energy facilities, as well as its palaces.

Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman is reportedly carefully moving between “heavily guarded palaces equipped with bunkers” alongside handpicked security guards.

Yesterday, two Ansarallah cruise missiles managed to breach Saudi airspace for over 800 km, with one being intercepted over King Khalid International Airport and the other impacting.

@Megatron_ron

———-

JUST IN: 🇸🇦🇾🇪 Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, is once again under ballistic missile attack

Multiple explosions can be heard

@Megatron_ron

———

— 🇮🇷/🇴🇲 NEW: Iran struck two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

— 🇺🇸/🇮🇱/🇮🇷 NEW: There is an unusual amount of aerial activity over Israel, and large amounts of American refuelers and long-range bombers have deployed to bases in Europe and the Middle East during the past week

In my estimation, it seems that the decision for a joint U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran has already been made, and it is now only a matter of timing.

The frequent and large-scale exercises of Iranian ballistic missiles and drones in recent days also point towards Iran preparing for an escalation.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

— 🇬🇧/🇮🇷 NEW: UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham has officially accused the IRGC of being behind the RAF Fairford plot

The UK has summoned the Iranian ambassador to demand an apology.

@Middle_East_Spectator

———

🇸🇦🇾🇪⚡️ — The CEOs of ExxonMobil, TotalEnergies, Shell, Chevron and BP have been removed from the agenda of the WPC Energy Congress in Riyadh following deadly Houthi (Ansarallah) attacks on the Saudi capital, Reuters reports.

The executives had been expected to attend the conference, which began Sunday, but were absent from the updated schedule released Monday. Saudi authorities proceeded with the event despite heightened security concerns.

Saudi Energy Minister Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman assured attendees that their safety remained a priority but acknowledged that “our gathering here does not mean the risk is gone.”

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- BREAKING: Visual confirmation of a massive fire in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, following an impact by an Ansarullah ballistic missile.

——-

🇺🇸 🇮🇷 💵 The Iran War is costing Americans $2,000 per household

📎 Steve Rattner

———-

IRAN ACCUSES UK OF STAGING FALSE FLAG ATTACK AT RAF FAIRFORD

IRAN’S FOREIGN MINISTRY HAS CATEGORICALLY DENIED BRITISH ACCUSATIONS LINKING TEHRAN TO A SECURITY INCIDENT AT RAF FAIRFORD.

TEHRAN ACCUSED LONDON OF FABRICATING ALLEGATIONS AND ORCHESTRATING A “FALSE FLAG” OPERATION, DEMANDING CONCRETE EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE CLAIMS.

IRAN ALSO WARNED THAT THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT WOULD BEAR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY CONSEQUENCES ARISING FROM THE ACCUSATIONS. ...

———

NYMEX WTI CRUDE NOVEMBER FUTURES SETTLE AT $93.74 A BARREL, UP $1.89, 2.06%. ...

NYMEX GASOLINE NOVEMBER FUTURES SETTLE AT $3.2917 A GALLON. ...

RUSSIA’S NOVAK: OPEC+ HAS DISCUSSED TRANSPORTATION

COSTS, WHICH HAVE SIGNIFICANTLY INCREASED

NYMEX DIESEL NOVEMBER FUTURES

SETTLE AT $4.7232 A GALLON. ...

BRENT CRUDE FUTURES SETTLE 1.84% HIGHER AT $106.65/BBL, UP $1.93 ...

NYMEX NATURAL GAS NOVEMBER

FUTURES SETTLE AT $3.1670/MMBTU.

———-

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡️- Three big booms heard in Riyadh, according to Reuters.

🇮🇱⚡- Intense Israeli aerial activity over the West Bank and the Galilee region, northern Israel.

🇮🇷⚡- Iranian fighter jet activity over Kermanshah, western Iran.

🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡- Ansarullah attack against Jeddah International Airport, western Saudi Arabia. Several aircraft are currently in holding positions.

— 🇮🇷/🇴🇲 NEW: Another oil tanker was struck by Iran, according to UKMTO in a delayed report

This marks the 4th vessel to be struck in the Strait of Hormuz since yesterday.

———

A dangerous tropical weather pattern is taking shape as THREE named storms — Rachel, Isaias, and Simon — threaten to unleash significant impacts across multiple regions!

From the U.S. West Coast and southwestern Mexico to the central Gulf Coast, millions could face heavy rainfall, dangerous flooding, damaging winds, and widespread disruptions.

With multiple storm systems developing simultaneously, residents in potentially affected areas are being urged to closely monitor forecasts and prepare for rapidly changing conditions.

#BreakingWeather #TropicalStorms #HurricaneSeason #ExtremeWeather #EndTimeHeadlines

———

🚨 BREAKING: MASSIVE EARTHQUAKE ROCKS PANAMA — TSUNAMI THREAT ISSUED!

A powerful 7.7 magnitude earthquake has violently shaken Panama, sending terrified residents fleeing into the streets as buildings swayed and tsunami alerts were issued across multiple countries in Central and South America!

Authorities are warning that dangerous tsunami waves could threaten coastal communities as aftershocks continue to rattle the region.

More details below ⬇️

#breakingnews #tsunamiwarning #earthquake #birthpangs #panamaquake

https://endtimeheadlines.org/2026/10/powerful-7-7-earthquake-strikes-triggering-tsunami-threat/

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NEW: The State Department’s inspector general is investigating U.S. Ambassador to Greece Kimberly Guilfoyle and the embassy she leads.

The probe comes after longtime Trump donor Eric Deters accused Guilfoyle of requesting $100,000 to pay her American Express bill before her 2025 confirmation hearing, allegedly in exchange for access to senior Trump administration officials.

Deters provided messages appearing to show Guilfoyle instructing him to wire the money directly to American Express so it “won’t show up anywhere.” He said he never paid.

A senior diplomatic official described the investigation as rare and said it had alarmed State Department officials.

Source: NBC News

———-

Pakistan has ‘substantial forces’ deployed in Saudi Arabia: foreign ministry

Pakistan forces in Saudi deployed in defensive capacity: foreign ministry

———-

BREAKING 🚨 Hurricane Isaias strengthens to major category 3 storm, US agency says

———-

JUST IN - Iran Guards say struck tanker transiting Hormuz via ‘illegal route’

READ: https://t.co/oGiB04k2TI

Follow @InsiderPaper for more news

———-

JUST IN - NFL legend Mike Ditka dead at 86

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🇺🇸🇮🇷⚡️- The pilot of the U.S. F-15E fighter jet shot down in early April 2026 told U.S. intelligence officials that drones had swarmed in a “jellyfish formation” while flying over Iran, moments before being shot down, similar to the formation seen in the video above.

Rerum Novarum can confidently state that the footage shown depicts the testing of Iran’s Jaljaleh anti-aircraft mine system.

———-

🇺🇸⚡️- Political commentator Katie Zacharia has reportedly been chosen as the next White House press secretary.

———-

🇺🇸🇷🇺⚡- BREAKING: President Trump announces a diesel deal with Russia after speaking directly with the Russian President, Vladimir Putin.

According to Trump, Russia will “immediately supply over 300,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel to the American and Global Marketplace, another 500,000 Tons during November, and 1,000,000 Tons immediately thereafter. Additionally, based on the condition of their Diesel Refineries, Russia will then deliver, within a short period of time, 3,000,000 Tons of Diesel Fuel.”

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🇺🇸⚡️- The ATF has announced it will end enforcement of the NFA regarding short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, and suppressors. This is following the Department of Justice’s decision not to appeal the NRA’s federal court victory in Jensen v. ATF.

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⚠️ Confirmed: Network data show a disruption to internet connectivity in #Panama after a ~7.7 magnitude earthquake, with tsunami alerts being issued for several countries on the southern Pacific coast

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BREAKING: The DNC is suing the Trump administration over more than $12 million in taxpayer-funded ads promoting Trump, saying the spending violates federal law ahead of the midterms.

@GeneralMCNews

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🚆⚡️🇺🇦— The metro in Kyiv has lost power: trains on the green line have stopped moving towards the right bank

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—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: The PLC offensive on Bab Al-Mandab is taking place with heavy Saudi air support

Dozens of jets are currently bombing Ansarallah positions in Jabal Kahboob and Omari Camp.

@Middle_East_Spectator

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—❗️🇺🇸/🇮🇷 BREAKING: The IRGC Navy announces that violating vessels will now be pursued and targeted throughout the region, beyond the Strait of Hormuz

@Middle_East_Spectator

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— 🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: Saudi fighter jets just bombed Sanaa, the capital of Yemen

@Middle_East_Spectator

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— 🇸🇦/🇦🇪 NEW: FlyDubai has suspended flights to Riyadh, Yanbu and Abha, Saudi Arabia

@Middle_East_Spectator

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— This deal (if true) shows 3 things:

1. All ‘tensions’ between the U.S. and Russia are performative, just like the sanctions, that are now being waived because the U.S. desperately needs it.

2. The United States does not care about Ukraine even one bit. Zelensky will be furious that Trump is injecting the Russian economy with cash.

3. Russia only cares about its own interests and has no spine.

@Middle_East_Spectator

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—❗️🇸🇦/🇾🇪 NEW: Saudi ARAMCO facilities are burning in Jeddah after a Yemeni attack

@Middle_East_Spectatot

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🗳 🇵🇪 🛠 Hitler Mussolini Flores elected Mayor of Queropalca, Peru, securing 34.54% of the vote.

🔴 Hitler Mussolini Flores (AN): 34.5% ✅️

🔵 Gaspar Zambrano (RP): 30.8%

🟡 Itala Yovana Vara (PpT): 28.2%

📎 Pamphlets

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🇾🇪🇸🇦⚡- Saudi Arabia will not agree to any ceasefire with the Ansarullah until the PLC recaptures all lost territory in Yemen, AFP reports.

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🇺🇸⚔️🇮🇷 Increased number of C-17 cargo flights from EUCOM to CENTCOM amidst renewed threats from the Trump Admin to resume the war on Iran

@CIG_telegram

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🇺🇸❌🚢 After Kpler reported that some shipping companies and ship captains may be paying Iran tolls for safe travel through the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. Treasury added 17 new oil tankers to its sanctions list for transporting Iranian hydrocarbons.

While most tankers exclusively anchored in Iranian ports, the other tankers on the list like the GAS MARAKUA and ZIXUAN, for example, who are under Iranian sanctions as well, transported Emirati and Qatari LPG and crossed the Strait of Hormuz through the Southern/Omani Lane.

🔗 https://www.cnbc.com/2026/10/08/iran-treasury-sanctions-shadow-fleet.html

📎 MenchOSINT

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🇮🇷⚔️🚢 The IRGC-Navy has issued a statement following its latest attack on a ship off the coast of the UAE

• Shipping companies working together with the US will face sanctions, while those belonging to companies violating Iran’s authority will face punitive measures.

• The IRGC says from now on, actions against vessels violating regulations will not be limited to the Strait of Hormoz alone. Ships using unauthorized routes could be pursued and targeted anywhere in the the region.

This explains the attacks today and yesterday when a ship near Qatar was struck.

🔗 Arya

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🇨🇦 🇮🇸 🇬🇱 Today is Leif Erikson Day.

The day commemorates the arrival of Erikson and the Norse in what is now Canada around 1000 years ago and the founding of the Norse settlement of L’Anse aux meadows in Newfoundland and Labrador.

🎨 Hans Dahl

📎 Craig Baird

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📝 🇺🇸 🇷🇺 Clément Molin on X: Donald Trump wants to buy diesel from Russia to address the shortage, which raises several points:

▫️There have been 98 strikes on Russian refineries since the beginning of the year

▫️A large number of storage and export facilities have been damaged/destroyed

▫️Some of the 32 refineries (including some of Russia’s main ones) have stopped part or all of their operations

1⃣ Russia does not have the diesel production capacity to export as much

2⃣ Russia lacks storage and export capacity and security after the Ukrainian strikes

3⃣ Russia is already facing a severe diesel shortage; accepting this ‘deal’ would only make it worse.

📎 Clément Molin

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🇺🇦⚔️🇷🇺 Russian diesel/gasoil shipments sink to lowest levels in more than a decade

📝 Anon: 1. The Ukrainians finally managed, after multiple years of drone campaigns against Russian refineries, to take out the majority of Russia’s refining capacity and force them to restrict exports

2. The Russians saw this situation coming, restricted exports for a few months to build up a stockpile and drive diesel prices higher, and now they’re going to sell off that stockpile at sky high prices, sanctions free.

The answer could also be somewhere in the middle of course.

The signal that it’s more likely to be the latter than the former, three weeks ago the Russian government extended its export restrictions to the end of October. Earlier today they abruptly cancelled the restrictions at the same moment Trump announced he was lifting sanctions.

If they were actually constrained by domestic needs, this wouldn’t make sense.

@CIG_telegram

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🌀 🇺🇸 🛢 71.51% of oil and 58.84% of gas production is now offline in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico.

📎 OilPrice.com

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🌀 🇺🇸 🛰 Category 3 Hurricane Isaias is barreling toward the Florida Panhandle with sustained winds of 115 mph and gusts up to 150 mph.

📎 Colin McCarthy

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🚨 EUROPE IS PREPARING FOR THE UNTHINKABLE!

When furniture stores begin preparing to become EMERGENCY SHELTERS and makeshift HOSPITALS, you know something is changing!

IKEA stores in Denmark could be transformed into emergency shelters as Europe braces for potential blackouts, infrastructure attacks, sabotage, and other major crises.

More details below ⬇️

#IKEA #bombshelters #rumosofwar #ww3

https://endtimeheadlines.org/2026/10/ikeas-danish-stores-could-become-shelters-as-europe-boosts-preparedness/

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A large fire broke out at the Novoshakhtinsk oil terminal in Russia’s Rostov region following Ukrainian drone attacks, hours after the phone call between Trump and Putin.

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Kamala Harris’s husband, Doug Emhoff, has privately told people he would prefer she not run for president again, while some major Democratic donors have warned her that a 2028 bid would be a longshot.

Harris has not decided whether to run but has been laying the groundwork by meeting donors, hiring political staff and campaigning for Democrats ahead of the November midterms.

Many Democrats, including some close to Harris, believe the party needs a fresh candidate after her 2024 defeat to Trump.

Source: WSJ

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U.S. official to Axios:

Zelensky is misreading the room. By continuing to hit refineries, he is eroding the good will that he has built with Trump over the last six months.

The attacks on the refineries cause pain in Russia, but it causes pain for the U.S., too.

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BREAKING: China’s central bank officially bought +23 tonnes of gold in September, its largest monthly purchase since September 2023.

This follows +20 tonnes purchased in both August and July, and marks its 23rd consecutive monthly gold purchase.

So far in 2026, China has officially acquired +103 tonnes of gold, raising total holdings to a record 2,410 tonnes.

China is now the world’s 5th-largest gold holder, following the US, Germany, Italy, and France.

At this pace, it could surpass Italy and France as early as this year, which hold 2,452 tonnes and 2,437 tonnes, respectively.

China is aggressively buying the dip in gold.

(@TheKobeissiLetter)

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Since 2021, the average credit card interest rate has surged +6.5 percentage points.

By comparison, the 5-year average before the 2020 pandemic was 14.94%.

Meanwhile, the average interest rate on a 5-year new car loan rose +0.4 percentage points in August, to 7.54%, its highest since August 2025.

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