Mario Nawfal

🇱🇧🇪🇺 Lebanon’s president welcomed a new EU mission to TRAIN THE ARMY FOR 3 YEARS, as UN peacekeepers’ time runs out. EU FM approved the mission today to strengthen the Lebanese Army and Internal Security Forces in border control, territorial reach, and internal security. President Aoun called it a sign of European confidence in Lebanon’s legitimate forces and state control of arms. UNIFIL’s mandate ends this year, and Beirut is seeking to strengthen its own institutions rather than rely on peacekeepers indefinitely. Whether the training makes a real difference on the ground remains to be seen. Writer: Lucas

🚨🇸🇦 Saudi Civil Defense issued an early-warning alert for the city of Khamis Mushait over potential danger, later confirming the threat had passed. The coalition says it intercepted a ballistic missile headed toward the area earlier today. Repeated alerts highlight ongoing Houthi threats to southwestern Saudi, and pressure on its air defenses. Source: Saudi Civil Defense / Writer: Lucas

🇺🇸 Seriously, WHAT'S GOING ON with some people? A Florida intensive care nurse has been arrested after a patient’s family member watched her SIPHON fentanyl from a critically ill patient’s IV and pocket the syringe. Leslie Ann Pope, 54, allegedly returned the next night and tried again before being stopped. Police say video shows her handling the protective caps on the equipment. She faces felony charges for grand theft of a controlled substance, possession without a prescription, and fraudulently obtaining the drug. The hospital says she no longer works there. Source: Port St. Lucie Police Department / Writer: Lucas

🇺🇦 Rescuers pulled this little orange cat from the rubble in Ukraine after a Russian strike killed 20 people over the weekend. Somehow, the little guy came out unharmed. Humans aren't the only ones caught up in this war. These little animal rescue stories don't always make the headlines, but they matter too. Glad someone stopped for him. 🧡 Writer: Daniyal t.co/vSGQVhnuls

🇺🇸 A Fort Hood survivor wishes the shooter could die 13 times, just not on a livestream. She was 9 months pregnant when Nidal Hasan killed 13 people at Fort Hood in 2009, and now she wants to be there to look him in the eye and tell him, “I survived you.” Hegseth plans to stream the whole firing squad execution online in December, though Trump still gets the last word on that. The livestream is what she can’t get behind. She’s scared kids could end up watching it. She’s spent 17 years trying to forget what she saw that day, and the last thing she wants is for anyone else to have to see it too. Source: Fox News / Writer: Daniyal

🇺🇸🇪🇺🇮🇷 29 countries have now jointly condemned Iran over alleged assassination plots, sabotage, cyberattacks and other covert operations. There may be another layer to that sudden unity. Europe is increasingly dependent on Washington, from Russia policy to energy, and he suspects governments may be lining up behind Trump because they need American support elsewhere. “If they think he wants their help in Iran... they will toe the line.” Brandon doesn’t deny that Iran has extensive covert networks abroad. What he questions is whether every recent allegation fits a coherent Iranian strategy, particularly claims involving attacks on Jewish targets in Europe. His suspicion is that the diplomatic groundwork for something larger may already be forming. Not necessarily because Europe wants another war. Because it may feel it cannot afford to tell Washington no. @WeTheBrandon

🇺🇸🇮🇷 The Iran War is estimated to be costing American households UP TO $2,000 each. Independent analyses put energy costs near $900-$1,000 per household, while interest-rate effects around $400, and direct military spending is $300-$340. Added together, those pieces land in the $1,600-$1,800 range, with some estimates reaching $2,000. Most of the bill is already showing up at the pump and in higher borrowing costs rather than as a single line item in the defense budget. Source: Moody's Analytics / Writer: Lucas

🇮🇩🇮🇱🇪🇹 An Ethiopian Airlines cargo plane bound for Ben Gurion was turned back after Israeli authorities spotted an Indonesian crew member on board. The Boeing 737 returned to Ethiopia, changed crew, then completed the flight. Indonesia has no diplomatic ties with Israel, and its citizens require special entry permits. The incident shows how tightly Israel is now filtering crews from countries with no formal ties, as a result of the FlyDubai scare and the broader push to close gaps in airspace access. Source: Israel National News / Writer: Lucas

You're a Member of the European Parliament. Maybe have your team verify something instead of posting BS and adding "if confirmed" And maybe consider deleting it and posting a correction when your stupid post is debunked And since you're attacking me, check my profile, we have a policy of writing the source(s) for each and every post. And stating the obvious: Unlike you, I am not a member of Parliament

🚨 JUST IN: “Breaking Bad” star RJ Mitte reported dead at 34 RJ Mitte, best known for playing Walter White Jr. in Breaking Bad, has reportedly died in Texas. TMZ reports that a county official confirmed his death and that authorities are investigating it as a suspected suicide. Mitte, who had cerebral palsy, was also an advocate for disability inclusion in Hollywood. He was just 34 years old. Rest in peace. Writer: Oliver

🇵🇦 A travel content creator recorded himself running as a power line BLOWS during Panama’s 7.7 earthquake 😬 The quake hit southern Panama on Friday, damaging buildings, cutting power, and sending people into the streets. If electrical wiring starts to explode, running sounds like a natural thing to do 💀 Writer: Lucas t.co/ROGftji6YB

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia’s decision to restart the fight with the Houthis may have been driven by something we still haven’t seen. The strike that reignited the conflict looked wildly disproportionate to the immediate trigger. So Riyadh might have been acting on pressure or encouragement from its partners. Saudi Arabia may have assumed that if it moved, the U.S. and others would firmly back it. Instead, once the Houthis retaliated, that support suddenly looked a lot thinner. This theory is still speculative. But if it’s right, the real story may not be why Saudi Arabia attacked... but who convinced MBS he wouldn’t be left alone afterward. @WeTheBrandon

🇺🇸 Mamdani accused ICE of acting like a LAWLESS FORCE after an agent opened fire on a man in Manhattan with his child in the vehicle. DHS rejected the claim, saying agents are enforcing the law amid rising assaults on officers. Mamdani sees the shooting as proof of agency misconduct, while federal officials call it political attacks on law enforcement. That night, protests turned chaotic, with crowds clashing with both ICE and the NYPD. The disorder itself showed why some form of enforcement is required, a point Mamdani has no easy way to dismiss. Source: Fox News / Writer: Lucas

🇸🇦 The real Saudi crisis isn’t about the missiles alone, but the interceptors too. If Riyadh is genuinely running low, then MBS being moved between bunkers stops sounding like tabloid drama and starts sounding like basic survival. Saudi Arabia may be entering a new reality where critical infrastructure, airports and even the royal leadership itself remain permanently exposed. And the part that worries most is that the U.S. may not have enough interceptors in reserve to bail the kingdom out. That’s what turns this from another regional flare-up into something much more serious. @WeTheBrandon

🇵🇱🇮🇱 Poland bought Israeli spyware to catch criminals. Instead, it ended up being used to spy on politicians, journalists and lawyers. But here's the part that's even more disturbing. Polish authorities apparently didn't even have full control over the software. The Israeli company behind Pegasus reportedly retained remote access, while sensitive data passed through servers outside Poland. A government spying on its own people using technology that a foreign company could still access. Now seven former officials face charges over the scandal. And we still don't know who outside Poland may have had access to all that information. Source: Poland’s National Prosecutor’s Office / Writer: Oliver

🇳🇴🇨🇳 OMG! Norwegian Home Guard soldiers discovered that Chinese-linked rental cars had RECORDED THEM during an Oslo exercise, including their movements and the codes they entered at military gates. The cars came through Hertz Norway, tied to China’s Geely group via Volvo, and the unit kept using them because alternatives were scarce. Modern vehicles store video and location data by default. Pointing that capability at military movements and access codes turns a rental into a security problem. The footage was deleted later, but it’s unclear whether any data left the cars. Source: Norway News / Writer: Lucas

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Is Iran really losing control of the Strait of Hormuz, or are we being misled about how much oil is getting through? I've been trying to understand something that doesn't quite add up. Iran has demonstrated that it can strike commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. Yet shipping data suggests millions of barrels of oil are still leaving the Gulf every day. So I brought maritime expert Sal Mercogliano and economist Philip Pilkington together to challenge each other's conclusions. Sal says the evidence is there. Tankers can be tracked loading, leaving the Gulf and eventually unloading at foreign ports. He estimates nearly 12 million barrels a day were getting through before the latest escalation. Philip doesn't trust those figures. He suspects wartime information management is making the shipping situation look considerably better than it really is. What made the discussion interesting was that they actually agreed on something important. Neither believes the current situation is sustainable. Sal thinks continued Iranian attacks could eventually make tanker operations too dangerous and expensive. Philip believes Iran already has the military advantage in a prolonged war of attrition. And there's another possibility we explored: some shipping companies may be quietly paying Iran for safe passage, although the scale of any such payments remains unverified. We still disagree about the numbers. But the debate left me wondering whether we've been asking the wrong question. Maybe the real issue isn't how much oil America can force through the strait today, but how long it can keep doing so without losing ships, exhausting its resources or accepting Iran's demands. @mercoglianos @philippilk

🇮🇱🇵🇸 At some point, we have to stop pretending that everything happening in Gaza is exclusively about defeating Hamas. Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich is now saying openly: “I want all of Gaza. I want Gaza to be ours.” And he explains why: “I want it for Zionist reasons.” There's no ambiguity here at all. We should be paying attention to what these officials are actually telling us. Writer: Oliver t.co/oltTjlaCP4

🇮🇱🇸🇦🇾🇪 Netanyahu wants Saudi Arabia’s blessing to bomb the Houthis in Yemen. He’s reportedly using U.S. go-betweens to ask Riyadh for permission, a diplomatic source says. The idea is for Israel to join Saudi Arabia’s fight against the Houthis and use it as a step toward normal ties between the 2 countries. But Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman isn’t sold. He’s reportedly worried that teaming up with Israel would go down badly with ordinary Saudis. Israel has bombed the Houthis plenty of times before, but this time it wants a Saudi green light first. For MBS, the Houthis are a big problem, but standing next to Israel at war could be a bigger one at home. Source: JFEED / Writer: Daniyal

🇮🇱🇵🇸 I genuinely don't understand how a serving Israeli minister can talk about 1.8 million people this way. Bezalel Smotrich says Gaza should be wiped out, while insisting he isn't calling for genocide. And then he describes its population as “1.8 million Nazis.” You can condemn Hamas, defend Israel's right to security and still recognize how disturbing this rhetoric is. Writer: Oliver t.co/7bfR3CK0v5

🇺🇦🇷🇺 Ukraine’s strikes on Yandex didn’t make a dent in Russian bot traffic. Ukraine hit 2 Yandex data centers last week, including the hub that runs most of Russia’s top AI model, and some claimed Russian bot traffic had crashed as a result. But Cloudflare, which tracks a huge share of internet traffic, shows automated traffic from Russia barely moved all week. The strikes did real damage to Yandex, they just didn’t switch off the bots as claimed. Source: Cloudflare / Writer: Daniyal

🇸🇦🇺🇸 Saudi Arabia may be discovering how little protection its allies can actually provide As Houthi missiles continue hitting Saudi Arabia, attention has focused on reports of Mohammed bin Salman moving between fortified palaces. But the bigger question may be what happens if Saudi Arabia starts running short of the interceptors needed to stop those attacks. The kingdom has reportedly been shifting air defenses toward critical oil infrastructure, while requests for additional Western military assistance have gone unanswered. That raises a more serious concern: even if Washington wants to help, the United States may not have enough interceptor missiles available to provide the level of protection Riyadh expects. There is also the question of what Saudi Arabia believed it was getting into. Brandon Weichert suspects something behind the scenes may have encouraged Riyadh to confront the Houthis more aggressively, only for the kingdom to discover that its partners’ own military resources were already stretched thin. He does not claim to know what that encouragement was. The wider risk is that renewed U.S. strikes on Iran could further expand the conflict across Yemen and the Gulf. Saudi Arabia opposed America’s war with Iran, according to its own supporters, but may now be absorbing some of the consequences of a conflict it never wanted. And the longer the attacks continue, the more pressure falls on the credibility of America’s security guarantees. @WeTheBrandon

🇩🇪 WTF IS THIS? German police literally confiscated a physical robot in Cologne because some dudes used it to HARASS a 16-year-old girl in public. The cops stepped in after the whole thing was streamed live on TikTok. This 4-foot-tall droid dressed up in a vest and chains snuck up on a teen girl from behind to grope her. Police tracked down the operators pretty fast, seized their phones, and dragged the red-and-gold robot right out of their car trunk where they tried to hide it. The worst part is they did it all for clout. They were filming the entire assault live, broadcasting it to social media, and literally giving a running commentary while it happened. That's supposed to be FUNNY?! What's going on with people? Source: Cologne Police / Writer: Lucas

🇸🇦 Ali Shihabi thinks talk of Saudi Arabia facing an “existential” crisis is badly overdone. He pushed back especially hard on reports portraying MBS as moving from bunker to bunker. “Existentialism is a big word and we’re nowhere near anything like that.” His argument is that Saudi Arabia still has something Iran and the Houthis lack: the ability to repair damaged infrastructure quickly, backed by deep engineering capacity and access to global supply chains. The war can hurt tourism, confidence and investment. But Shihabi sees a major difference between disruption and systemic danger. And on the possibility of other Gulf states helping Saudi Arabia against the Houthis, he doesn’t rule it out at all. @aliShihabi

🇷🇺 The RUSSIAN BOT STORY is almost too perfect for some people. Adam Kinzinger says his haters have disappeared. Conor Rogers thinks a bot army was supposed to push the Talarico story until Ukraine blew it up. Apparently, Ukraine bombed a few Russian data centers and suddenly everyone's political opponents stopped being real people. 😅 Here's the hilarious part. The viral numbers largely concern Yandex, Russia's equivalent of Google. The disappearing "bots" were primarily automated web crawlers, not some proven army of Kremlin trolls running American political discourse. But why bother understanding what a data center does when you can convince yourself that everyone who disagrees with you is secretly operating out of Moscow? It's the perfect theory. You never have to consider that actual human beings might dislike your opinions. And if someone calls you out for spreading nonsense? Well, obviously that's another Russian bot. Source: @officialrnintel / Writer: Oliver

🇸🇦🇮🇷 Ali Shihabi says Saudi Arabia never wanted this war. His view is that Riyadh warned Washington it would become exactly the kind of regional mess we’re seeing now. “The kingdom was very, very clear… it did not want the war.” Shihabi believes the Trump administration badly misjudged how quickly the conflict could be contained, while Gulf states understood from the start that they would be among the easiest targets if things spiraled. And his verdict on the war itself is unusually blunt: “It was not a smart decision.” He still thinks Iran’s economic pain will eventually force some kind of deal. America made the decision, and the Gulf is living with the consequences. @aliShihabi

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia is investigating how a Houthi missile and drone barrage managed to get through its air defenses and hit Riyadh’s main international airport, killing at least 13 people and wounding more than 300. Early findings suggest the attack was coordinated: multiple drones were launched first, apparently to help clear a path for cruise and ballistic missiles that followed. Investigators are now looking at why Saudi defenses failed to intercept them, and why there wasn’t an earlier warning despite the weapons traveling more than 1,000 kilometers. And this is moving beyond a Saudi-Houthi fight. Saudi officials want the U.S. to become directly involved against the Houthis. Washington is already providing intelligence, targeting and planning support, but has so far stopped short of carrying out strikes itself. Trump now says that could change. Asked whether the U.S. might join Saudi strikes against the Houthis, he said: “We may. We’re going to look at it.” A Houthi attack getting through Saudi defenses and killing civilians at Riyadh airport may now be pushing Washington toward direct military involvement in Yemen. Source: AP / Writer: Oliver

🇾🇪🇸🇦 Saudi-backed government troops recorded themselves in contact with Houthi fighters on the western edge of Taiz, in Yemen. Clashes around the city have stayed intense; both sides try to lock down the surrounding hills and access roads. Government units say they have pushed back attacks and retaken some ground, while the Houthis say they have moved closer and increased the squeeze on Taiz. The front is still shifting, and each side is putting out its own version. Writer: Lucas t.co/JyY0ZlbSV7

🇹🇷🇸🇦 Erdogan says Turkey stands with Saudi against the Houthi attacks on Riyadh, as if the alliance they signed isn’t supposed to respond together “Turkey stands with Saudi Arabia and our Saudi brothers and sisters in the face of these unlawful and inhumane attacks.” The Houthis hit King Khalid Airport again over the weekend, killing at least a dozen and wounding hundreds. Turkey, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia have already activated their Mecca pact and discussed rapid deployment. Still, Ankara has so far limited itself to defensive and technical help and ruled out any offensive role. Writer: Lucas t.co/uFvE3NFoKu

🇸🇦🇮🇷 One claim I’ve heard repeatedly is that Gulf states are paying Iran to get oil through the Strait of Hormuz. Ali Shihabi flatly rejected that, at least when it comes to Saudi Arabia. “Saudi Arabia is not paying anything to the Iranians.” If Riyadh were paying Tehran for safe passage, it would make little sense for Iran to keep attacking tankers. What he does confirm is that moving oil has become enormously more expensive, with tanker costs surging and Saudi Arabia increasingly relying on its own fleet and alternative export routes. So even if the “Saudi transit fee” story is wrong, Hormuz is still extracting a price. Just not necessarily the one people think. @aliShihabi