Mario Nawfal

🇮🇱 Israel is rushing through a roughly 1 billion shekel Apache helicopter deal, and guess who's footing the bill? A fund meant to develop the country's Arab communities. The Finance Ministry confirmed that nearly all the money is coming from that fund, with just 68 million shekels from the regular budget. Ministers were asked to approve it by phone, just 2 weeks before an election, as part of a larger 3.5 billion shekel defense package. Even a legal opinion attached to the deal warned it could tie the next government's hands and put political interests ahead of the public's. Apparently, election season comes with its own definition of “urgent.” Source: The Jerusalem Post / Writer: Julie

Grok Bot can now clock in for your Shopify store. Connect it once, and it can check orders, watch inventory, update product listings and keep routine store work moving without you living inside the dashboard. That’s the big shift. You’re no longer just asking AI questions about the business. You’re giving it jobs inside the business. For a small team, that can mean a lot fewer tabs and a lot more time spent on the stuff that actually needs a human. @Grok @Bot @Shopify @spacexai / Writer: Annette, Designer: Janné

🇮🇱 This "balloon" was spotted in Northern Israel over the weekend, and many are asking: is it of this Earth? Some say it's a balloon, or a cluster of balloons, or even a garbage bag (I don't see it), but when you look at the footage and see how fast it's going... Aliens in Israel would be WILD, even for 2026! 🤣👽 Source: @ItayBlumental / Writer: Michael

🇩🇪 A German state has logged 358 child marriages, and ONLY 8 of them have ever actually been annulled. The other 350 cases in Baden-Württemberg were simply closed, whether because a spouse died, the child turned 18 or officials decided not to pursue it. Some of those involve 12-year-old girls, one married to a 28-year-old man and another to a 21-year-old, while the youngest "wife" on record was JUST 11. The numbers only came to light because AfD lawmakers asked for them, and the state's answer is just as alarming as the figures themselves. Officials admitted they DON'T EVEN TRACK whether girls who were married off stopped showing up to school, and have NO IDEA which countries these marriages took place in. Germany banned marriage under 18 back in 2017, but somehow this madness is still going on. Source: Die Welt / Writer: Julie

🇺🇸 NYC is finally putting an end to those Central Park horse carriages by 2028 after Mayor Mamdani and the City Council locked in a deal. The rides have been a tourist staple for over 150 years, but animal advocates and a fatal accident this summer pushed this through. Drivers who built their whole businesses around it are already saying they’ll fight it in court. End of an era. Or finally the right call? Writer: Daniyal t.co/DWC5MSZSjs

🇩🇪🇺🇦Germany puts a Ukrainian officer on trial for blowing up Nord Stream as a WAR CRIME ordered by Kyiv Serhii K. will walk into a Hamburg courtroom today as the first person ever tried for the 2022 blasts that cut Germany off from the pipeline that once carried half its gas imports. Prosecutors say he coordinated a seven-man team that sailed from Rügen on a rented yacht, the Andromeda, and planted four timed charges, all “on behalf of state authorities in Ukraine.” The hardest evidence is a phone call Italian police recorded between him and his wife, in which he allegedly called the sabotage an official military operation. He says he’s innocent, Kyiv denies everything, and his former commander says Germany has no proof. The verdict could land in February in a country where the AfD, which wants weapons shipments to Ukraine stopped, now leads the polls over a coalition that has lost its majority. A ruling that Kyiv bombed German infrastructure won’t end the aid overnight, but it hands the AfD the argument it’s been waiting for. Source: DW / Writers: Daniel, Lucas

🇫🇷 Things are getting ugly on the streets of Lyon... At this point, are we even sure we're watching students protesting about schools anymore? Writer: Julie t.co/OzCnJE0JlA

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Houthi missiles hit Saudi Aramco's headquarters, setting part of the oil giant's office complex in Dhahran on fire. Luckily nobody was hurt, but the missiles kept coming, with more shot down over Dhahran and other cities and shrapnel raining down on a neighborhood. This past week alone, the Houthi strikes have killed at least 18 people in Saudi Arabia, knocked a refinery offline and gone after a key Red Sea oil export port. Trump says the Houthis are deliberately pumping up oil prices for Iran, and promised "I'll be there after the Elections, and I will never forget!" So for now, Riyadh has to grit its teeth and hang in there until Trump wraps up the midterms. Source: Bloomberg / Writer: Julie

🚨🇾🇪🇸🇦 The Houthis are claiming a massive missile and drone attack on Aramco in Dhahran, Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport and Aramco’s Ras Tanura refinery. They say “a large number” of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones caused destruction and fires at all 3 sites. The group is warning that strikes on Saudi airports and oil facilities will continue in the coming days, telling workers, residents and global shipping companies to evacuate them immediately. Writer: Julie t.co/spcjIFrGLi

🇪🇺🇻🇳🇨🇳 Europe wants Vietnam’s minerals so it can stop leaning so hard on China. And Vietnam has plenty to offer, with big reserves of rare earths and tungsten, the stuff Europe needs for everything from phones to ammunition as it re-arms. That matters a lot more since last year, when China tightened its exports and left European factories scrambling. Now internal EU papers say Europe simply can’t afford to ignore Vietnam. So the plan is to throw loans and grants at Vietnam’s mines, and Vietnam’s leader is reportedly heading to Brussels next week to talk it over. The catch? Europe isn’t the only one knocking. The U.S., Australia and others are already chasing the same Vietnamese mines. Everyone’s trying to get off China’s minerals, and Vietnam is quickly becoming the place to do it. Source: Reuters / Writer: Daniyal

🇸🇦 The head of the IMF is warning that the attacks on Saudi Arabia could end up hurting “everybody, everywhere.” Kristalina Georgieva says the Saudi economy is way too important for the damage to stay local, with Houthi missiles still slamming into the kingdom. And that’s on top of oil prices already going through the roof since Iran choked off the Strait of Hormuz back in February. She also says the world economy is “reaching its limits,” with governments now spending 14% of their revenue just to pay off debt, up from 6% a decade ago. The global economy has survived shock after shock this year, and the IMF is now openly wondering how many more it can take. Source: AFP / Writer: Julie

Tesla is streaming the Roadster event this Thursday, and Elon says it has a shot at being the most memorable product unveil ever 🔥 The car was first shown in 2017 with deliveries promised for 2020. This date was already pushed once for weather. The outdoor demo is expected to include the SpaceX thruster package. After nearly 9 years, the wait is finally down to one night. @Tesla @SpaceX / Writer: Lucas t.co/1Tci0Xg2B3

🚨BREAKING: 🇾🇪🇸🇦 The Houthis say they're about to announce a "qualitative military operation deep inside Saudi territory." Their military spokesman Yahya Saree set to deliver the statement at 11:40 a.m. local time. Writer: Julie t.co/DnLBEqy9Pv

Trying to explain to the 911 call handler that you need emergency assistance because you broke the World Record for the most T-shirts worn at once... and you have trouble breathing The Darwin Awards exist for this exact reason 😂 Writer: Ian t.co/Z62lj643Hi

No content is worth risking your life for Writer: Ian t.co/AjHVFjzbrA

🇰🇷 A man with knives strapped to both hands went on a stabbing rampage inside a South Korean supermarket yesterday. The 59-year-old attacked shoppers at a Homeplus store in Incheon, even moving between floors on escalators. Some brave shoppers managed to block his way and pin him down with chairs until police arrived. Eight people were injured, including a woman who went into cardiac arrest. Pretty scary stuff, but those shoppers stepping in may have saved more people from getting hurt. Writer: Daniyal t.co/63Di0wAF9v

🇷🇺 This Moscow farmer built a robot named Kuzmich specifically to fight hogweed with fire. Turns out the best way to deal with a toxic invasive plant is to introduce it to a flamethrower on legs. Writer: Daniyal t.co/jZYnyolZza

I'd be so tempted to keep this guy talking until the cops arrive 😂 Writer: Ian t.co/7qeqFiit4W

🇨🇳 Somewhere in Switzerland, the guys behind the Swiss Army knife are feeling seriously underqualified right now 😂 Chinese troops in Xinjiang, near the border with Kazakhstan, just held live-fire drills with “knife-guns,” blades that can also fire a shot. Writer: Julie t.co/NjF9s0sBtr

🇸🇦🇨🇳 While Houthi missiles keep hitting Saudi oil sites at home, Aramco just shipped its first cargo of crude to its shiny new mega refinery in China. The billion-dollar plant is gearing up to start operations early next year, processing 300,000 barrels a day with a petrochemical plant attached for good measure. Not bad timing either, with the U.S.-Iran war dragging into its 8th month and China tapping its stockpiles to keep the lights on. When your own backyard is under fire, it helps to have a refinery on the other side of Asia. Source: Bloomberg / Writer: Julie

Who looked at the seating and thought, I know what this place needs: a swing Writer: Ian t.co/pSjxQNExFM

🇺🇸🇷🇺🇺🇦 Zelensky says Russia just hit the exact energy sites Trump’s ceasefire was meant to protect. Overnight, Russia fired 39 ballistic missiles and more than 120 drones at Kyiv and Kharkiv, damaging 30 energy sites and leaving at least 600,000 people without power. To Zelensky, it was a message aimed straight at Washington: “Russia has never before shown such ostentatious disrespect toward the United States.” Now he’s asking Trump for strong sanctions on Russia and more Patriot interceptors. Just yesterday, Trump brushed off Russia’s strikes on Ukraine’s energy, pointing out that Ukraine had been hitting Russian sites too. Let’s see if he says the same thing this time. Source: @ZelenskyyUa / Writer: Daniyal

This tyre was having the day of its life after it broke free from the truck it was meant to be hauling in Turkey 😂 Writer: Ian t.co/AdNJw9u2rv

This woman thought a solo long-distance bike ride through the remote areas of Kenya would be fun This machete-wielding maniac had different ideas Writer: Ian t.co/26pF8dcbCc

🇺🇦🇺🇸🇷🇺 Zelensky just confirmed to NPR that the Trump administration threatened to cut off intel-sharing unless Ukraine stopped bombing Russian oil refineries. Washington reportedly also threatened to freeze the program that lets European countries buy American weapons for Kyiv. Trump then announced an energy ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine, which Zelensky said was news to him. Kyiv spent years being hailed as the West’s frontline against Russia, so it must be baffling to now be told to stop hitting Moscow where it hurts. Writer: Julie t.co/YlPpMYoKBZ

I think the supplements may be overkill, given the amount of food this guy eats 😂 Writer: Ian t.co/tZ5KpJZ3XO

🇺🇦🇷🇺🇺🇸 Another night of Russian missiles hitting Kyiv, and Ukraine says its allies gave no warning again. The strikes hit an apartment tower and a power plant, killing at least 2 people, and Zelensky says the missiles were only spotted when they were already close. Trump recently said the U.S. is still sharing intel with Kyiv. So why no warnings? Writer: Daniyal t.co/PcynqJLuVl

🇮🇱 Netanyahu says almost every country around Israel comes to it for help. “There is almost no country in the Middle East that does not ask us for help.” And apparently, almost every Western country does too. For a country everyone supposedly turns to, Israel sure gets a lot of help itself, starting with $3.8 billion a year in U.S. military assistance. Writer: Daniyal t.co/mXOjNPFWvF

🇮🇱 Netanyahu is warning Israelis what happens if the opposition wins the election. According to him, they’d “establish a Palestinian state,” pull out of Lebanon and Gaza, and “do nothing against Iran.” He really needs this to land. With the vote on October 27, he’s trailing in the polls and has reportedly admitted he’ll lose “unless something changes.” So this is basically his pitch to voters: pick me, or get all of that. Writer: Daniyal t.co/KryYAL57nT