Mario Nawfal

🚨🇮🇷 A 19,000-tonne container ship was struck yesterday in the Strait of Hormuz, around the Musandam Peninsula. "The vessel reports minor damage, no casualties, and was able to continue on its passage [outbound]." More than 18 vessels were targeted in the first 12 days of October (6+ in a single day!). Iran has NOT been forced into compliance by the U.S... Source: UKMTO / Writer: Michael

🇦🇺 Australia has made cigarettes the most expensive in the world by constantly hiking taxes, hoping people would simply stop smoking. Smoking rates have dropped a lot, but the plan is backfiring in a big way. A massive black market has exploded. Illegal packs are everywhere for a fraction of the price, organised crime is making serious money, and the government is losing billions in tax revenue. Classic case of good intentions meeting harsh reality. Writer: Daniyal t.co/uFR2GZl58S

🚨🇮🇱🇮🇷 Netanyahu says he OPPOSES launching a preemptive strike against Iran... The Israeli PM said security considerations MUST come before political calculations: “In my opinion, now is NOT a convenient time for us. Throughout my life, I have always placed security considerations above everything else.” Netanyahu started the war, and now he's saying the timing isn't convenient 🤣🤣🤣 Source: @amichaistein1 / Writer: Samuel

🇪🇸🇹🇷 Pure magic by Lamine Yamal, the young superstar of Barça against Galatasaray. Just watch it! Writer: Samuel t.co/dFveQ0F0Bb

🇷🇺🇺🇦 NATO Chief Rutte calls Putin WEAK: "Here is the main thing: We are stronger. Russia is not in a good place. Hybrid attacks and whatever it is are a sign of WEAKNESS. What they would love us to do is to talk about it the whole day and to be rattled and to have press conferences on it. We're not going to do that. We will react where we need to react, again, not always visibly." Strong powers can openly enforce their will. Weak powers must hide their tracks. So his point is fair. But what does he mean by reacting "not always visibly"? 🤔 Writer: Michael t.co/HFPXIvFDEe

🚨🇺🇸 Kamala Harris, speaking in Seoul, South Korea: "The last few years have shown us American foreign policy orthodoxies of old are insufficient to meet the challenges we face. Some have tried to restore a pre-WWII era when conquest and cronyism were commonplace. Others in the establishment have been clinging to a post-WWII order, slow to adapt to a changing world. But we cannot afford to be driven by nostalgia. America must look forward." Some say Kamala shouldn't run for president again... But at least she didn't say World War Eleven 😂😂😂 Writer: Michael t.co/cr3pwtvhnI

🚨🇮🇱 A building undergoing renovations has COLLAPSED in central Tel Aviv... 3 people have been rescued from the rubble. The collapse occurred near the intersection of Nahalat Binyamin Street and Rothschild Boulevard. According to Israeli emergency services, the 3 people rescued are believed to be construction workers. Writer: Samuel t.co/oGdBdmvxOd

🇸🇦🇱🇰 Saudi Arabia will NOT execute the Sri Lankan worker sentenced to death over a Facebook comment. The kingdom's supreme court threw out 24-year-old Anojan Sivarasa's blasphemy sentence yesterday, after Sri Lanka sent a 4-member legal team to Riyadh to fight for his life. A young man came within reach of execution over a few words online, and it took a full diplomatic campaign from his government to pull him back. Source: The Independent / Writer: Julie

🇺🇸 Trump is a parodoxical figure... He's a billionaire, so inherently the LEAST relatable American president in history. But at the same time, there's nothing to him that is "beneath the office," making him VERY relatable. I think that's what some people just don't get... Trump is unpopular right now, and for good reason. But to his supporters, and to many Americans, these ridiculous posts, viral moments, and memes are what make him a breath of fresh air. There's no script with Trump. That's the whole point. Source: Truth Social / Writer: Michael

TRUMP JUST THREW UKRAINE UNDER THE BUS

🚨🇺🇸🇮🇱 Kamala throws Biden under the bus on Israel: "It is in our interest to hold our allies accountable for their share of global defense, to ensure trade benefits American workers and consumers, and to uphold our moral obligation to human rights and international law. To be sure, America has at times fallen short on that one. Most recently, the failure to use our leverage to curtail the Israeli government's horrific conduct in the war in Gaza, both under the current administration, which offers Netanyahu a blank check... And our administration before, where we should have acted sooner and more forcefully." Yeah, she's 100% running again in '28 😂 Writer: Michael t.co/C0YB8pP1dn

🇮🇷 The last Empress of Iran Farah Pahlavi, who ruled Iran with the Shah for 20 years, turns 88 today. Her son, the fmr. Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi: "I wish a happy birthday to my mother, Her Majesty Farah Pahlavi. A woman who has held, and continues to hold, a maternal place not only in my heart but in the hearts of several generations of Iranians. What has always been praiseworthy to me in my mother’s being is her boundless love for Iran and her enduring efforts to safeguard and nurture the culture and arts of this land and its people. My mother has never lost faith in the triumph of light over darkness. I hope that soon she will witness the realization of the dream she has cherished all her life: the freedom of Iran, the glory of its people, and the return of light to a land that has never been far from her heart. Long live Iran." Source: @PahlaviReza / Writer: Michael

🇦🇷 At least 8 whales just washed up dead near Puerto Madryn in 2 days. This coast has been seeing way more dead whales than usual all season, earlier it was mostly calves, now it’s adults too. Scientists still don’t really have a solid answer. They’re looking at bacteria (maybe getting in through wounds from those kelp gulls that peck at them) for the babies, and red tide/toxic algae for the adults. Lab results aren’t back yet so it’s all still speculation. Weird how something this big can keep happening with no clear explanation. Writer: Daniyal t.co/FcPPfsSW7w

🇦🇪🇮🇱 The UAE is getting a permanent embassy in Israel. Israeli planners just approved a building of up to 15 floors in Herzliya Pituah, near Tel Aviv. It will house the embassy’s offices along with homes for the ambassador and diplomatic staff. It’s been a long time coming. The 2 countries set up ties 6 years ago under the Abraham Accords. Only now does the UAE’s mission in Israel have a permanent address to call its own. Source: Jerusalem Post / Writer: Daniyal

🇺🇦🇺🇸🇷🇺 Zelensky wants Trump to hit Russia with STRONG sanctions, and he's making his pitch in a language Republicans know well. He says Moscow has chosen to continue its “mad war of destruction,” pointing to Lindsey Graham's sanctions legislation and asking for more Patriot interceptors. But the real pitch came at the end, when Zelensky invoked Ronald Reagan to remind Washington that peace comes through strength. Sanctions, Patriots and a little Ronald Reagan. Zelensky knows exactly who he's pitching to. Writer: Julie

🇪🇸 King of Spain, Felipe VI: "Ceuta is Spain. Those who entered our country irregularly must return to their place of origin as soon as possible." 100% Writer: Samuel t.co/TIeVLktk6Q

🇮🇱 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