Mario Nawfal

🇸🇦🇾🇪 The IMF says Houthi attacks are barely denting Saudi Arabia’s economy so far Iran’s blockade of Hormuz and the Houthis’ own sea blockade have squeezed Saudi oil exports, but ships are still getting through. The IMF’s Middle East chief says strong spending at home and a big public sector are keeping the damage “limited.” The whole region is still feeling it. Every Gulf country except Oman, Saudi Arabia included, is producing less oil and gas this year, and the region’s economy is set to shrink by 4.8%. The IMF does expect a big bounce back of around 9% next year, but with U.S.-Iran talks stuck, there’s still a lot that could go wrong. With Houthi strikes still hitting places like Riyadh’s airport this month, how long “limited” stays limited is the real question. Source: AFP / Writer: Daniyal

🇺🇸 Rhode Island just became the first U.S. state to sue Meta over scam ads The state says Meta raked in big money from fake ads on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, all while telling people it was keeping them safe. It even says Meta’s own AI tools helped scammers make their ads look better, and that when Meta suspected someone was a fraudster, it sometimes just charged them extra instead of kicking them off. Older folks got hit the most, with ads like one claiming it could reverse Alzheimer’s in 45 days, which had over 2,000 versions active. Meta says the lawsuit is “unfounded” and that it pulled down more than 159 million scam ads in the past year. And the timing couldn’t be worse, since just a day earlier a judge told Meta to pay New Mexico $25 billion in a separate privacy case. Meta’s been having a rough year in court, and this time a state is going straight after the ad money. Source: Reuters / Writer: Daniyal

🇮🇹 ITALY IS FED UP: Crowds have taken over a highway near Naples, waving Italian flags as protests over soaring fuel prices and living costs spread across southern Italy. Truckers, farmers, fishermen, and families are joining forces as the economic fallout gets ugly: EMPTY supermarket shelves, disrupted food deliveries, and millions in losses for producers. Meloni's government has approved emergency fuel relief, and some blockades are being lifted. But the frustration on Italy's streets keeps spreading. Writer: Sol t.co/H5uAwIgOFh

🇫🇷 A LIVESTOCK VIRUS just crossed INTO HUMANS for the first known time France says a severely immunocompromised man infected with Shamonda virus later died after likely being bitten by an infected midge. The virus has been spreading through European cattle this year. The WHO says this still looks like an isolated case, with no evidence of human-to-human transmission. But “first known human infection” is the kind of sentence everyone tends to remember. Source: Reuters / Writer: Oliver

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran has apparently decided to put Trump in JAIL, at least for the cameras. A bizarre art installation in Tehran's busy Tajrish Square features an actor dressed as Trump. You can see the fake president looking rather miserable as people watch the spectacle unfold. Iranians are trolling on another level 🤣 Writer: Sol t.co/bGIJtNxcV2

🇷🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦 The Kremlin says it’s still thinking about Trump’s invite for Putin to come to Miami The U.S. invited Putin to December’s G20, the yearly meeting of the world’s biggest economies, which this time is being held at Trump’s own golf club near Miami. Moscow says no decision has been made yet. Putin hasn’t been to a G20 in person since 2019, though he joined one by video in 2023. Zelensky has floated the summit as a chance for a U.S., Russia and Ukraine meeting, but neither Moscow nor Washington has confirmed that. Ending a war at a golf resort would be strange, but this year has been full of strange. Source: Times of India / Writer: Daniyal

🇮🇷🇾🇪 Robert Pape thinks the next phase of the Iran war could make civilian aviation part of the battlefield. His concern is that once civilian-targeting thresholds start breaking down, airports and commercial aircraft become much harder to treat as safely outside the war. He even thinks airliners could be deliberately targeted by Iran, the Houthis, or inspired attackers. That’s why Pape says people in Gulf states need backup evacuation plans. His warning is blunt: You may not know the airspace has become unsafe until a plane actually comes down. @ProfessorPape

🇺🇦🇷🇺🇺🇸 Zelensky has a message for anyone thinking of going easy on Russia “If you give something to Putin, he will want everything.” He’s against lifting any sanctions and says he’s made that clear to his European partners and the U.S. administration. Trump’s new diesel deal with Russia probably isn’t his favorite thing right now. Writer: Daniyal t.co/7eR6yvycgA

🇪🇺🇷🇺 War between NATO and Russia is now close to a coin toss. I spoke with retired Commodore Steve Jermy, who commanded an air-defence destroyer, about the growing military buildup around Iran. His assessment was grim. He gives America no better than a 10% chance of military success, arguing that Iranian missile attacks make a ground operation extraordinarily dangerous. But what really struck me was his warning about Europe. Jermy puts the risk of a direct NATO-Russia conflict at roughly 40–50%. He fears Moscow could eventually retaliate against European facilities supporting Ukrainian long-range strikes. And he believes Europe is dangerously unprepared for that possibility, particularly when it comes to missile defence and energy infrastructure. I asked whether NATO could simply strike back. His answer was that Russia has greater strategic depth, more missiles and years of experience defending against Western weapons. These are his assessments, not certainties. But the implications are serious. We're discussing another major war with Iran while a former British naval commander is warning that Europe could be dragged into a direct confrontation with Russia. And his biggest concern is that ordinary people have barely been told what that confrontation could actually look like.

🇷🇺🇺🇲 Putin reportedly offered the U.S. MORE Russian fertilizer as AMERICAN FARMERS STRUGGLE Moscow is pitching a fertilizer export expansion to help U.S. famers as they face soaring costs. The offer comes as the first Russian diesel tanker prepares to sail for the States. It’s another move in Putin’s broader strategy of using trade to advance the Kremlin’s agenda. Source: Vzglyad / Writer: Marie

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Robert Pape says the “3-day” Iran strike plan could be dangerously misleading. He compares it to Instant Thunder, the 1991 plan meant to cripple Saddam’s command structure in days. It lasted 43. Pape thinks U.S. intelligence may now be mapping Iran’s command network for the same kind of decapitation campaign. His warning: A 3-day plan can become a multi-week war very quickly. And the Gulf states would likely absorb the first retaliation. @ProfessorPape

🇫🇷 France is losing control, and Marine Le Pen believes the government is entering its FINAL DAYS. She paints a grim picture of a state that can no longer maintain order, anticipate crises, or even exercise basic control. “I have the feeling that we are facing a state that is collapsing.” Writer: Sol t.co/aMP8EQfhAs

🇺🇸🇮🇷 Robert Pape thinks the most dangerous window with Iran may come after November 3. His logic is simple: Before the election, Trump still has something to lose. After it, especially if Democrats take Congress, that restraint may disappear. “He has nothing to lose after November 3rd.” Pape thinks that could make escalation abroad politically easier just as Trump’s power at home starts shrinking. That’s the risk. A president with fewer political chips left may be more willing to gamble with the ones he still has. @ProfessorPape

🇷🇸 Serbia’s students marched across the country to Belgrade for one last push before Sunday’s election Crowds greeted them last night with fireworks, flags and a red carpet, ahead of their final rally today. It started in November 2024, when a station canopy collapsed in Novi Sad and killed 16 people, and nearly 2 years of protests later it’s a full movement against corruption and Serbia’s longtime leader, Aleksandar Vucic. Now the students are on the ballot, and some polls say they could take a real bite out of Vucic’s party, in power since 2012. Vucic even quit as president last month to run for prime minister. They’ve filled the streets for nearly 2 years, and Sunday will show whether they can fill the ballot boxes too. Source: IntelliNews / Writer: Daniyal

🇮🇷🇺🇸 IRAN's Parliament Speaker has watched The Matrix and decided to become the Pentagon's financial NIGHTMARE Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf just posted Morpheus offering America ten pills. Stocks down. Mortgages up. Gas up. Diesel up. Debt up. Real wages down... And the message? “No red, no blue. All soot.” He's essentially telling Washington that every path through this war leads to economic trouble. Brilliant delivery. Writer: Oliver

🇮🇱🇵🇸 Israel's National Security Minister wants to take over the DEFENSE MINISTRY, bring Gaza under Israeli control, and encourage MILLIONS of Palestinians to leave their homes. Ben-Gvir laid out his ambitions in a new interview ahead of Israel's October 27 election, making it clear that he wants Netanyahu to remain prime minister, provided he can push him MUCH further to the right. “If Israel wants to continue to live and not be destroyed, we have to capture all of Gaza. We have to promote voluntary emigration. Gaza could be a Riviera.” He is also pushing for Israeli annexation of the WEST BANK and what he calls “voluntary emigration” for its Palestinian population. “Gaza was always ours." He offered no clear explanation of how millions of Palestinians could leave voluntarily under such conditions 🤔 Source: TIME / Writer: Sol

🇺🇸 Big U.S. banks are finding AI bots inside customer accounts that the banks never authorized. These are AI agents, tools that can log in and handle tasks for you, and lots of people already use them that way on websites every day. The worrying part is that some of them reportedly tried to do things customers apparently never asked for. JPMorgan, Bank of America, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo are among the banks now rushing to get them under control. Banks spent decades building walls against hackers, and now the trouble might be the helper customers let in themselves. Source: Axios / Writer: Daniyal

🇩🇰🇷🇺 Denmark is buying LONG-RANGE MISSILES capable of striking BEHIND ENEMY LINES RUSSIA is naturally FURIOUS. Copenhagen is buying American-made Anthem missiles and Norwegian Joint Strike Missiles for its F-35s. The Danish government says it needs the ability to hit back if Russia attacks. Moscow is already warning of “inevitable disastrous consequences.” What's interesting is the shift in European thinking. Denmark isn't just buying weapons to defend its territory anymore. It's preparing to strike targets far beyond its borders. For a country that spent years cutting its military budget, that's a serious change. And Russia's threats are probably doing more to accelerate it than stop it. Source: Reuters / Writer: Oliver

🇫🇷 Students in Paris are supposedly protesting for their RIGHTS, and some apparently decided that FREE WINE should be one of them 😂 Writer: Sol t.co/yI6n1rnF6L

🇮🇷🇦🇫 Iran has reportedly FORCIBLY DEPORTED ~492K Afghans since the start of 2026. That’s down from 2025, when over 1.9 million Afghans returned from Iran, including ~1.26 million who were deported. Afghans have been going to Iran for decades, mainly to escape war, persecution, poverty, and economic collapse. They're leaving one country at war to return to another. Source: Pajhwok Afghan News / Writer: Marie

🇩🇪🇫🇷 GERMANY is bracing for MASS PROTESTS as the YOUTH UPRISINGS SPREAD ACROSS EUROPE A Gen Z movement is calling for demonstrations in 21 German cities on October 31, including Berlin, Hamburg, Munich and Cologne. They're angry about rising living costs, failing schools, military conscription and a future they increasingly feel they can't afford. Thousands are expected to take part. And after the riots in France, German police are already warning that extremists could hijack the protests. Organizers insist they reject violence. But with France, Italy and Spain already witnessing serious unrest, all eyes are now turning to Germany. Source: DW / Writer: Oliver

🇺🇸 Sec. Hegseth dropped a Hollywood-style trailer for America's military-industrial machine. “The Arsenal of Freedom has been UNLEASHED.” The video is packed with missile launches, ammunition factories, naval weapons, and workers signing munitions, all set to dramatic cinematic footage. Hegseth is promoting a massive push to SPEED UP American weapons production, cut through Pentagon bureaucracy, and bring more private companies and startups into the defense industry. Writer: Sol t.co/qBLFnCC20e

🇹🇷🇨🇦 Turkey and Canada just signed an MoU to strengthen their partnership in the defense sector. Something about those alternating Turkish and Canadian flags is making me dizzy... 😵‍💫 Writer: Michael t.co/9LBgT4psLc

🇺🇸🇫🇷 JD Vance is now openly warning that France faces a civilizational crisis. Not collapse. Not yet. But something he believes could become much worse. “Would I say that we're seeing civilizational death in France? No, I wouldn't say that.” “Do I think that we're seeing real civilizational risk? Yes.” Vance earlier blamed France's recent unrest on failed immigration and integration policies. France is struggling with real economic anger, but Vance sees something deeper: a country losing its grip on the principles holding it together. Writer: Oliver t.co/IFd113f5ji

🇺🇲 Trump didn’t take kindly to LeBron James’s ADHD demo during the NATIONAL ANTHEM. “While listening to our National Anthem, LeBron James disrespects our Country! … LeBron James should apologize to all of those Great American Warriors and Heroes who died for the American Flag..." It was a distracting display of disrespect, but billionaires don’t care about that stuff. Source: Truth Social / Writer: Marie

🇺🇸 TRUMP SUED THE BBC FOR $10 BILLION Now a federal judge is ordering him to answer questions under oath. And the deadline is December 11. The lawsuit centers on a BBC documentary that edited together separate portions of Trump's January 6 speech, creating the impression that he had directly urged supporters to march on the Capitol and fight. The BBC apologized for the misleading edit, but Trump went considerably further, demanding $10 billion in damages. Now the legal fight is entering a rather uncomfortable stage for the president. He brought the lawsuit. The BBC gets to question him under oath. A dispute over how Trump's words were edited could now end with lawyers questioning him about those very words. Source: Axios / Writer: Oliver

🇷🇺🇺🇸🇺🇦 Putin is close to fixing ties with the U.S. without giving up anything on Ukraine A year ago, Trump hit Russia’s 2 biggest oil companies with sanctions, saying talks with Putin weren’t going anywhere. In the past 2 weeks, that’s flipped. Trump agreed to buy Russian diesel without asking for anything back, suspended some Russia sanctions, and his team pressed Ukraine to stop hitting Russian oil refineries. More deals are now on the table, from fertilizer to energy and data centers, and Russia freed a jailed American teacher yesterday. Trump said Moscow did it out of respect for him. Analysts say this has been Putin’s goal all along, doing business with Washington while the war keeps going. The catch for Putin is that Europe now carries more of Ukraine’s weight, so even a friendlier U.S. may not get him a peace deal on his terms. Source: The New York Times / Writer: Daniyal

🇺🇸 A Jewish man was stalked through the streets of Manhattan before a woman STABBED him with what may have been a SYRINGE. The 26-year-old victim, wearing traditional Jewish clothing, was walking through NYC's Diamond District during rush hour when a woman speaking Russian began following him. Disturbing surveillance footage shows him trying to AVOID her as she follows him around a parked car, with pedestrians walking nearby. Moments later, he felt a sharp prick in his lower back. He told police he believed he'd been stabbed with a syringe, but authorities have yet to determine whether it contained anything. He was taken to Bellevue Hospital in stable condition, and the NYPD's HATE CRIME TASK FORCE is investigating. Meanwhile, anti-Jewish incidents accounted for MORE THAN HALF of NYC's reported hate crimes during the first nine months of 2026. Source: NYP / Writer: Sol t.co/O6ivigTIbm

🇺🇸🇷🇺 JD VANCE is defending Trump's RUSSIAN DIESEL DEAL with a simple argument: WHY should China get the cheap fuel while Americans pay through the nose? He says Russia was already selling its fuel to Beijing at enormous discounts, while American farmers and truckers were getting hammered by diesel prices. “They've always been able to sell their diesel fuel. They're just selling it at a massive discount to the People's Republic of China.” And that's the calculation behind Trump's decision to ease restrictions on Russian diesel. Washington is now willing to buy Russian energy while telling Ukraine to stop attacking the very refineries producing it. America spent years trying to choke off Russia's energy revenue. Now the price of diesel at home is forcing Washington to reconsider that strategy. That's quite a reversal. Writer: Oliver t.co/860crFE48A

🇺🇸 A security bug hiding in the internet for over 10 years has finally been cracked by AI. The flaw, called PHP2Shell, affects PHP, the programming language behind up to 70% of the world's websites, including online shops, government services and major platforms. And it's a nasty one. Hackers could use it to take over vulnerable servers, steal customer data, install malware or knock websites offline. Researchers in California used an advanced OpenAI model to figure out how the bug could be exploited, something that had stumped experts for years. The good news is that fixes are already out. But websites need to install them quickly, and the FBI is urging those that can't to temporarily go offline. For regular users, simply visiting a PHP website doesn't mean they're hacked. The bigger worry is personal information stored on sites that haven't been fixed yet. Source: CBS News / Writer: Daniyal