Iran Says Tanker On Fire After Mine Strike, Following US Commander’s Rare Hormuz Flyover
Iran has continued hunting tankers in the Strait of Hormuz over the weekend, and on Monday its state media has cited the IRGC to say an ‘offending’ oil tanker caught fire after hitting mines east of the Strait of Hormuz.
Ironically this happened just after an unusual public relations flyover conducted by the Pentagon. The head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) Adm. Brad Cooper personally visited the Strait of Hormuz in an unprecedented moment. On Sunday he flew over the contested waterway in a US Army CH-47 Chinook helicopter in order to demonstrate Washington ‘control’ over it.
“We continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our Gulf partners and the shipping industry,” he said. “This visit underscores our strong commitment to continued freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.”
Cooper further claimed the Strait of Hormuz is “free and clear of Iranian sea mines” – and thanked US service members who took part in the de-mining mission, and operations to help escort tankers through.
“We remain intensely focused on keeping commercial traffic flowing as we work with our teammates in the US interagency, Gulf Cooperation Council, and shipping industry,” he added.
Iran of course rejects this US narrative of control over the energy transit waterway. According to a latest Tuesday statement via Bloomberg:
Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority said it would take “legal action” against tankers belonging to Sinokor, the world’s biggest oil tanker owner that has carried millions of barrels out of the Strait of Hormuz in recent weeks.
“The vessels belonging to Sinokor Shipping Company have committed the highest number of crossing violations over the past 3 months, and so far, appropriate enforcement actions have been taken against at least 7 of them,” the PGSA said in a statement.
But this does constitute an important admission of sorts from Tehran – that a huge amount of tanker traffic is making it through, despite the record pace of Iranian attacks. This is mostly being done through ship-to-ship transfers with vessels’ transponders turned off, and under the watch of the US Navy.
The battle of narratives continues…
CENTCOM:
🚫 CLAIM: The navy commander for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps recently claimed that U.S. forces have abandoned the Strait of Hormuz by moving hundreds of “kilometers” away. This is FALSE.
✅ FACT: U.S. forces deployed to the Middle East remain present and…
President Trump has lately accused the Iranian side of making up tanker attacks, in order to drive up global oil prices.
As for the latest alleged Tuesday mine attack, “A few hours ago, an oil tanker in breach of regulations, having switched off its tracking systems and attempted to cross a prohibited and dangerous area east of the Strait of Hormuz, struck naval mines, causing damage and a fire,” Iran’s military said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.
French Consumer Confidence Tanks As Bond Crisis, Far-Left Riots Deepen Gloom
French consumer confidence cratered to its lowest level in 13 years as a bond market selloff that sent yields soaring, weeks of social unrest sparked by far-left groups, and political instability all collided at once, casting a dark economic cloud over the European country.
Statistics agency Insee reported that its monthly consumer confidence gauge plunged five points this month, falling well below forecasts compiled by Bloomberg. This was the lowest reading since June 2013, in the aftermath of the eurozone debt crisis.
Households’ assessments of past living standards fell to their lowest since records began in 1972, while unemployment expectations hit their highest since the Covid-19 pandemic. Respondents also said their financial outlook was the bleakest in four years, and inflation expectations rose.
“The miss was broad-based: the personal financial situation outlook fell sharply to -24 from -15, unemployment concerns jumped to 61 from 56, and savings capacity deteriorated,” UBS markets analyst Nana Antiedu wrote in a note to clients earlier today.
Bloomberg Economics commented on the dire outlook, saying, “Weak sentiment is likely to weigh on spending as political uncertainty increases. This brings further downside risks to our fourth-quarter growth forecast.”
France’s mounting public debt is another concern and has become a major issue ahead of next April’s presidential election after nearly a decade under President Emmanuel Macron, who is ending his term in crisis.
Gilbert Cette, an economics professor at Neoma Business School in Paris, described the public debt as “enormous,” adding, “France’s entire economic policy is constrained by such a sizable debt level.”
Cette said France has combined higher spending with tax cuts in recent years. That combination will likely have to be scaled back as Macron’s successor confronts rising borrowing costs that compound the country’s budget challenges and could usher in a period of austerity.
Right-wing presidential candidate Marine Le Pen has released her party’s shadow budget plan, which promises €140 billion in cost savings over five years and aims to bring the deficit back below 3% by the end of the decade.
“If the French do not choose a political break, France is heading towards default,” Le Pen recently said. She has also slammed Macron’s successive governments for having failed “to anticipate the slightest economic, financial or budgetary policy capable of preventing the noose of interest payments from strangling France.”
Last Friday, France was spared a downgrade by credit rating agency Moody’s, which maintained its sovereign rating at Aa3 with a negative outlook. This has offered short-term relief, with French 10-year government bond yields trending below 5%. But the France-Germany 10-year yield spread (OAT-Bund) remains at 1.62 percentage points, or 162 basis points, a level last seen during the eurozone debt crisis.
IEA Birol Warns Of No “Credible Pathway” Back To Pre-War Energy Markets In 2027
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol told the Singapore International Energy Week conference on Monday that global energy markets won’t return to pre-war conditions in 2027 and that prolonged supply disruptions, especially of refined products such as diesel and jet fuel, will keep pressure on economies and threaten fuel availability heading into the Northern Hemisphere winter.
Great to be back in Singapore for #SIEW2026. Southeast Asia has been on the front line of today’s energy crisis, but it can also be at the forefront of the solution. By building on a strong foundation of trust and cooperation, the region can write a new chapter in energy security.
“I am afraid I don’t see any credible pathway that the markets will go next year, where we were before this war has started,” Birol told the conference, who Reuters quoted.
“So therefore, we all need to get prepared, taking the energy security as a number one priority in our government, business world, but without forgetting what is the next chapter for the countries and for companies that are all here today,” he said.
Brent crude reached $117 a barrel Friday but, by Monday morning, was retracing last week’s 6% rally as renewed diplomatic efforts provided some hope of de-escalation in the Gulf area. Brent is trading around $114 a barrel, although the growing risk of another round of US-Iran conflict could send crude much higher.
“Oil prices are flirting with $120 a barrel and the prices for products are even much higher,” Birol said. He declined to forecast crude prices but warned that current levels were widening trade deficits and placing significant economic pressure on many countries.
Birol continued, “I am worried on top of that for refined products because we are entering…winter season. Some parts of the world, where typically diesel demand goes high and several refineries are going through maintenance period.”
“In Europe, we are facing a tough winter because European countries have decided to cut gas imports from Russia and with the additional problem now rising from the Iran war, namely Qatar and the Emirates not being able to export gas as they were before, will put significant pressure on gas markets,” he added.
Birol’s warning on Monday follows a recent IEA report stating that the “gasoil market balance will remain tight well into 2027 and is dependent on a recovery of product supply from the Middle East. Failing this, further demand reductions and the heavy economic costs these will entail may be needed to balance markets.“
Goldman energy analyst Nikhil Bhandari warned last month that a deepening refining crisis could extend pain at the pump for diesel and gasoline well into 2027.
In a separate note in September, Bank of America analysts said that a prolonged disruption in the Strait of Hormuz could send oil prices to $150 a barrel.
Beyond crude, Goldman’s Daan Struyven warned last week that European natural gas prices could soar to 150 euros per megawatt-hour if Gulf disruptions persist. Prices are currently trading around 96 euros per megawatt-hour, their highest level since 2022.
A Council official turned up at the home of YouTube pianist Brendan Kavanagh – better known as Dr K – to investigate his 12-year-old daughter Zoe’s pretend teddy bear cafe for illegal trading.
Yes, really. Stuffed animals, toy tea sets, play money, and a handwritten “prices” sign in a family property triggered a formal Bedford Borough planning department visit after a complaint about an “illegal cafe.”
Kavanagh filmed the arrival and the tour. The official showed ID outside, then walked through the setup of teddies around a table with cups and cakes. Obviously, no actual trading was happening with real customers. Just a child’s game in a private home. Threatening letters had already arrived from the council’s planning department.
For those of you who thought the visit from a Bedford Borough Council official to investigate our daughter Zoe’s (age 12) pretend teddy bear cafe was too ridiculous to be real, here is the arrival of official. This is totally legit. She really did show up at our property to investigate the illegal teddy bears having their coffee??????
The official appeared to have done almost no homework. She referenced a website tied to the complaint but showed little grasp of what she was actually investigating or the basic facts before grilling the family at their own home. This is the same local authority environment that has previously sent multiple officers to the Kavanagh property.
Another crazy incident in our old house (now sold) – We got visited by an official from the planning department for Bedfordshire Borough Council Why? Because Zoe’s (age 12) toy cafe got reported for illegal trading. I kid you not. We had to show the lady around our property to prove we weren’t running an illegal operation.
Kavanagh is a pianist who specialises in improvised boogie-woogie mixed with blues, jazz, rock and roll and Irish themes. His YouTube channel has more than 2.6 million subscribers and over a billion views. He regularly plays public pianos, including the Elton John-donated instrument at St Pancras station, and livestreams the performances.
Those videos exploded after a January 2024 confrontation. A group of Chinese nationals waving flags and claiming “Chinese TV” representation demanded he stop filming them in a public place, threatened legal action over image rights, and accused him of racism when he pointed out “we’re in public” and “we’re not in Communist China.”
Police were called. The clip went massively viral. Kavanagh later reported death threats and spent time keeping a low profile. He has framed such clashes as part of a broader culture war over free speech, public space and incompatible attitudes imported into Britain.
Leftist and authoritarian reactions have followed. He has been targeted over his traditional Latin mass chapel, set up in a barn after an appeal by composer James MacMillan, and over free-speech stands.
In April 2025 Bedfordshire Police arrested him and his wife Lorraine at home in front of their three children, then all under 14. Six officers, multiple vehicles, handcuffs, and a search that seized electronics worth thousands.
Hey, @JohnCleese, three police cars and six cops turned up to arrest us at home for social media crimes. After two months all charges were dropped….Such is life in modern Britain? https://t.co/HprCQJjetl
The trigger was a harassment complaint after the couple emailed other Catholic parents and a senior church figure about safeguarding concerns regarding a laicized deacon with prior child-abuse allegations abroad who had celebrated Mass at their private chapel.
The complainant alleged Kavanagh was “calling him a paedophile on social media” and urging followers to “beat him up.” Kavanagh said the only evidence was three or four angry but non-violent emails. After two months on bail, all charges were dropped for lack of evidence.
No apology was offered. The children were left terrified. The couple is pursuing action against the force.
Six police surround myself and my wife and arrest us at home. This is from the police bodycam footage. We’re currently taking action against Bedfordshire police for this outrageous arrest. Myself and my wife were clearly soft targets, not exactly hardened criminals but they handcuffed both anyway …all charges dropped after a couple of months with no apology or explanation. The children were terrorised and they’ll never trust the police again.
Kavanagh stated: “My wife and I were arrested and handcuffed in front of our children. Our children were terrified and did not understand what was going on.” He added that police “did not even bother to check” the false claims, that “the low standard of evidence used to authorise such overkill is truly staggering,” and that “if someone can claim their feelings are hurt, that is all that matters… The modern British police have truly become the ‘hurty feelings’ police.”
Bedfordshire Police confirmed the numbers of officers, the searches, the bail, the eventual no-further-action decision, and that a review was underway.
The teddy-bear visit sits in the same pattern: resources directed at soft targets and trivial complaints while serious crime and illegal trading elsewhere continue.
Ignore the ‘Turkish’ barbers, vape shops, nail bars, takeaways, convenience stores and mobile phone shops. But perhaps you’ll get a win and kudos from your boss for busting this White family’s pretend shop, run by their child. https://t.co/9ft6Vbf14o
Britain’s authorities keep demonstrating the absurd depths the country has fallen to. Children’s pretend cafes now draw more official attention than real disorder.
MAGA At UN? Trump Admin Floats Viktor Orban For Secretary-General
Viktor Orbán as Secretary-General of the United Nations?
The proposal was featured in an unexpected weekend Wall Street Journal headline. The publication reports that Trump administration officials are floating the former Hungarian prime minister as UN chief.
via Associated Press
The WSJ cites some degree of emerging support for this prospect, but it would certainly be met with immense pushback and controversy among many European and other countries.
The EU was of course long at loggerheads with Orban frequently during his prior four consecutive terms in office as Hungary’s prime minister, which stretched all the way back to 2010. Most recently, it was a sole Hungarian veto that often held up more Ukraine funding.
The WSJ Editorial Board on Sunday wrote in Viktor Orbán, U.N. Secretary-General?… “You read that correctly. Sources from three countries confirm that the Trump Administration has advocated Viktor Orbán for the role of United Nations Secretary-General. The U.S. has encouraged the former Hungarian Prime Minister to enter the race, even bringing him the initial idea. The plan awaits a final decision.”
A Trump State Department official concedes that it sounds crazy at first. But Russia and China are believed to be supportive, based on prior conversations with Washington, and the plan would be for Mr. Orbán to be their joint candidate. As officials from the U.S. and a second country told us, when the U.S., Russia and China all want the same thing at the U.N. Security Council, they usually get it.
The State Department official counted eight Security Council votes “comfortably” for Mr. Orbán, and 10 within reach from the 15 council members. Would Britain and France then stand in the majority’s way? Those two are typically cautious in their use of the veto power.
Russia has had a lengthy good relationship with Orban, and he has been hosted in Moscow for one-on-one Putin meetings, even during the Ukraine war (the last time was Nov. 2025).
However, there are many countries – especially within the EU as well as among the Global South, which would harbor suspicions of any “Trump pick” as Secretary-General. They already perceive that Washington too often gets its way in term of Security Council vetoes and resolutions, particularly when it comes to protecting allies like Israel.
António Guterres concludes his second and final five-year term in the top UN office on December 31, 2026 – and so the scramble to put forth a replacement candidate is set to intensify in the coming months.
With Halloween approaching on Oct. 31, German security authorities are intensifying preparations for planned youth protests in more than 20 cities, warning that the events could be overtaken by violent actors in patterns seen during recent mass unrest in France.
Many of the videos feature different social media influencers calling for French-style protests.
“On Oct. 31, we will all be on the streets. The French showed us how, now we’re following suit,” said one influencer who earned over 1 million views on TikTok.
“On Oct. 31, we will all be on the streets. The French showed us how, now we’re following suit.” Social media influencers are calling for French-style protests on Halloween night in Germany. There are now warnings from police of potential unrest. Stephan Weh, head of the Berlin branch of the police union (GdP), stated: “We must be extremely careful that radical forces do not co-opt democratic protest as in France, use it to live out fantasies of violence, abuse the freedom of assembly, and feed the narrative of a police force hostile to citizens.” GdP national chairman Jochen Kopelke warned of “unpredictable” protests on Halloween night with a risk factor of “young riot migrants who feel like using violence against the police.” Follow: @RMXnews
Police union and political figures have issued a number of warnings. Stephan Weh, head of the Berlin branch of the police union (GdP), stated: “We must be extremely careful that radical forces do not co-opt democratic protest as in France, use it to live out fantasies of violence, abuse the freedom of assembly, and feed the narrative of a police force hostile to citizens.”
He added that the Halloween night timing compounds risks, given the common use of pyrotechnics during the night.
The protests stem from an initiative known as “Gen Z steht auf,” or “Gen Z stands up” in English, which has called for simultaneous demonstrations in Berlin, Hamburg, Munich, Cologne, Frankfurt, Leipzig, and others. Organizers, who report thousands of pre-registrations on their site, demand greater investment in education and health care, measures against rising living costs, climate action, and opposition to conscription.
Andreas Roßkopf of the GdP’s federal police section promised that state and federal forces “will proceed massively and consistently” against any riots, warning of radicals mixing into the demonstrations to attack officers “with violence and brutality” or simply to destroy property.
Many videos have called for peaceful protests, but others have alluded to the potential for rioting or looting.
These plans have drawn sharp attention after the Oct. 17 protests across France, which saw demonstrations devolve into violent riots involving masked groups setting buildings ablaze, looting shops, clashing with police, and causing widespread damage.
Authorities reported well over 1,000 arrests and hundreds of injured officers. Further online calls for Halloween gatherings targeting public buildings have also circulated in France as well on platforms like TikTok and Instagram.
In Germany, the Federal Interior Ministry has confirmed ongoing risk assessments coordinated with partners including France and Italy, while the German domestic intelligence service (BfV) is increasing surveillance of relevant websites and social-media channels. A ministry spokesman noted the distinction between “peaceful student protests” and “a violence-prone extremist scene that potentially uses such protests to spread violence.”
Hesse Interior Minister Roman Poseck (CDU) said authorities have the date “firmly in view” and that the protests are already being instrumentalized from the left spectrum. He emphasized that police will be strongly positioned, will not tolerate violence against persons or property, and must prevent France’s situation from spilling over. Bavaria’s Joachim Herrmann (CSU) urged that comparable tendencies “must be nipped in the bud,” describing the French events not as student protests but as heavy riots involving left-extremists and predominantly migrant men in street battles, arson, and looting.
GdP national chairman Jochen Kopelke has highlighted unpredictability as the core problem of the Halloween protests, unlike more routine large events such as New Year’s Eve, May 1, or football matches. Referring to reports from French colleagues, he described “street battles” and noted German precedents including the G20 in Hamburg and scenes in Leipzig-Connewitz and Berlin’s Rigaer Straße. He warned of possible simultaneous, digitally mobilized demonstrations across multiple German and European cities, and of “young riot migrants who are included to use violence against the police.” Such actors, he said, “must be kept in check and can expect no mercy from us.” Manuel Ostermann of the federal police union has cautioned that multi-day unrest with ugly images and possibly brutal violence cannot be ruled out, while insisting German forces are better prepared than their French counterparts and will permit no lawless zones.
Nearly 5,000 Germans emigrated to Poland in 2025, outpacing the numbers who left for Britain, Italy or the Netherlands, according to new government data.
Figures from Germany’s Federal Statistical Office (Destatis) showed 4,941 people moved from Germany to Poland last year, the highest total since the coronavirus pandemic. At the same time, only 1,720 moved in the opposite direction. The resulting negative migration balance for Germany was highlighted by financial daily Handelsblatt reporter Christian Wermke, who asked: “Why are more and more Germans moving across the Oder? What exactly works better in the Polish economy than in Germany? And what could we learn from our eastern neighbor so as not to permanently lose skilled workers?”
???Poland features 5 amazing swimming pools just outside Kraków, in Zakrzówek. German Youtuber @freiformation appears to prefer Poland to Germany when it comes to swimming. “No groping, no harassment, just families, children, girls, women, men, all peaceful.” https://t.co/r3cGmXnsMT
Kevin Wörner, a 33-year-old who relocated from Berlin to Warsaw, and whose mother is Polish, told the newspaper there is “an incredible sense of a new beginning here. Everyone here is very optimistic.”
He contrasted that atmosphere with conversations among friends in Germany, where “it just gets you down.” Wörner cited lower taxes, less bureaucracy, stronger digitalization, and a more business-friendly environment as practical advantages, saying he had the impression “everything is a bit simpler here and more conducive to entrepreneurship.”
The trend also comes at a time when more and more Western European visiting Poland have made remarks about how safe the country is, how there is a lack of migrants, and how much better of a lifestyle the country offers.
???? A young French-speaking woman traveling in Poland describes how shocked she is to finally not be catcalled and harassed. “It’s when you come to countries like Poland that you realize there are really problems with our countries, like Belgium or France.” “Whether it’s Brussels, Liège, or slightly bigger cities like that, I would always get catcalled, honked at, harassed… really, everything you can think of.” “And now I’m in Krakow, Poland, and it’s been two days that I’ve been walking around in this outfit, and I get absolutely no comments, no stares – like, only respect.” Follow: @RMXnews
Jens Althoff, head of the Warsaw office of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, noted that many Germans still hold a “rather distorted image of Poland.” He pointed to ongoing infrastructure investment, high levels of digitalization, punctual trains, and well-maintained stations as visible differences.
Althoff also observed that younger Poles often emphasize achievement and implementation over the work-life balance discussions common in Germany.
???? After returning from Poland, French journalist @YOANNUSAI said: “It’s true that after coming back from certain countries to France, you can say to yourself: ‘My God, what have they done to our country?'” “And it’s true that Poland is still Poland, while France is no longer France. The reality is this. The Poland of 40 years ago is the same as the Poland of today. France today is nothing like the France of 40 years ago. And immigration, of course, is partly responsible for this.” Many Western Europeans have the same reaction after returning from Poland, which still has basically the same demographics as 40 years ago. Poland is also a vastly safer country for women on the streets. “Finally, in Poland, young girls go out freely, without fear. Obviously, in Poland, there are young girls who are dressed however they want to be dressed. They don’t censor themselves, which is no longer the case in France. I had to go out on a Saturday night in Paris, and a lot of young girls self-censor how they dress. This is not the case in Poland, as I have seen. You can walk freely around Warsaw at any time of day or night without worrying about your safety, which is not even the case for me in Paris, as a man, OK? I’m afraid for my own safety at certain hours in some neighborhoods of Paris.”
Other interviewees mentioned Polish digital tools such as the BLIK mobile payment system and the mObywatel government app as examples of efficiency that stand out to newcomers. Handelsblatt’s reporting appeared amid broader German media coverage noting Poland’s economic growth and infrastructure improvements, even as some outlets have described ongoing operational difficulties on the German rail network.
The Destatis figures place Poland among the top destinations for German emigrants in 2025, behind Switzerland, Austria and Spain but ahead of several Western European countries. The newspaper framed the trend as a potential signal for German policymakers concerned about retaining skilled workers, while noting that overall German emigration remains highest to neighboring German-speaking countries, such as Austria.
British Defense Secretary Wes Streeting has said the country must be ready for war in 1,000 days, after the government advised citizens to stock up on essential supplies.
Writing in the Telegraph over the weekend, Streeting warned that the UK’s enemies could be ready to launch an attack on the UK by 2030.
He wrote: “Our adversaries’ willingness to harm us is not new. What has changed is their capacity. By 2030, their force strength and war economy could put them in a position to attack.
“That gives us a little over 1,000 days to complete our mission: to be ready with our allies to fight and win.”
Streeting said the danger may not come through conventional military action, warning that hybrid war tactics – such as disrupting technology or disinformation campaigns – also pose a threat.
‘Sabotage and Hostile Acts’
“The gravest dangers of the 20th century are returning, armed with the technologies of the 21st. But the threat to Britain is not simply one of conventional warfare, or Russian tanks rolling across our borders. It is also the growing threat of state-sponsored terrorism, sabotage, and hostile acts designed to disrupt our lives, undermine our security and spread fear in our communities,” he said.
Streeting, who was appointed defense secretary in July by Labour Prime Minister Andy Burnham, added: “To prevent the worst, we have to prepare for it. In the first instance, that means expanding our capabilities so our adversaries think twice about attacking us. Should that fail, we must ensure that Britain is ready for war.“
Streeting told Parliament on Oct. 19, “Terms such as ‘hybrid threats’ and ‘grey zone’ fail to convey adequately the seriousness of Russia’s widespread campaign of what I prefer to call state-sponsored terrorism, which it is inflicting across our continent,” adding that he expected the situation to continue.
The defense secretary, who does not have a military background, added, “We are not at war with Russia, nor do we seek confrontation, but Russia should be in no doubt that we are ready to defend every inch of NATO territory and that we will not be deterred in our unwavering support for Ukraine.”
Streeting’s comments to the Telegraph were issued following the launch of a government campaign on Oct.22 to prepare the country for a potential breakdown in essential services.
Brits are being urged to stock nine liters of bottled water and three days’ worth of food to ensure that they can survive in the event of a weather, cyber, or other critical emergency.
Parents with babies are advised to keep a supply of essential products, while all households are urged to have blankets, cash, a first-aid kit, a flashlight with batteries, and a wind-up FM radio.
‘Not About Panicking’
In an interview with BBC Radio 5, Burnham was challenged over the fact that members of his own government appeared not to be treating the advice to prepare for emergencies seriously, including Housing Secretary Angela Rayner.
She joked in an interview with Times Radio that her emergency box would include mascara, concealer, a bottle of white wine, baked beans, and a tin of custard.
The prime minister told the BBC he would personally stock up on canned goods, including baked beans and soup, as well as Twiglets, a crispy snack.
Burnham said: “It’s not about panicking. … It’s about just taking sensible measures to have enough in the house to tide you over should there be a difficult situation,” adding that unexpected events, “sadly, in the world that we’re in, are becoming more likely.”
Earlier this month, Sir Ken McCallum, the director general of domestic intelligence agency MI5, called for a “whole-of-society effort” to protect the UK against threats to national infrastructure, warning that hostile states could exploit vulnerabilities in the country’s financial systems, energy grids, and supply chains.
Russia ‘Aggressor Number One’
Speaking on Oct. 13, McCallum said the risks were likely to persist in a more contested geopolitical environment compared with the relative stability after the Cold War ended.
He said that Russia “remains aggressor number one,” and that the Kremlin “continues to lash out at the UK and its allies.”
The MI5 chief said the Russian military and intelligence services were “once again escalating their attempts at hybrid warfare – being careful to stay below the NATO Article V threshold [that] it would be foolish for them to cross.”
“This means Russia is using tactics that stop short – though sometimes not much short – of conventional conflict,” he said.
“To stand up to the pressure our adversaries are trying to put us under, we need to build a ‘team of teams,’ not just between different bits of government, but as a true whole-of-society effort.”
McCallum warned that infrastructure designed for efficiency could be vulnerable to malicious disruption. He gave examples including a banking-app hack that could lock people out of their accounts, a drone attack on an airport runway leaving travelers stranded, and a cyberattack on a local hospital, delaying treatment.
One Big Club Update: Judge Rules DOJ Unlawfully Fired Epstein Prosecutor Maurene Comey, Orders Her Reinstated
A federal judge ruled Monday that the Justice Department unlawfully fired Maurene Comey, the former Manhattan federal prosecutor who worked on the Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell cases and the daughter of ex-FBI Director James Comey, and ordered her reinstated retroactively with back pay.
U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman, in a 55-page decision, found that her removal violated the Civil Service Reform Act and the constitutional separation of powers, CBS News reported. The back pay runs from her July 2025 firing through Dec. 20, 2025, when she accepted a different job.
Furman rejected the government’s central argument that the attorney general can fire a career prosecutor at will. He wrote that the administration was trying to “upend” long-settled case law allowing Congress to regulate the removal of inferior officers, called the Justice Department’s position a “sweeping and unprecedented theory of executive authority,” and warned that accepting it would “unsettle the very equilibrium” of the constitutional system.
He also refused to let a later sign-off cure the firing. The administration said in May that then-Attorney General Pam Bondi “directed” the removal and that her successor, Todd Blanche, “ratified” it. Furman held that the ratification did not save it.
The government’s own record undercut it. In court, DOJ admitted Comey had “outstanding” performance ratings from 2019 through 2024. According to the Daily Beast, Furman said the reasoning for the firing “borders on frivolous,” and that he will issue a declaration that DOJ violated the separation of powers, the Civil Service Reform Act, the First Amendment and the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause.
Nobody ever told her why. Comey said she was “summarily fired via memo” from DOJ headquarters in Washington; the letter cited Article II of the Constitution and said her employment was “hereby terminated.” Jay Clayton, then the interim U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, told her, “All I can say is it came from Washington. I can’t tell you anything else,” per the Daily Beast.
The government had also argued that she had to take her claims to the Merit Systems Protection Board. Furman rejected that because the firing rested on Article II rather than on a civil service law, which put the case in federal court. He made the same call in April, when he kept the lawsuit in his courtroom and left the merits for later.
A Justice Department spokesperson said the department “disagrees with this decision and will appeal in due course.” Comey’s lawyers called the ruling a “hard-earned victory” for her and for civil servants, saying it reaffirms that “the President is not above the law.”
Comey had been a federal prosecutor in Manhattan since 2015. Besides Epstein and Maxwell, she handled cases against Sean “Diddy” Combs and former Sen. Robert Menendez. Her firing came in July 2025, and we reported it then.
The suit alleges she was fired because of her father or her perceived politics. James Comey, a Trump critic, has been indicted twice in the second Trump term. One case, charging him with lying to Congress, was thrown out after a judge ruled the indictment was illegally obtained. In the other, he is charged over a deleted Instagram post of seashells arranged as “86 47,” and his lawyers have moved to dismiss, arguing it is protected political speech and a vindictive prosecution. He denies wrongdoing.
The Justice Department says it will appeal, so the reinstatement may not stick. In court it leaned on a statute letting the attorney general remove assistant U.S. attorneys, and on the Supreme Court’s June decision allowing the president to fire members of certain independent agencies at will. Furman called those arguments “without merit,” per the Daily Beast.
A Brief Timeline
Maurene Comey becamse a US attorney in the Southern District of New York in 2015.
In 2019, when she was just 30-years-old, Comey became one of the lead prosecutors in the Jeffrey Epstein case before he was found dead in his jail cell in August 2019.
Two years later, she became one of three lead prosecutors in the trial of Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s partner in crime and daughter of suspected Mossad operative Robert Maxwell.
Before becoming a US attorney, Comey clerked for US District Court chief judge Loretta Preska of the SDNY – who notably oversaw a long-running defamation case filed by Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell.
Comey was also involved in the case ofNicholas Tartaglione, a former NYPD officer who was convicted of killing four men in 2016, and who was briefly Epstein’s cellmate in the Manhattan Metro Correctional Center. Tartaglione claims to have helped Epstein after ‘finding him unconscious’ (and totally not trying to kill him) prior to Epstein’s actual death.
In 2016, Tartaglione suspected a man named Martin Luna had stolen money from him – for which “Tartaglione tortured Martin and then forced one of Martin’s nephews to watch as he strangled him to death with a zip-tie,” according to a statement by the US Attorney’s Office.
Two days after Epstein’s death, NY Times reporter James B Stewart, who had spent 90 minutes with Epstein a year prior, wrote “The overriding impression I took away from our roughly 90-minute conversation was that Mr. Epstein knew an astonishing number of rich, famous and powerful people, and had photos to prove it. He also claimed to know a great deal about these people, some of it potentially damaging or embarrassing, including details about their supposed sexual proclivities and recreational drug use.
And so, whether this is just a case of ‘it’s a small world’ or something a little (or a lot) less innocent, James Comey’s daughter is now involved in a second case where high-profile celebrities and politicians may have been secretly filmed engaging in sexual activity with minors.
On Election Eve, Israeli Opposition Says Netanyahu Must Face Treason Probe
On the eve of Israel’s high pressure legislative elections, the explosive and provocative charge of “treason” is being thrown around.
Former Israeli Finance Minister Avigdor Liberman on Monday called for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu be criminally investigated for the charge of treason, accusing him of fomenting a foreign war for the sole purpose of extending his and Likud’s party’s rule.
“This morning, I appealed to the Attorney General demanding the opening of a criminal investigation against Benjamin Netanyahu for the charge of treason,” Liberman wrote on X.
“In the past month, Israel’s Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has been pressuring the heads of the security establishment to take steps that could create a miscalculation vis-à-vis Iran.”
In essence, he’s accusing Netanyahu was trying to drag Israel into a war just before the upcoming elections – not on legitimate national security grounds, but for personal political gain.
“The attempt to drag the State of Israel into war on the eve of elections, together with the willingness to sacrifice IDF soldiers solely due to fear of losing the elections, constitutes treason against the state, its security, and the IDF soldiers,” the post concluded.
Israel’s Channel 12 news reported that the prime minister and the armed forces chief of staff, Lt Gen Eyal Zamir, clashed in recent days over a directive to the military which could “potentially spark an immediate conflagration with Iran at a very sensitive juncture”, by provoking a miscalculation by Iran.
Netanyahu has vehemently denied the charge.
President Trump has meanwhile written no less than two glowing endorsements of Netanyahu on his Truth Social platform. The posts tout that Netanyahu is a “Great Warrior Prime Minister” and that he can help the US “finish the job” against Iran.
Polls have shown that entering Tuesday’s elections Netanyahu remains neck and neck with former Israel Defense Forces Chief of Staff Gadi Eisenkot.
?? Gadi Eisenkot calls Netanyahu DELUSIONAL over Iran nuclear claims He claims the PM knew all along that the regime didn’t have nuclear weapons despite using the threat to justify military escalation. With Israel heading into its first nationwide election since October 7, polling show Eisenkot’s party leading Likud 23 seats to 19 ? Writer: Bri https://t.co/rJDq1ySORS
This will be a hugely significant test of public sentiment on Netanyahu’s leadership, given it will be the first national vote since Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and ensuing major war in Gaza.
