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MotoGP says Yamaha’s lack of participation at next weekend’s event in Lusail ‘carries sporting implications’.

Yamaha has withdrawn its MotoGP team from next weekend’s race in Qatar, citing “the situation in the Middle East”.

The Japanese manufacturer announced its decision shortly after the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.

“Yamaha has not identified sufficient grounds to change its existing company-wide travel restrictions,” Yamaha said in a statement.

Among the racers on the MotoGP grid riding Yamaha bikes is France’s Fabio Quartararo, the 2021 world champion. Alex Rins of Spain is the other racer on the Yamaha team.

The sport’s governing body, the MotoGP Group, said it was “disappointed” by the decision and “Yamaha’s non-participation also carries sporting implications”.

“While we recognise the team is subject to a broader corporate policy restricting travel to the Middle East, we do not believe this decision reflects the extensive assurances provided to all championship stakeholders,” it said.

MotoGP said talks with the organisers in Qatar and safety advisers had not flagged any reasons to change plans for the event, which will run from Friday to November 8 at the Lusail International Circuit outside Qatar’s capital, Doha.

“We communicated that position, together with the latest available information, to all manufacturers and teams today and welcome the confirmation from the remainder of the grid that they will compete in Qatar, and we thank them for that commitment,” the MotoGP Group said.

The statements were released shortly after the Malaysian MotoGP in Sepang, after which there are just three races left in the season.

Ducati’s reigning seven-time world champion, Marc Marquez, won the race at Sepang and could clinch the title in Doha.

Qatar was subject to Iranian attacks from February to April after the United States and Israel began a war on Iran. On Friday, a Qatari liquefied natural gas tanker was hit by unidentified objects in the Gulf, and in September 2025, Israel carried out an air strike on Doha that killed and injured Hamas leaders.

Al Jazeera has requested a comment from the Qatar Motor and Motorcycle Federation.

Iranian officials have been speaking with Qatari mediators about a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, in the latest effort to find a diplomatic path out of the US-Israel war on Iran that has caused a serious global energy crisis.

But even amid signs of diplomatic progress, officials from both sides say they are ready for renewed military escalation.

President Donald Trump, who has repeatedly suggested the United States could attack Iran after the November 3 midterm elections, said the latest negotiations were “going fine”, but added that the US still had several Iranian targets to “take care of”.

Meanwhile, Araghchi has also said Iran’s military was more prepared than ever for renewed war, while the country’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, threatened Iran would use “new weaponry” in response to any future attack.

Here’s what we know about the latest diplomatic efforts and the sharp rhetoric from both sides, and what it could mean for what lies ahead:

What is the status of talks?

Araghchi said on Saturday that an Iranian delegation, including one of his aides, travelled to Doha to meet Qatari mediators. Earlier, Qatari officials also travelled to Tehran for consultations.

The latest discussions in Doha centred on a plan that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a global energy chokepoint, within two days and restart peace talks with the US, provided Washington meets a set of demands from Tehran, Araghchi told Al Jazeera.

Those demands include the lifting of recently imposed US sanctions, the reinstatement of oil waivers granted in June, a reduction in the US military presence in the region, recognition of new shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz designated by Iran and Oman, and an end to the conflict on all fronts, including Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, said Araghchi.

Qatari and Pakistani mediators were “continuing consultations regarding our conditions”, said the top Iranian diplomat.

Pakistan has been mediating between the US and Iran, with its army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, visiting Tehran several times as part of the diplomatic efforts to end the war. Doha and Islamabad played key roles in the signing of the June memorandum of understanding (MoU) that collapsed in August.

Iran’s Rezaei said the US had “indicated its readiness” to accept its conditions, although Washington has not confirmed this.

On the US side, Secretary of State Marco Rubio confirmed Qatar-led talks were ongoing, but said he was not aware of a timeframe for them.

“There are multiple talks. Talks have actually never stopped,” said Rubio. “If there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it.”

Why has Iran noted a change in the US’s ‘tone’?

The renewed diplomatic activity comes after US Vice President JD Vance sent a letter earlier this week to Rezaei, reportedly seeking to gauge the prospects of restarting negotiations and averting another round of military escalation.

Rezaei confirmed on Saturday that he had read the letter, whose tone he said had “completely changed” compared with earlier correspondence from Trump.

Araghchi also said he had studied Vance’s letter, which he described positively.

“The American side’s attempt to open the door to dialogue and understanding more broadly is a positive step,” Araghchi told Al Jazeera.

However, he warned, “If Washington’s goal in sending this letter is to stir up discord, it would be yet another mistake to add to its previous ones.”

What has Iran said about prospects for peace and war?

Iranian officials have said they are open to new peace talks if the US meets their conditions, but also ready to act more aggressively in any new military confrontation.

“I know that our armed forces are more prepared for war than any time before, and we are ready for any scenario,” Araghchi told Al Jazeera.

In the event of any new military threat from the US or Israel, Iran’s response would be “immediate” and “without geographical limitations”, according to a statement by Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Khamenei ordered commanders to update Iran’s target list to include “all types of tangible and intangible assets belonging to the American-Zionist enemy”.

Rezaei told Al Jazeera that Iran would use “new weaponry” in its response to any future attacks. He also said Iran’s government was weighing a change to its “nuclear doctrine”, which currently includes a ban on nuclear weapons.

Iran’s nuclear programme has been a major point of contention in the conflict with the US, and Trump has repeatedly said Iran must never be allowed to acquire a nuclear weapon. Tehran insists its nuclear programme is for civilian purposes.

What is the latest from Trump?

The US president has sent mixed signals about the status of peace talks. On Saturday, he said negotiations were “going fine” but added that they were “not very reliable”.

He also said the US military still needed to “take care of” several Iranian sites, singling out a suspected underground nuclear complex known as Pickaxe Mountain.

Trump added that the US could achieve its military objectives “very quickly” and was not in a hurry.

Previously, he threatened to renew attacks that would “finish off” Iran, while the US has reportedly warned its Gulf allies to prepare for a short, high-intensity round of conflict after the midterm elections.

Rubio said Trump had not yet decided on whether to carry out new strikes, but warned the US “can achieve military objectives if we seek to”.

How could Israel play into the calculation?

Israel, which joined the US in initiating the war against Iran in February, is preparing for another round of potential conflict right after the US midterm elections, according to a senior Israeli official cited by Israel’s Ynet News site.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said Israel has a “historic, one-time opportunity … to remove the Iranian threat once and for all”. While Netanyahu’s coalition lost its parliamentary majority in recent legislative elections, the 77-year-old leader remains in office as caretaker until a new government is formed.

Andreas Krieg, an associate professor of security studies at King’s College London, told Al Jazeera that Netanyahu’s threats complicate Iran’s calculus because Tehran fears “even a nuclear agreement with Washington may not end the threat of another Israeli attack”.

Brigadier-General Yadollah Javani, the deputy for political affairs of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said Iranian forces are operating on the assumption that the US or Israel could strike at any moment.

What explains the parallel diplomatic efforts and war rhetoric?

Hamidreza Azizi, a senior Iran analyst with the Crisis Group, said Tehran is pursuing diplomacy while also “attempting to redefine” the military implications of another potential conflict.

“For now, diplomacy and military preparations are proceeding simultaneously,” he wrote in a post on X. “The emerging Iranian position seems to be that an agreement remains possible, but another war would be fought under different rules and on a much wider battlefield.”

He added, “Whether Washington takes these warnings as credible deterrence or further escalatory threats could significantly influence what happens next.”

Krieg said the November 3 elections give Iran an incentive to delay concessions to deny Trump a diplomatic victory. But that calculus could change afterwards when he has fewer domestic political restraints on military action.

“We could therefore reach a situation where Iran becomes more willing to compromise precisely when Washington becomes more willing to strike,” said Krieg.

Hundreds of police, some carrying batons and shields, are deployed around the rally site.

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in India’s capital, New Delhi, to demand the resignation of the election chief over changes to voter lists that opposition parties say favour Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ruling party.

Indian National Congress party leader Rahul Gandhi led Sunday’s demonstration, the latest in more than a month of protests challenging the revision of electoral rolls and the conduct of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.

Opposition parties alleged the exercise, which removed more than 130 million names from voter lists, disproportionately affected Muslims and other minorities considered unlikely to support Modi’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

The Election Commission has denied favouring any party and said voters whose names were wrongly removed may register again.

The BJP has accused opposition parties of undermining democracy by challenging legitimate electoral procedures. India’s next general election is due in 2029.

Officials ramped up security measures and announced traffic diversions before demonstrators marched from central New Delhi towards the historic Ramlila Maidan ground.

Hundreds of police, some carrying batons and shields, were deployed around the rally site alongside riot-control vehicles. Demonstrators waved Indian and party flags as opposition leaders travelled in an open-top jeep.

Health Minister Jagat Prakash Nadda dismissed the demonstration as a “carefully orchestrated drama”.

“What is unfolding today at Ramlila Maidan is not an act of respect for democracy,” he told the ANI news agency. “It is a calculated conspiracy to plunge the nation into anarchy, all in the name of democracy.”

Opposition parties, student organisations and the youth-led Cockroach Janta Party have staged near-daily demonstrations since late September, calling for Kumar to step down.

The protests began after Kumar’s two deputies raised concerns about revisions to voter lists, registration procedures and digital systems.

Analysts described the demonstrations and growing support for the opposition as Modi’s most serious political crisis since he took office in 2014.

Large demonstrations have taken place across Germany, and some have descended into violence with police firing water cannon at people throwing Molotov cocktails.

Several police officers were injured on Saturday after tens of thousands of people joined youth-led protests across the country organised by the group “Gen Z regelt” (Gen Z has got this).

The demonstrations, inspired by similar movements in France and Italy, remained largely peaceful during the day.

But tensions escalated in the evening as groups of young people refused to disperse. Violence was reported in major cities, including Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg.

“Gen Z regelt” said about 120,000 people took part in the protests, below the roughly 180,000 it had expected.

Here’s how conspiracy theories shaped the last 600 years. The printing press helped spread European witch-hunts even as it helped usher in the Enlightenment. The Nazis turned radio into a weapon of mass persuasion. Social media promised freedom but gave dictators new tools of control. We trace centuries of conspiracy theories – and ask what artificial intelligence could bring next.

In this episode:

Episode credits:

This episode was produced by Mohamed Hassan, Marcos Bartolome, Marthe van der Wolf and Sonia Bhagat and was edited by Alexandra Locke. Our engagement producer is Adam Abou-Gad. Our sound designer is Alex Roldan.

Connect with us:

@AJEPodcasts on X, Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube

New York City mayor says US president ‘has agreed to grant her visa immediately’.

New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani says after a phone call with United States President Donald Trump that the mother of a 15-year-old Ghanaian boy who was shot dead in the Bronx will be granted a visa.

Mamdani wrote in a post on X on Saturday that he had spoken with Trump about Javits Frimpong, whose mother is seeking to travel to New York to say goodbye to her son.

The US president “has agreed to grant her visa immediately”, the mayor wrote.

“The murder of a child is a pain no parent should have to endure, let alone from thousands of miles away,” he wrote.

There was no immediate comment from Trump.

CCTV footage that captured the last moments of Frimpong’s life showed him being chased by three other teens on Thursday morning as he was on his way to school. He was shot in his abdomen and died the same day in hospital. Thousands of people attended vigils held for the teenager across the city.

The 15-year-old had told his father he was bullied at school. Thomas Frimpong, Javits’s father, called on the police to help him “find justice for my son”. Police have said they are investigating, but no arrests have been made yet.

Javits’s parents moved him to the US a year ago in the hopes of providing him a better life. Congressman Richie Torres, who represents the Bronx, wrote on social media that “our entire borough is mourning a young man who should have had his whole future ahead of him.”

Ghanaian Foreign Minister Sam Okudzeto Ablakwa stated on social media that Ghanaian officials are “coordinating with local authorities” and helping Javits’s mother with her visa application. Visa applications from a number of African countries have been severely limited under the Trump administration.

Dozens of officers, some accompanied by police dogs, moved into Rossio Square in Lisbon early on Sunday.

Police have used shields and batons to disperse housing protesters who stormed a tent camp in Portugal’s capital, Lisbon, a week after similar operations drew criticism from protesters and rights groups.

Dozens of officers, some accompanied by police dogs, moved into Rossio Square at about 4:30am (04:30 GMT) on Sunday, a day after thousands marched demanding the government withdraw a rental bill they say would deepen the country’s housing crisis.

Protesters had erected more than 50 tents following Saturday’s march through Lisbon. Police commander Iuri Rodrigues issued three warnings to remove the tents, saying they had been erected illegally and that anyone resisting their removal could face disobedience charges.

Hundreds of demonstrators shielding the camp were dispersed, while police also dismantled a smaller encampment in Porto’s Dom Joao I square.

Earlier, lawmaker Pedro Delgado Alves said Rossio Square was peaceful and that nothing justified “a police intervention involving force, physical violence or baton charges, the kind of scenes we witnessed last week”.

The intervention followed operations in the same squares the previous Sunday, when police arrested 25 people in Lisbon and six in Porto. Housing campaign group Casa para Viver said 60 people were injured across those operations, which police described as “proportionate”.

Rising housing costs

The protests reflect growing anger over housing costs across Europe, including demonstrations in Spain and opposition to government economic policies in France, Germany and Albania.

Portugal faces one of Europe’s severest housing affordability crises, with young people among the hardest hit. House prices have more than doubled since 2017, while rents on new leases have almost doubled.

The Bank of Portugal estimates a nationwide shortage of 300,000 homes, equivalent to Lisbon’s entire housing stock.

Demonstrators want the minority centre-right government to scrap legislation that would make evictions easier and remove rent caps on new leases, saying it would worsen affordability and leave tenants more exposed.

UNRWA’s West Bank director, Roland Friedrich, said the scenes in Hebron carry “alarming echoes” of the mass displacement in the northern occupied West Bank in early 2025, when Israeli military operations emptied the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams refugee camps.

More than 34,000 Palestinian refugees from the Jenin, Tulkarem and Nur Shams camps remain displaced, according to UNRWA, more than a year after Israel’s “Iron Wall” operation began in January 2025. The operation destroyed more than half of the camps’ residential buildings.

OCHA’s demolition records capture only a fraction of that destruction. Between 2009 and October 2026, the agency recorded 1,399 buildings demolished in the Jenin and Tulkarem governorates, displacing 4,139 people. Those records mainly track demolitions carried out for lack of permits or as punishment, not buildings destroyed during military raids.

An investigation by the research group Forensic Architecture found evidence of deliberate, systematic destruction. Researchers verified more than 200 incidents involving the destruction of buildings and streets across four refugee camps, using armoured bulldozers, controlled demolitions and air attacks. They found that roads were widened through homes and gardens to create routes for military vehicles. The group concluded that Israel was applying tactics in the occupied West Bank similar to those it had used in Gaza.

In February 2025, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said Tulkarem and Jenin would come to resemble Jabalia and Shujayea, two of Gaza’s most devastated areas.

The raids have not stopped. Last week, Israeli forces detained four Palestinians in Tulkarem, and in the village of Burin, south of Nablus, troops converted several homes into military barracks, as they have in Hebron.

Near Jenin, the army has ordered the residents of an entire village to leave permanently. “I have sheep and cows. Our entire lives are tied to this land,” said farmer Jabri Yahya. “Last year they uprooted our olive trees, and this year they want to force us to leave. We don’t know where to go.”

Trump says defeated presidential candidate, who faces investigation in Brazil, can stay in the US ‘as long as he wants’.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says President Donald Trump’s administration did not help Brazil’s defeated presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro flee the country for the United States after losing a run-off to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Bolsonaro arrived in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, a day after the US Department of State said Bolsonaro and his family would be granted US visas after his October 25 election loss, which bucked a trend of conservative electoral wins in Latin America.

Bolsonaro is under investigation in Brazil for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion, and before leaving, he had been ordered to surrender his passport because police deemed him a flight risk.

“We didn’t facilitate anything,” Rubio told reporters on Saturday in Atlanta, Georgia, where diplomats from the Group of 20 largest world economies were gathered.

“We had word that he had arrived in the United States. He had previously held a visa, and the president made a decision to allow him to enter the country,” Rubio said.

He added that the US government was not “involved directly in any of the moves that were made”.

Rubio also said he had seen Brazil’s foreign minister, Mauro Vieira, in Atlanta on Friday and Saturday and he expected to see Brazilian officials again in November in France during a foreign ministers meeting.

Separately, Trump, who had previously called Brazil’s election “rigged”, voiced sympathy for Bolsonaro and said he could stay in the US indefinitely.

“I think he got treated very shabbily, very shabbily, so he can stay here as long as he wants,” the president told reporters at his Florida residence on Saturday.

The Reuters news agency reported that Bolsonaro was admitted to the US under humanitarian parole, a status that typically lasts for one year.

Trump’s comments suggested relations between the Western Hemisphere’s two largest democracies may remain strained for some time.

After Bolsonaro’s run-off loss, he fled Brazil to the US via Argentina and Ecuador on a journey that some US media outlets reported was partly arranged with the help of Jason Miller, a White House official.

Bolsonaro has refused to concede the Brazilian election and called the results fraudulent without providing evidence.

Since arriving in the US, he has claimed to be the true “leader” of Brazil and said he left the country because he was a victim of “persecution”.

General Atomics says it is working on a new hybrid-electric-powered flying-wing-type strike/reconnaissance drone called NextGen that could be able to stay aloft for more than 60 hours. Work on NextGen will also feed into one of the designs within the company’s Gambit family of drones, which are also based around a common modular core ‘chassis’ concept. Separate progress is being made on the newest member of that family, the air-to-surface optimized Gambit 6, with plans now for a live-fire air-to-ground ordnance demonstration early next year.

C. Mark Brinkley, a spokesperson for General Atomics, shared these and other details with TWZ as part of an update on the status of the entire Gambit effort.

“When we announced the Gambit Series in 2022, we knew that it was an ambitious, multi-stage concept that would require many years before its full power would be realized across all variants,” Brinkley said. “It’s not complicated to understand, but it is revolutionary, and revolutions take time.”

Gambit Series: The Future of Air Dominance

When the Gambit family was first rolled out four years ago, General Atomics presented four distinct design concepts. These were the intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) focused Gambit 1, the air-to-air combat-optimized Gambit 2, an uncrewed ‘red air’ aggressor called Gambit 3, and the stealthy flying wing Gambit 4. Since then, the company has also added the Gambit 5, intended for carrier-based operations, and the aforementioned Gambit 6.

All of the Gambit concepts are designed to leverage a common ‘chassis’ that includes landing gear, baseline avionics, and other core hardware. General Atomics touts this as helping to reduce costs and accelerate the development of very different drone designs.

General Atomics’ Brinkley provided brief updates on all six existing Gambit design concepts, as well as the common core.

• “Gambit Core: First, I think you saw the recent update on our partnership with Spirit Defense. They have been partnered with us for a long time, and they’re bought in on the Gambit concept. As a teaming arrangement, it really buys down manufacturing risk and also allows General Atomics to pursue many other projects simultaneously, whether that’s MQ-9B or Wildfire or other things.”

• “Gambit 1 is out there flying today. The first example is the XQ-67 Off-Board Sensing Station [OBSS], built in collaboration with Air Force Research Laboratory [AFRL]. They’re a great partner and really have a vision for this as a new warfighting concept for the future.”

Developed under the secretive OBSS program, the XQ-67A was unveiled to the public in 2024, as TWZ was the first to report. Experimentation using this one-off drone fed into General Atomics’ development of what is now called the FQ-42A Vengeance, which we will come back to in a moment, as well as the U.S. Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program. Last year, AFRL announced that the XQ-67A would receive modifications and upgrades to support further advanced autonomy and related developments under a new program called Demonstration of Autonomous Collaborative Platform Performance and Effectiveness (abbreviated as Demon Ape).

XQ-67A: First Flight

On Tuesday, AFRL announced in a press release that it “demonstrated integration of several advanced mission systems including state-of-the-art sensors, mission computers and power and thermal management hardware, all designed to work collaboratively in demanding combat environments,” on the XQ-67A during a recent test flight over the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) as part of Demon Ape.

“Additionally, the integration of Beyond Line-of-Sight datalinks and live, virtual and constructive simulations during the flight demonstrated management of uncrewed platforms across distributed theaters, bolstering deterrence through resilient, layered command and control,” AFRL’s release added.

Demon APE

• “Gambit 2 is also flying today. Our first example is the FQ-42A Vengeance with the U.S. Air Force. Upcoming milestones include our first missile live-fire later this year, and participation in [Exercise] Emerald Flag. We’ll be at [the] International Fighter Conference next week with the full-scale model.”

The FQ-42A is one of two designs the Air Force has now ordered into production under the first phase, or Increment 1, of its CCA program. The other is Anduril’s FQ-44A Fury. In September, the Air Force announced a goal of having at least 500 Increment 1 CCAs in inventory by 2032.

• “Gambit 3 is a red-air trainer concept. We all know this is coming. It’s a critical must-have for the future. But right now, we live in a world filled with critical needs, so where does this fit in? Because of the way we have designed the Gambit Series, everything feeds everything else. You can pursue a tactical variant first, then walk back to this later. Eventually, manned aircraft will need to fight against these autonomous jets and train like they fight, but you don’t need them actually loaded with weapons. You’ll be simulating all of that anyway. So with Gambit 3, you can alter the design without starting from scratch and probably remove some fighter components from the trainers to add overall value. Considering that we have Gambits 1 and 2 flying now, we probably don’t need a pure trainer prototype unless the buyer wanted different engines and other changes.”

Gambit 3 is by far the concept within this larger family that has been discussed the least to date, so it is particularly interesting to get an update on General Atomics’ current thinking here. There continues to be a degree of interest in this kind of capability within the U.S. military, especially to help provide greater volumes of platforms capable of representing more advanced aerial threats during large-scale exercises. However, despite several past efforts, there has been no significant acquisition of next-generation unmanned aggressors that we are aware of. As an aside, Anduril’s Fury was originally developed by a company called Blue Force Technologies for the ‘red air’ role.

• “Gambit 4 is a flying wing. This is where things get interesting. General Atomics is currently working on a much larger flying wing we call NextGen. It’s not a CCA. We’re talking novel hybrid-electric propulsion on a fully armed, fully outfitted, ISR/Strike wing. Our engine team has promised 60+ hours unrefueled. That work is happening in parallel with everything else we’re working on. I don’t think people realize how deep GA-ASI’s bandwidth is, or how much we dedicate to R&D. We have things I’m talking about here, and things I’m not talking about here, and five million square feet of manufacturing plus multiple flight test facilities. We’ve built and delivered more than 1,600 aircraft in 34 years. We’ve invented a lot of things, and we’re inventing other things. NextGen is coming, and the work we’re doing on that flying wing program will funnel into Gambit 4 so that when customers are ready for this, we’re not starting from scratch here either.”

From the beginning, Gambit 4 has been something of an outlier that is completely different from the other concepts in the family. This is only reinforced by the new details Brinkley has shared here about the NextGen design. The mention of “novel hybrid-electric propulsion” is particularly eye-catching. In general, this kind of propulsion arrangement offers improved fuel economy, and the potential for other benefits, like reduced infrared and acoustic signatures, through the combination of fuel-powered engines and electric motors.

General Atomics has talked in the past about hybrid electric propulsion technology helping to achieve a 60-hour-endurance target in the context of an earlier stealthy flying wing drone concept called MQ-Next. Last year, AFRL also awarded the company a contract for what it described as a “hybrid-electric propulsion ducted fan next-generation intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance/strike unmanned aerial system,” or GHOST.

“We’ve been promising something impressive related to hybrid-electric propulsion, and now I can’t talk about it anymore,” Brinkley told TWZ at the time when asked for more information about GHOST. It remains unclear how that program may be intertwined with the previous MQ-Next concept, as well as work now on NextGen and future plans for Gambit 4.

• “Gambit 5 is basically a Gambit 2 or Gambit 6, or a hybrid of those, optimized for shipboard use with global navies. So again we’re showing how the novelty of the Gambit design pairs with our other projects and programs to buy down risk to success. You need to address landing gear, catapults, arresting cables, salt air that eats everything, all kinds of things. But Gambit 5 is an easy reach. General Atomics has a lot of carrier expertise, and we have been experimenting with shipboard operations for more than a decade.”

The Gambit 5 concept made its public debut in 2024 at the Farnborough International Airshow in the United Kingdom with a rendering depicting the drones embarked on a Queen Elizabeth class carrier refitted with an electromagnetic catapult. General Atomics has since shown additional renderings of Gambit 5s on the decks of the U.S. Navy’s supercarrier USS Gerald R. Ford and a Japanese Izumo class ‘multifunctional destroyer.’ General Atomics also makes electromagnetic catapults for carriers, including the ones on the Ford class, and has put ideas for installing them on a variety of other naval vessels, as well as deploying them on land.

Last year, the Navy announced that it had awarded contracts to General Atomics, as well as Anduril, Boeing, and Northrop Grumman, to develop conceptual designs for carrier-based drones under its CCA program. General Atomics used a rendering of Gambit 5 to illustrate a subsequent press release regarding this selection.

• “Gambit 6 takes the Gambit 2 fighter and optimizes it for ground attack. We started talking about Gambit 6 last year, and the conversations around the world have really taken off. People really understand the Gambit concept and are beginning to see how different it is from the mostly concept jets being discussed. The next step is to demonstrate the capability, so we are planning a company live-fire event for early 2027 using a ground-attack munition from a company-owned Gambit 6. I’ve said this a few times, but every Gambit variant feeds expertise into the other variants by default. So the work ongoing now for live-fire on FQ-42 Vengeance, coupled with years of internal air-to-ground launches from MQ-20 Avenger, allows us to rapidly reconfigure for Gambit 6. The air-to-ground mission is pivotal for many global militaries evaluating CCAs as a concept, and we’re already seeing others hanging bombs from their wings and talking about future concepts with internal bays. We’ll probably see other companies doing air-to-ground demos like ours. But the next question is survivability. Internal carry and release is such a different beast than firing from the wings, but what comes out for the Gambit Series is a 5^th-generation combat jet optimized for survivability, scalability and flexibility.”

As mentioned, Gambit 6 is the newest entry to the family and was rolled out around last year’s International Fighter Conference. At that time, General Atomics said it was already courting international customers for this particular design, especially in Europe, underscoring a surge in interest globally in CCA-type drones in recent years. The company also subsequently announced plans to develop a derivative of the FQ-42A for the European market through an affiliate in Germany.

Brinkley’s remarks here regarding internal bays versus external carriage of stores notably follow Anduril’s release of pictures showing fit checks of air-to-ground ordnance on the wings of a Fury drone last month. The FQ-42A, as well as General Atomics’ earlier Avenger drone design, both have internal weapons bays. An internal bay is expected to be a key feature on the Gambit 6 design, too.

“General Atomics knew that low-observable with internal weapons was the only way to go for the future. It’s not specifically the fastest way, or the easiest way, but it does yield the very best jet on the back end,” Brinkley also told TWZ today. “You can get a small jet in the air, connect it to the satellite controls we pioneered here, hang weapons from the wings like we pioneered here, use the AI concepts we pioneered here, and call that a CCA. But if it isn’t low-observable, with a functioning internal carry, built for affordable high-rate production from the beginning, then it’s just a little jet.”

“When we rolled out our first four Gambit concepts, we knew that we were onto something novel, but I don’t think any of us recognized how fast it would all move. Now we’re up to six concepts, with two flying and two on track to become flying prototypes,” he added. “That leaves Gambit 3 and Gambit 4, and it would be easy to think those are the least important or least impressive, but I don’t think that’s the case at all.”

It does remain to be seen how many members of the Gambit family beyond the FQ-42A will ultimately be produced in significant numbers. For now, a Gambit 4 design, in particular, is still an ambitious future concept that will rely heavily on success with NextGen and related work.

Contact the author: joe@twz.com

Former Chancellor Rachel Reeves has argued the UK’s future should be inside the EU, and that Brexit has made the country “poorer, weaker and less secure”.

In her first major intervention since leaving the Treasury, Reeves said she welcomed debate around the UK’s relationship with Europe.

At the last election, Labour’s manifesto said a Labour government would stay outside the EU and make Brexit work.

But Prime Minister Andy Burnham has said there needs to be an honest discussion about what the future relationship looks like.

The Conservatives have said there is no desire to rerun the Brexit debate and Reform UK’s Nigel Farage has said there is no mandate to pursue closer EU ties.

Labour’s 2024 election manifesto ruled out a return of free movement, single market membership or a customs union.

Burnham has said that any changes would require a mandate at a general election, which is next due by 2029.

In the Sunday Times, external, Reeves wrote: “No-one in the Treasury ever doubted where my instincts were. I do believe Britain’s future lies in the European Union.”

She said supporters of rejoining the EU had to “make the argument, demonstrate tangible benefits and to get the next steps right”.

Reeves added that at the forthcoming UK-EU summit, she hoped for confirmation of the youth mobility scheme she has been pushing for since she was in office.

She also said she was hoping for “progress towards entry” into the Security Action for Europe (SAFE) scheme.

Announced last March, SAFE is part of an EU-wide effort to rearm after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

A defence pact agreed with the EU last May paved the way for UK-based defence companies to be part of projects funded by SAFE.

In her piece for the Sunday Times, Reeves also sought to defend her record in office.

She wrote about the need for governments to be “braver” in building big infrastructure projects and “clear eyed” about the risks and benefits AI would drive in advanced economies.

Starved and exhausted residents of Oleshky arrive in Ukraine after months of isolation, but some stay behind.

Starved and exhausted residents of the Russian-occupied Ukrainian town of Oleshky have crossed into Ukraine in a major evacuation operation of civilians, under the first humanitarian truce of its kind in more than four years of Moscow’s war.

The six-day ceasefire covering the town was reached with mediation efforts by US First Lady Melania Trump and help from Pope Leo XIV. It is the longest local pause in fighting since Russia’s full-scale invasion of its neighbour in 2022.

“Ukrainian citizens from Oleshky have crossed the Ukrainian border in the Chernihiv region. All of them will receive the assistance they need,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy wrote on X, thanking the United States and the first lady for mediating.

“Further steps toward de-escalation and real progress toward peace are also needed,” he added.

Evacuees wrapped in blue and yellow Ukrainian flags stepped off buses at the Ukrainian-Belarusian border and reunited with family members.

Ukrainian officials met the evacuees with posters reading “You’re not alone” and “We embrace with our hearts”, while residents from nearby villages lined the highway waving flags and flashlights to greet them.

Forced to eat grass

Supply routes to Oleshky had been disrupted by fighting and drones. According to some residents, food deliveries were stopped in May, pushing hundreds of people into starvation.

One evacuee, an elderly man in a wheelchair, told the Reuters news agency that he had lost 20kg (44lbs) over the past year, becoming so weak he required hospital treatment.

Another evacuee, Svitlana Yermakova, told Reuters they had to eat grass to survive.

“We chopped grass and squash… just to hold on,” she said, adding that she risked riding by bicycle through minefields to a nearby village to get food for herself and her dog.

To reach Ukrainian-held territory, Oleshky residents had to take a complicated route to leave the devastated town just a few kilometres from the front line.

They first crossed Crimea by bus to the Russian town of Anapa before flying to Belarus, from where they crossed into Ukraine.

Ambulances lined the street, and several large military tents were erected, where hot meals, tea and medical aid were provided.

Russian and Ukrainian officials say the ceasefire in Oleshky has held since Tuesday, allowing them to de-mine the roads and bring food, medicines and other supplies into the town again.

The truce is due to end on Sunday evening.

Some stay behind

Some residents have decided to remain in Oleshky, despite the ongoing lack of gas, electricity and running water.

Russian Human Rights Commissioner Yana Lantratova said living conditions in the occupied Oleshky remained difficult, pledging she would continue to work with her Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Lubinets, to help those who stayed.

“The mission has come to an end,” she said on Telegram. “We have agreed to carry out regular humanitarian missions, which is a very important step.”

Oleshky had a pre-war population of about 24,000, which plunged to an estimated 1,700 before the evacuation.

Ukrainian officials have not said exactly how many residents were evacuated or how many remained.

Despite the ceasefire in Oleshky, fighting rages on in other parts of the front, with Russia and Ukraine keeping up drone attacks against each other.

In a sign of the times, for the first time in many years, U.S. Air Force fighters have returned to an air defense alert posture at Eareckson Air Station in Alaska’s remote Aleutian Islands. This represents a notable development in efforts to strengthen NORAD’s ability to defend North America’s northern and Pacific approaches from a key strategic stronghold on Russia’s back doorstep. The deployment culminated in a multinational air defense mission involving U.S. and Canadian fighters operating across thousands of miles, reflecting a growing focus on the increasingly strategic Arctic and North Pacific regions.

Fighter operations at Eareckson date back to the Cold War, when F-4s and F-15s deployed to the island to support air defense missions against Soviet aircraft. The base’s routine fighter mission ended in the early 1990s, making the October 2026 deployment a notable return to an alert posture at one of America’s westernmost military outposts. In the interim, we have seen fighters, including F-16s, return to Eareckson, but not in the context of air defense alert missions.

Packing live air-to-air missiles, the F-16s were deployed to Eareckson, on Shemya Island, from October 18 through 26, maintaining an alert posture before launching on October 25 as part of a homeland defense mission.

The latest mission began under Operation Noble Defender before transitioning into Operation Noble Eagle in support of northern sovereignty operations. It brought together F-16s operating from Eareckson, F-35As and additional F-16s from Eielson Air Force Base, and Royal Canadian Air Force CF-18 Hornets deployed from Cold Lake, Alberta.

The F-16s operating from Eielson were assigned to the 18th Fighter Interceptor Squadron (FIS), a particularly unusual unit with roots as the 18th Aggressor Squadron. The unit was redesignated in 2024, shifting its primary combat focus from adversary training toward aerospace control and homeland defense in Alaska. Its Block 30 F-16s bring a combination of air defense capabilities and experience in replicating adversary tactics, making them a very specialized outfit, as you can read about here.

From their distributed locations, the Eareckson-based F-16s provided coverage in the southern portion of the theater, while fighters from Eielson operated in the northwest. Canadian CF-18s covered the northern approaches.

An E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson provided airborne command and control, supported by multiple U.S. KC-135 tankers and a Canadian CC-150 Polaris. An HC-130 Combat King II also participated, providing contingency search and rescue and personnel recovery coverage.

The distances involved illustrate the scale of the operation. Eareckson is approximately 1,600 miles from Eielson and 2,600 miles from Cold Lake, requiring substantial coordination and aerial refueling support to bring the different elements together.

Strategic Significance

Located at the western end of the Aleutian chain, Shemya occupies a strategically important position in the North Pacific, facing the approaches from Russia’s Far East and the wider Pacific region and acting as a gateway to the Arctic. While fighters operating from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, with additional support from Eielson when needed, normally provide coverage across this vast area, Eareckson puts combat aircraft dramatically farther west. Its reactivation as a fighter operating location gives NORAD another forward option, extending the reach of its air defense network well beyond Alaska’s principal airbases.

The island’s military significance was especially pronounced during the Cold War, when it supported detachments of RC-135 surveillance aircraft, including hosting Cobra Ball missile-tracking aircraft, as you can read about here.

Shemya’s potential role in a future conflict has attracted increasing attention from U.S. military planners in recent years. The island hosts the AN/FPS-108 Cobra Dane radar, a massive phased-array installation that provides critical ballistic missile warning and tracking capabilities. Its position in the western Aleutians, roughly 500 miles from Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula and approximately 1,000 miles from mainland Alaska, gives it considerable strategic importance but also leaves it isolated and potentially vulnerable.

The growing threat posed by one-way attack drones and cruise missiles also makes protecting Cobra Dane a significant force-protection challenge. Forward-deployed fighters provide a highly adaptable, wide-area defensive layer, intercepting aerial threats before they reach the island, much like the fighter deployments to Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.

The vulnerability of Shemya and Cobra Dane has been the focus of several military exercises. In 2021, Green Berets assigned to Special Operations Command North participated in a NORAD exercise that involved deploying to Shemya and preparing to defend the Cobra Dane installation against potential attack. The troops arrived by sea and brought Stinger man-portable air defense systems, highlighting concerns about protecting the island against both conventional and unconventional threats.

In August 2023, elements of the Army’s 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, better known as the Night Stalkers, returned to the island as part of Operation Polar Dagger, as TWZ reported at the time. At least two MH-60M Black Hawk helicopters and associated personnel and equipment deployed to Eareckson, with a C-17 transporting personnel and materiel. The exercise explored the ability to rapidly project special operations capabilities into the remote region, protect critical infrastructure, and improve operational awareness in the Arctic and sub-Arctic.

Taken together, these developments point to growing interest in Shemya as a potential forward operating location in a wider North Pacific defense network. Its radar, long runway, and remote position offer considerable advantages, but its isolation also presents significant logistical and force-protection challenges.

The return of F-16s to an air defense alert posture at Eareckson adds another dimension to the installation. With its ability to host forward-deployed fighters, the base can maintain an alert posture and generate homeland defense sorties. Its location would be particularly useful for responding to activity approaching Alaska from the western Pacific and the Bering Sea. At the same time, having fighters at Eareckson provides an organic means of defending Shemya’s critical surveillance assets.

There are other potential benefits in dispersing fighter operations away from Alaska’s principal airbases. In a major conflict, those installations could be subject to missile strikes and other attacks, making alternative operating locations valuable. Eareckson’s long runway, ramp space, and arresting equipment provide a foundation for such operations, although sustaining fighters there over an extended period would require significant fuel, munitions, maintenance, and force-protection support.

Outside of Eareckson, Alaska has a network of remote airfields that can support dispersed fighter operations during contingencies. These include King Salmon Airport on the Alaska Peninsula, which hosted four 18th FIS F-16s during an Agile Combat Employment deployment in September last year.

All this comes as concerns grow about the level of protection afforded to Air Force airbases. There are growing calls for the U.S. military to invest in new hardened shelters, and the lack of physical hardening of bases has been hammered home by the experiences from the war with Iran, which have underscored the huge risks posed to aircraft sat out in the open on flightlines.

The October deployment does not mean Eareckson is being transformed into a permanently staffed fighter base. It does, however, demonstrate that NORAD can use this isolated installation as another node in its air defense network, extending the geographic reach and flexibility of its operations across the North Pacific.

For NORAD, having additional locations from which it can generate air defense sorties is a major plus. The combination of forward-based fighters, airborne command and control, aerial refueling, and Canadian participation demonstrates another way of distributing combat power across a broad geographic area rather than depending exclusively on a handful of major bases.

More broadly, the Aleutians are assuming renewed strategic importance as the westernmost part of U.S. territory, positioned at the intersection of the North Pacific and Arctic theaters. As military competition with both Russia and China intensifies, the island chain offers a valuable forward position for surveillance, air defense, and power projection, as well as a means of gaining time and distance against potential threats approaching North America or operating across the Pacific. The return of F-16 alert operations to Eareckson adds another piece to that defensive architecture, underscoring the continued military relevance of this remote island chain.

Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com

Crypto firm Binance says it has covered 90 percent of losses from the multibillion-dollar hack.

The FBI has linked North Korea to the theft of a record $6.3bn in virtual assets from cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Malicious actors from North Korea were observed laundering the ⁠stolen assets ⁠by converting them primarily into the cryptocurrency Ethereum, ⁠the FBI said in a statement on Saturday.

The US agency blamed the operation specifically on a group called TraderTraitor, the same group blamed for a $1.5bn theft from the Bybit platform in February last year.

According to the statement, the assets are expected to be “further laundered” in stages.

The FBI called on virtual asset service providers to block transactions being used in the latest laundering operation, providing the suspected digital addresses to watch for.

In a separate statement on Saturday, Binance said it has replaced 90 percent of the amount stolen by using company money to buy new tokens.

The remaining 10 percent consists of less liquid tokens, meaning they ⁠may take longer to buy, it added.

“We will continue to buy the remaining relevant token assets… until the covered amount reaches 100 [percent] for all tokens. Binance will absorb the financial impact of these stolen funds, not our users,” the company said on X.

The money spent re-buying tokens came from a $1bn Secure Asset Fund for Users (SAFU), a Bitcoin reserve fund Binance ⁠holds to protect customers in the event of security ⁠breaches, as well as some of its Futures Insurance Fund and the company’s corporate treasury.

Crypto prices fell on Friday, as Binance, which runs the world’s largest crypto exchange, sought to reassure customers their funds were safe.

Binance co-CEO Richard Teng said on Friday that the breach was a “complex attack” involving a compromised laptop and malicious software designed to ⁠delete evidence of its activity, making it hard to trace and investigate.

After ⁠the hack, the exchange stopped allowing customers to withdraw their funds.

Binance said later on Saturday that it was on track to reopen withdrawals on Sunday.

Binance also announced the publication of a new proof-of-reserves snapshot, allowing users to independently verify that their assets were backed at a minimum 1:1 ratio.

A small boat in the Strait of Hormuz approached a tanker and placed two explosive devices on the hull above the waterline, causing a blast that started a fire in the engine room, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) center reported. The attack on the Dubai-owned tanker Louise 1 was carried out by Iranians using limpet mines, Financial Times reported. The incident took place Thursday and was the first of its kind since June 2019, when a Japanese and a Norwegian ship were hit with limpets, the publication noted.

This is the first indication of the successful use of these mines during the current Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ (IRGC) wave of strikes against shipping in the Strait of Hormuz following Operation Epic Fury. The attack also highlights the challenges of keeping ships safe in a busy and complex littoral.

“The apparent ability of a small craft to approach a transiting tanker, deploy explosive devices and withdraw presents a significant security concern, particularly in the Strait’s congested shipping lanes,” Greece-based maritime ​risk management group Marisks said ​on ⁠Friday, Reuters reported.

TWZ covered the 2019 attacks extensively, including sharing the following video showing an Iranian Navy or IRGC fast boat going back to remove a dud limpet mine from the Japanese-owned Kokuka Courageous’s damaged hull.

Limpet Mine Attack in the Gulf of Oman: JUNE 13, 2019

Earlier Friday morning, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) commander Adm. Brad Cooper said the waterway was cleared of sea mines. He was not addressing the limpet mine claim.

He stated on X that after “we sank Iran’s navy earlier this year, we also successfully cleared the strait’s internationally recognized primary transit routes of Iranian sea mines, and today U.S. forces remain highly vigilant and present to ensure that all primary transit routes in the Strait of Hormuz remain free and clear.”

“This week we reached a significant milestone, having now assisted Gulf partners in exporting more than 1.5 billion barrels of crude oil since summer,” Cooper added.

Recalling a recent flight over the Strait of Hormuz, Cooper noted that he “saw our U.S. assets in the air and on the water, including a squadron of advanced sea drones that were on patrol supporting a defensive layer. Here’s what I didn’t see: I didn’t see the IRGC out there at all.”

Also known as uncrewed surface vessels (USVs), the sea drones are part of an increasingly uncrewed armada of air, land and sea assets that are supporting the safe corridor through the Strait.

The USV type shown in the following video, a Saronic Corsair, made history twice in the battle against Iran. In July, the USVs were used as a strike weapon in combat for the first time by the U.S. A month earlier, a Saronic Corsair USV rescued the crew of a U.S. Army AH-64 Apache that crashed in the Gulf of Oman after it was downed by Iran.

Despite the heavy presence of CENTCOM forces, this month is turning out to be particularly dangerous for shipping in the region.

“October has seen the highest number of ship attacks on record,” Noam Raydan, a senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, said last week, according to the BOE Report, an oil industry publication. “Raydan, who maintains the institute’s interactive shipping incident map, has recorded 28 confirmed and reported attacks in the Strait of Hormuz and surrounding waterways in October and 113 since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on February 28.”

These strikes, combined with ongoing Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure, have already placed tremendous pressure on a global economy relying heavily on fossil fuel from the region. As of Friday morning, Brent crude topped $117 per barrel, the highest level in more than four years, according to OilPrice.com.

The American oil industry, meanwhile, is making a fortune on this situation.

“The war with Iran has been very lucrative for American oil companies, which have earned more than $130 billion in profit as people pay much higher prices for gasoline, diesel and other fuel,” The New York Times reported on Friday. “That is a conservative estimate based on the performance of more than 50 large U.S. oil and gas companies, most of them producers or refiners, in the six months from April through September. It does not reflect profits earned in March, the first month of the war, or in October.”

“The United States oil and gas business is making hundreds of billions of dollars,” Trump said at an Oct. 24 campaign rally, describing how the war is affecting the industry.

TRUMP on HIGH GAS PRICES: We’re making money like we’ve never made before. They’ll say: President Trump is bragging about all the money they’re making while people are suffering at the pump. I don’t give a damn. We’re making a freaking fortune. pic.twitter.com/KZ2pYsTPyR

— Acyn (@Acyn) October 25, 2026

The Latest

Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday in another bid to try to pull the Middle East region back from the brink of war. The visit takes place as the U.S. and Israel are gearing up for a possible new round of strikes against Iran that could come as soon as next week after America’s midterm elections.

U.S. President Donald Trump has frequently stated that he could order new strikes, likely with Israeli assistance, after control of the next Congress is settled. While Trump could be gearing up to hit Iran again, leaks about war planning could also be messaging to compel Tehran back to the bargaining table.

“It’s going to get wrapped up soon,” Trump said Friday morning in an interview with Kansas City radio station KCMO. “We need a guarantee there’ll never be a nuclear weapon.”

Whether this latest Qatari effort can stop the clock winding down toward a resumption of hostilities remains questionable. Washington and Tehran seem far apart in their goals for achieving an agreement to stave off war.

The U.S. wants nuclear issues ​included from the start of negotiations while Tehran ​demands that the U.S. first end its port blockade ‌and ⁠lift oil export sanctions, Reuters reported on Friday.

A senior Iranian official has already dismissed a plan presented by Qatar as “unacceptable,” the outlet added. “The proposal presented by Qatar sets ​a seven-day timeline addressing both Tehran’s and Washington’s concerns, laying out daily confidence-building steps that each side must take,” the news outlet reported on Oct. 28, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.

The Qatari mediation is the latest diplomatic effort to prevent new fighting. On Monday, major regional powers met in Tehran to find a peaceful way forward.

Regardless, American forces are locked and loaded for a possible new round of strikes against Iran. Israel also continues ramping up attack plans in coordination with the U.S. in the wake of a so-far inconclusive national election that could result in the end of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s career.

“Cooper rarely briefs Trump in person, so the meeting could signal that the U.S. is moving closer to significant military operations,” the publication stated. “He met with the president in July, when the two huddled with Hegseth and Caine on Air Force One in Delaware.”

CENTCOM declined comment when we asked to confirm the meeting as described. The Pentagon referred us to the White House, and the White House did not respond to our request for comment.

While the Journal offered no specific details about the plans discussed at the White House meeting, previous reporting has suggested Trump is seeking a short, intense bombing campaign.

“According to several people familiar with the war plans, any new US-Israeli assault would be intense, lasting some three days and targeting nuclear facilities, regime assets and civilian infrastructure including power plants,” Financial Times reported on Thursday.

A top Democratic senator said he was briefed on plans and was shocked by what he heard.

“I will just say this: their plan is insane,” Sen. Chris Murphy of Connecticut said. “It will lead to devastating escalation and the likely destruction of our commitment to the rule of law.”

“There’s been open reporting as to what we may be planning and the civilian infrastructure that we may be targeting,” Murphy added. “The plan that they have developed will lead, in my view, to a prolongment and an escalation of this war that will be devastating for our security interests.”

Trump is reportedly planning to restart war with Iran after the election.

Some of us have been briefed on the war plan. And while I cannot disclose any details, I can say this: the plan is insane. It will not achieve objectives and will set off a new cycle of escalation. pic.twitter.com/adWJfHVIok

— Chris Murphy 🟧 (@ChrisMurphyCT) October 29, 2026

As the White House continues to put the finishing touches on new attack plans, the U.S. is bolstering its forces in the Middle East as we noted at the top of this story.

“The U.S. military is sending an additional Patriot system to Israel from Texas to beef up its missile defenses in the country, according to flight-tracking data and two officials with knowledge of the movement,” the Journal reported on Wednesday. “The U.S. has also moved troops off bases in the Middle East where they were vulnerable in preparation for an escalation.”

“U.S. forces in the region have been restocking their munitions, and bomber aircraft and jet fighters are preparing for strikes, some of the officials said.”

As we previously noted, there have been other signs that a major new round of U.S. and/or Israeli strikes on Iran might be looming on the horizon. Fox News reported that the Nimitz class aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt and the rest of its carrier strike group, as well as the Makin Island Amphibious Ready Group carrying the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), are heading to the Middle East, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

“The ships will arrive in the Middle East by the end of November,” the officials said, according to a post on X from Fox’s Jennifer Griffin on Tuesday. “These new deployments will add about 10,000 sailors and Marines to the Middle East.”

You can find out more about the locations of the U.S. Navy’s fleet of flattops in our “Where Are The Aircraft Carriers?” feature.

There have been indications of increased U.S. military air activity in the Middle East recently, as well. Observers have called attention to the particularly significant influx of aerial refueling tankers to bases in the region, as well as in Europe, which would be critical to any new major air campaign.

US Tanker Fleet Update 21/OCT/2026 #IranWar‌

Overall numbers across CENTCOM and Europe have now stabilised back to the levels they were at back at the start of September, around 190-195. There are a few tankers dotted around at other sites temporarily (Glasgow Prestwick and… pic.twitter.com/taKi8op7Tv

— DefenceGeek 🇬🇧 (@DefenceGeek) October 21, 2026

America and Israel struck hard at Iranian logistics during Operation Epic Fury, and the U.S. Navy maintains a blockade on Iranian ports. Still, the IRGC has managed to bring in materiel critical to its drone and missile programs.

A new Reuters investigation examines how.

“Iran has created a secret network of military agencies with global reach to import at least $2 billion in hardware, explosives and heavy-duty trucks since January 2025, evading both the US naval blockade and Western sanctions,” the investigation found. “Hidden behind names starting with the letters MOD, for the Ministry of Defense, are more than 5,000 agencies that form a formidable financial and military machine. Their financial footprints are on bills of lading and other shipping data dating back to 2016. Some are tied to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and to business conglomerates known as bonyads that are controlled by Iran’s elite.”

“The findings offer a window into one of the war’s great mysteries,” the outlet explained. “How is the IRGC replenishing its missile and drone arsenals while firing them in their thousands?”

Amid events in the Persian Gulf region, fighting between the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen and Saudi Arabia rages on.

On Friday, Saudi Arabia said it intercepted and destroyed a Houthi drone near Islam’s holiest city, a claim the Houthis denied.

On Thursday, the Houthis claimed attacks on a half dozen targets across the kingdom, including oil facilities and airports. Saudi officials, for their part, said they intercepted ballistic missiles.

Adding to regional jitters, there were fresh reports of explosions near Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz Thursday night. However, these incidents often turn out to be air defense activity, warning shots fired at ships or nothing at all.

CENTCOM on Friday pushed back against claims that the command acknowledged attacks on Iranian targets.

“The reported notion that CENTCOM claimed any recent attacks is false,” Capt. Tim Hawkins, the command’s spokesman, told TWZ.

For now, the world is waiting nervously to see whether the Middle East again erupts into war. We should have a clearer picture in the coming days.

Contact the author: howard@twz.com

The Chief Minister of Jersey, Senator Lyndon Farnham, said operating a drone close to an airport was “not a prank or a harmless hobby”.

“To those responsible, the message is clear: if you are identified, you should expect to face the full consequences of the law,” he added.

Pacific Basirwe was waiting for his wife and young son to fly in from London Heathrow when he heard the news.

He said: “It’s annoying, this should be regulated, and the people doing those things should be prosecuted.

“It’s been two days in a row now… If there is no further action, they will keep doing it, which is not good.”

A dispute over the politicisation of Poland’s constitutional court is deepening, with no side appearing to back down.

The Polish president has held crisis talks with political leaders as a dispute over the independence of the country’s top constitutional court deepens.

Representatives of nationalist, far-right, and some governing coalition parties attended President Karol Nawrocki’s talks at the presidential palace on Saturday, while Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s governing centrist party, Civic Coalition, stayed away.

Nawrocki said in a statement that he convened the “urgent” consultations “due to the threat to Poland’s internal security” presented by the sudden suspension on Friday of the Constitutional Tribunal’s chief judge, Bogdan Swieczkowski.

No breakthrough had emerged by Saturday afternoon.

Meanwhile, in a Saturday evening speech addressing the ongoing crisis, Tusk accused conservative nationalist opposition leaders of wanting to “destroy democracy and rule of law”.

“Let’s call things by their name,” he said. “For years in Poland there exist organisations and politicians who wish to destroy democracy and rule of law.”

Followers of the opposition right-wing Law and Justice party (PiS) gathered outside the court on Saturday, extending protests that have been running for weeks in support of PiS-friendly judges.

Constitutional crisis

The Constitutional Tribunal is Poland’s top court for deciding constitutional matters. It has been at the centre of a years-long political saga related to the politicisation of Polish courts, which Tusk says began under the right-wing PiS government.

Swieczkowski, whom the PiS appointed during its 2015-2023 government, was accused of using his powers as head of the court to block parliament from electing new judges.

Tusk argued that the court’s judges were not politically neutral and that Swieczkowski’s removal was a “painful” but necessary decision to restore the rule of law in Poland after years of erosion under PiS rule.

The court’s official X account on Friday described the government’s move as a “coup d’etat”.

Nawrocki, himself a right-wing figure, has also blocked nominations to the court under his administration.

A key complaint brought by Tusk and his pro-European party was that the court’s PiS-aligned judges frequently ruled in favour of Polish legislation over EU law.

The European Commission on Saturday urged Nawrocki to accept the nomination of new judges at the centre of the country’s constitutional crisis, the AFP news agency reported.

US Ambassador to Poland Tom Rose called for calm on all sides.

“The last thing Poland needs is a confrontation that spirals into something far worse,” Rose wrote in a post on X.

In Venezuela, reality feels more and more like a puzzle. We have to look at what officials choose to say and not say, what is leaked, what remains behind the curtain, and try to weave a plausible narrative out of that.

The government’s opacity has become the norm. There are key decisions about the country’s future with little to no public explanation, contradictory statements, figures that are hard to believe or put into context. Affairs that should be debated and familiar to everyone are shrouded in uncertainty.

For years, the justification was that the US blockade forced everything to be kept secret, so that the enemy would not use that information to its advantage. Then, when corruption scandals broke out, we were told it was the price to pay for doing business under sanctions.

Fast forward to the present, and the blockade has given way to US neocolonial tutelage. But opacity has only gotten worse. Sometimes Trump officials are the ones explaining what happens in our country. The greatest example is the recent oil deal, but there is another sector plagued by these dark interests: the cement industry, which is especially important now amid the post-earthquake reconstruction needs.

A few days after the June 24 double earthquake, Acting President Delcy Rodríguez ordered an audit of Vencement, a company belonging to the Miller Holding conglomerate, whose CEO is Turkish businessman Turhan Mildon. In March 2025, the young entrepreneur reportedly received a concession to operate 10 cement plants owned by the Venezuelan state. The factories belong to the Socialist Cement Corporation, created by Chávez in 2009 after nationalizing the industry.

The concession to Mildon was greenlit by former Minister of Industry Alex Saab, who was surrendered to US agencies in May to face money laundering charges. In that case, we likewise did not have the privilege of an official explanation^[a] for why a naturalized Venezuelan-Colombian dual citizen could be “deported” to the US, contrary to the constitution.

With the announced review of cement contracts, and in line with Washington’s directive of cutting out the insiders who had privileged treatment during the Maduro government, Rodríguez unilaterally canceled the concession, alleging non-fulfilment of investment targets.

This sector has been mired in controversy due to the shortages of cement and speculation with its prices. Though production costs for a 42-kilo cement bag are around $8, scarcity or hoarding often led to prices above $35. With the official investigation, there was an order to surveil the plants, block any removal of material, and restrict Vencement personnel from doing inventory or fulfilling existing orders.

But Vencement was not Mildon’s only venture in Venezuela. In November 2025, Saab intervened in the Lamar Group, a company from Zulia State that produced and exported shrimp, which was awarded to the Turkish businessman. The official explanation was that Lamar’s former owner, José Enrique Rincón, was involved in financing an alleged coup attempt against Maduro. In parallel, the government handed Café Madrid and Fama de América, two coffee producers nationalized around 15 years ago, to Mildon as well.

According to Forbes Turkey, Miller Holding and its affiliates, particularly in Venezuela and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where Mildon also became extremely influential overnight, had $2.6 billion in profit in 2025. Nevertheless, because the companies are not publicly traded, it is hard to assess their true value. The business sector in Turkey is hardly a paragon of transparency either.

Mildon stated in the same interview that he felt “very sad” when US forces kidnapped Maduro in January, but added that he was not concerned about his businesses. “In my grandfather’s time, professional experience was key. Nowadays, it’s who you know,” the businessman said.

This prompts  multiple questions. How did Mildon get a concession for a sector as strategic as cement, not to mention his other endeavors? His representatives claimed that there were four other competitors, but government sources told the New York Times that the private businesses that receive state assets to operate under “strategic alliances” are handpicked.

Furthermore, Mildon claims Vencement is currently producing 4.5 million tons of cement per year, whereas the NYT reported that, according to data shared by government insiders, output is actually around a third of that. Maybe authorities would like to clarify?

Another obvious question is, why Mildon? Some mention his family’s ties to the Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, with Mildon’s conglomerate receiving over a dozen important contracts in recent years. Amid US sanctions against Venezuela, risk-taking Turkish businessmen secured juicy opportunities in Venezuela. Others add that a separate advantage was Mildon getting access to inner circles thanks to his relationship with María Eugenia Ceballos, daughter of Chief Admiral and former Interior Minister Remigio Ceballos. Surely love cannot trump a fair bidding process, or can it?

It looks like it, because Mildon’s Turkish soap opera was not canceled with Maduro’s kidnapping and Saab’s handover. Mildon reportedly managed to preserve his assets in Venezuela after getting engaged and married to Alina Habba, a lawyer with close ties to Trump who worked in the Justice Department.

Habba, who also possesses quite the dubious CV for all the influence she wields, got the US president to pardon Venezuelan banker Julio Herrera Velutini, who had been charged with bribery and fraud before being convicted of a campaign finance violation misdemeanor. Habba received a $50 million contract, while still working in the Justice Department, from Concord Partners, a company created by the Herrera Velutini family in Florida. This honestly looks like Olympic-level competition for lack of transparency and shady deals.

But returning to Mildon and Habba, their lavish wedding at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York featured senior Trump officials such as US Attorney General Todd Blanche, FBI Director Kash Patel, and White House attorney Will Scharf.

Apparently, Mildon’s new romance led Rodríguez to change course, declaring that the cancelation of the cement contracts had been a clerical error. On October 13, the Miller conglomerate issued a press statement clarifying that none of its agreements had been canceled.

Beyond the Turkish soap opera that has taken hold in Venezuela, we go back to the fundamental question: what conditions do private businesses need to clear before getting hold of strategic Venezuelan state companies? Who is following up on the investment, production, and fiscal commitments? What mechanisms ensure that these concessions will lead to any economic benefits apart from corporate profits? It seems like all these questions get trumped by contractors’ White House connections .

One of the characteristics of the Venezuelan political shift in recent months has been the sanctification  of private investment. Amid legislative reforms and commissions charged with determining which “non-strategic” assets should be privatized, key sectors such as electricity or the basic industries might soon be in the hands of multinational corporations.

I’m not a big believer in trickle-down economics, in this case that Venezuelans’ well-being will come once corporate profits are assured. But if on top of that, business is the outcome of the most vulgar influence trafficking, we are truly doomed. This soap opera needs a plot twist.

Jessica Dos Santos is a Venezuelan university professor, journalist and writer whose work has appeared in outlets such as RT, Épale CCS magazine and Investig’Action. She is the author of the book “Caracas en Alpargatas” (2018). She’s won the Aníbal Nazoa Journalism Prize in 2014 and received honorable mentions in the Simón Bolívar National Journalism prize in 2016 and 2018.

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect those of the Venezuelanalysis editorial staff.

Iran’s top diplomat tells Al Jazeera Tehran has reached a plan with Qatari mediators to reopen Hormuz within two days if the US meets its conditions.

You would have to be touching 60 to have any recollection of the last time United were relegated.

Legend has it that old boy Denis Law sent them down with an impudent back heel he didn’t celebrate when he was at Manchester City. The reality is United were already doomed under then-boss Tommy Docherty.

United have not been in the relegation zone after nine games or more since November 1986, when they collected a single point in Sir Alex Ferguson’s first two games in charge following Ron Atkinson’s dismissal.

Their lowest position after at least nine games of a season since then was 17th in 1989-90. They are back there again right now, mainly thanks to the failings of others in results elsewhere on Saturday.

It is now nine games in all competitions since Carrick’s side won, their worst run since 1988-89. Their single Premier League win of the season was when they came from behind to beat Ipswich at home in August.

Of course, United’s supporters have very recent experience of seeing their team in the lower reaches of the table. They were 16th under Ruben Amorim after 37 games of the 2024-25 season. The caveat is they were 14 points clear of third-bottom Leicester and at no point in that tortuous campaign were they in danger of relegation.

One club that has been at real risk in recent years is Tottenham, who were third bottom and two points behind West Ham with four games of last season remaining.

So, it could happen, even if it remains unlikely a club that should post revenues in excess of £700m for the current campaign will finish in the bottom three.

“You can look at it like that, or you can look at how far you can move up the league quite quickly if you win football matches,” was Carrick’s response when asked if his players are equipped for the “mentality shift” required to deal with the present situation. “That’s the way it’s got to be approached.”

Refugee and migrant boats are rarely found in Dutch waters, and authorities are still trying to establish where this one came from.

Authorities in the Netherlands have rescued 38 people found adrift in a rubber boat off the Dutch coast, in one of the first such interceptions for the country.

Two of the people on board the dinghy when it was rescued are thought to be smugglers, while the rest are migrants, military police spokesperson Doron Wallin told The Associated Press news agency on Saturday.

“We don’t know where they came from – France, the Netherlands or Belgium – and we don’t know where the boat was heading,” Wallin said.

The boat was discovered drifting with no motor off the coast of the Netherlands’ Zeeland province, far southwest of Amsterdam. No one was wearing a life vest.

All 38 on the boat were men, 36 of whom were from Afghanistan, and two – the suspected smugglers – were from Sudan, according to the AFP news agency. The two Sudanese men have been arrested on suspicion of people smuggling.

It is not known where the boat was headed, but refugee and migrant crossings in small boats from France to the United Kingdom have become commonplace in recent years. It is unusual for boats to be discovered in Dutch waters, however.

“These are things you usually see in France and Belgium. We rarely see it here in the Netherlands before today,” Wallin said.

Dutch authorities will open an investigation into the case on Sunday.