EuroLeague said the decision to allow Israeli clubs to play home games was in response to the October 10 ceasefire agreement.
Published On 21 Oct 202521 Oct 2025
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Basketball’s top European competitions are set to become the first to return to Israel since the October 7, 2023 attacks, after clubs agreed on Tuesday to resume EuroLeague and EuroCup games in the country from December 1, following recent ceasefire and peace initiatives in the region, the organisation said.
Games involving Israeli teams have been held at neutral venues since October 2023 due to the conflict in Gaza.
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Six-time champions Maccabi Tel Aviv and Hapoel Tel Aviv are the Israeli clubs in this season’s EuroLeague, while Hapoel Jerusalem play in the EuroCup.
Maccabi have been playing their home games in Belgrade, Serbia, where they host Real Madrid on Wednesday.
Hapoel Tel Aviv have made their home in Sofia, Bulgaria, where their next home game is on October 29 against Partizan Belgrade.
“After thoughtful deliberation, ECA clubs agreed on the proposal to set December 1, 2025, as the date for games to resume in Israel. Until then, Euroleague Basketball will continue to carefully monitor developments, stay in close contact with local and foreign authorities, visiting teams, and all relevant organisations,” EuroLeague Basketball said in a statement.
“Euroleague Basketball and its participating clubs welcome the recent peace plan with optimism and hope. The organisation reaffirms its belief in the power of basketball to bring people and communities together, and its commitment to contributing to peace through the shared values of sport, respect, and unity.”
Israel and Hamas have accused each other of repeated breaches of the ceasefire since it was formally agreed upon eight days ago, with flashes of violence and recriminations over the pace of returning captives’ bodies, bringing in aid and opening borders.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has said she plans to scrap “needless form filling” in a bid to boost business growth.
Speaking at a regional investment summit in Birmingham, the chancellor said the reforms would boost growth and “make the UK a top destination for global capital”.
Ahead of the Budget next month, Reeves acknowledged that “for too many people” the economy was “not working as it should”.
The government has been criticised by firms who say increased employers’ National Insurance contributions and the Employment Rights Bill add to the burdens facing businesses.
The chancellor said the changes will save firms almost £6bn a year by the end of the parliamentary term.
The measures include plans to reform the company merger process. New “simpler corporate rules” will remove requirements for small businesses to submit lengthy reports to Companies House, the Treasury said.
The changes will apply to over 100,000 firms such as family-run cafes.
Earlier on Tuesday, Business Secretary Peter Kyle defended Labour’s approach to business, telling the BBC the government would implement changes in a way that is “pro-worker and pro-business”.
The measures could include temporary exemptions for new AI software from regulation, Kyle told the Today programme.
“In certain circumstances when new AI technology is being developed, we can remove it from all regulation for a period of time to give it the space to really grow, to develop, to be commercialised really rapidly,” he said.
This, he said, would enable the tech to be used “to benefit the health, the wealth, the education of our nations”.
“We’ll use that in a very targeted, a very safe way.”
The government has pledged to reduce the administrative cost of regulation by a quarter by the end of this Parliament.
Kyle said the previous government “did not do enough on deregulation” despite pledging to do so, particularly after Brexit.
“If you look at some of the reporting that needs to be done by directors, for example, directors’ reports to Companies House, I’m eliminating a great deal of that today because some of it is just so unnecessary,” he said.
But pushed on whether the government’s changes to employment rights would add costs to businesses, Kyle insisted that the changes would be fair for both employers and employees.
“We are making sure that the rights and responsibilities that people have in the workplace as employers and as employees [are] right for the age we’re living in.”
Jane Gratton, the deputy director of public policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said the plans would be welcomed by businesses.
“The burden of unnecessary red tape and bureaucracy ramps up their costs and damages competitiveness,” she said.
Tina McKenzie, policy chair at the Federation of Small Businesses, said Tuesday’s announcement will “ring hollow” if the chancellor raises taxes for employers in next month’s budget.
“The true test of whether Rachel Reeves will deliver for business will be at the Budget – small firms and entrepreneurs have heard these warm words on regulation before.
“The burden of compliance – in terms of money, time, and stress – weighs heavily on small firms, and cutting it needs to be a project undertaken by every part of the government.”
But the Liberal Democrats’ Treasury spokeswoman Daisy Cooper said: “If the chancellor was serious about cutting red tape she would tackle the mind-blowing two billion extra pieces of business paperwork created by Brexit by pursuing an ambitious tailor-made UK-EU customs union.”
The recent agreement between the United States and Australia to invest $3 billion in critical minerals and rare earths projects represents a significant step in the Western effort to reduce dependency on China for strategically vital resources. While the deal has been heralded by Washington as a turning point in global supply diversification, a closer examination suggests that China’s entrenched dominance in rare earth mining, refining, and magnet manufacturing will remain largely unchallenged in the foreseeable future.
This analysis situates the agreement within the broader geopolitical and economic context of resource security, outlines its potential and limitations, and assesses its implications for the evolving balance of power in the Indo-Pacific region.
Rare Earths and Strategic Dependence
Rare earth elements (REEs) are indispensable for modern technology spanning clean energy, defence systems, electric vehicles, and semiconductors. Despite their name, REEs are relatively abundant in the Earth’s crust; their scarcity lies in the technically complex, costly, and environmentally damaging refining process.
Over the past three decades, China has systematically consolidated control over this value chain, developing low-cost refining and magnet production capabilities that now underpin 90% of global processing capacity, 69% of mining, and 98% of magnet manufacturing (Goldman Sachs, 2024).
This dominance has translated into a form of strategic leverage. Beijing has repeatedly demonstrated its ability to weaponize resource supply chains, most recently through export curbs on gallium, graphite, and rare earth magnets, heightening Western concerns about supply security and industrial resilience.
The United States and its allies, including Japan, Australia, and the European Union, have consequently prioritized critical mineral diversification as a matter of both economic sovereignty and national security.
Key Issues:
Technological Dependence: Western economies lack refining and magnet manufacturing infrastructure comparable to China’s mature ecosystem, which benefits from decades of state investment and technological standardization.
Environmental and Regulatory Constraints: High environmental standards, community opposition, and lengthy approval timelines in the U.S. and Australia increase project costs and delay production, deterring private investment.
Market Distortion by State Subsidies: Chinese producers benefit from state-backed financing, subsidized energy, and vertically integrated industrial networks that suppress global prices, making it difficult for Western firms to compete without government intervention.
Investor and Consumer Behavior: Global manufacturers continue to prioritize low-cost Chinese supply, perpetuating dependency despite policy rhetoric about diversification.
Geopolitical Fragmentation: Efforts to “de-risk” supply chains are hindered by divergent national strategies among Western allies, with varying levels of commitment to resource security versus environmental and economic priorities.
The U.S.-Australia Critical Minerals Pact
On October 20, 2025, President Donald Trump announced a joint U.S.-Australia agreement committing $3 billion to the exploration, mining, and processing of critical minerals. The pact includes provisions for a price floor a mechanism designed to ensure profitability for Western miners operating in markets distorted by Chinese state subsidies and environmental cost advantages.
According to the White House, U.S. investments will “unlock deposits worth over $53 billion” in Australian reserves. The U.S. Export-Import Bank (EXIM) has issued seven Letters of Interest totaling $2.2 billion to Australian mining firms, including Arafura Rare Earths, developer of the Nolans project in Western Australia.
While these measures indicate a serious financial commitment, they also highlight the industrial asymmetry between emerging Western projects and China’s mature, vertically integrated supply chains.
Economic Feasibility and Industry Timelines
Industry experts have expressed caution regarding the feasibility of rapid supply diversification. Barrenjoey analyst Dan Morgan noted that the “time frame for various projects to be ready even by 2027 would be heroic,” reflecting the inherent capital intensity and regulatory delays in rare earth development.
Similarly, Dylan Kelly of Terra Capital observed that the current pricing of NdPr oxide the most traded rare earth compound “does not reflect a market dynamic that can sustain a significant fall in prices,” implying that a price floor mechanism may be essential for commercial viability.
Such perspectives underline the structural constraint that industrial policy cannot compress geological and technological timelines. New rare earth projects require multi-year investments in exploration, environmental clearance, and processing technology transfer.
Strategic and Geopolitical Dimensions
The U.S.-Australia pact is emblematic of a broader strategic realignment in the Indo-Pacific, wherein critical minerals are increasingly framed not merely as commodities but as strategic enablers of power projection. For Washington, the deal aligns with its economic security agenda to “de-risk” supply chains and reduce China’s capacity to use resource dependencies as geopolitical tools.
For Canberra, it represents both an economic opportunity and a strategic burden. Australia possesses abundant mineral reserves but faces pressure to align its export policies with U.S. strategic interests, potentially straining its trade relations with China still its largest trading partner.
At a deeper level, the agreement signals the emergence of a critical minerals bloc, mirroring patterns seen in energy geopolitics. Yet, the absence of comparable refining infrastructure, skilled labor pools, and environmental cost advantages continues to limit Western competitiveness.
Market Reactions and Corporate Beneficiaries
The deal has already produced identifiable commercial winners. Arafura Rare Earths and Syrah Resources have reported increased investor interest following the announcement, reflecting market confidence in Western government-backed financing. Arafura’s CFO, Peter Sherrington, emphasized that the U.S.-Australia initiative “de-risks raising money from an equity perspective,” while its CEO projected full project funding by early 2026.
However, as Syrah CEO Shaun Verner noted, unless global consumers “cure their addiction to lowest-cost supply from China,” even well-financed Western projects will struggle to secure stable demand. This underscores a behavioral dimension of market dependency, wherein private-sector procurement patterns perpetuate Chinese dominance despite political rhetoric of diversification.
Implications for Global Resource Governance
In the short term, the U.S.-Australia agreement is unlikely to materially alter the global rare earth landscape. China’s entrenched advantages in scale, technology, and regulatory flexibility will ensure continued dominance through the decade. Nevertheless, the pact marks an important symbolic and structural step toward building alternative supply chains, particularly if accompanied by coordinated policies on processing technology, environmental standards, and market access.
In the medium to long term, such agreements could catalyze a Western-led industrial ecosystem, reducing strategic vulnerability and fostering innovation in cleaner extraction methods. However, success will depend on sustained political will, technological breakthroughs, and a willingness to absorb short-term economic inefficiencies for long-term security gains.
Analysis: Strategic Patience Over Political Rhetoric
The U.S.-Australia rare earths pact represents a strategically coherent but operationally constrained response to China’s resource hegemony. It reflects the increasing securitization of economic policy in an era of great-power competition.
Yet, as this analysis indicates, the pathway to rare earth independence will be long, capital-intensive, and geopolitically fraught. While the agreement sends a strong signal of Western resolve, the transformation of intent into industrial capability will take years, not electoral cycles.
Until then, China’s dominance will persist not simply because of its mineral reserves, but due to its unparalleled integration of industrial policy, technological expertise, and geopolitical strategy.
Moscow is accused of running sabotage and espionage operations across Europe, targeting nations supporting Ukraine.
Published On 21 Oct 202521 Oct 2025
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Authorities in Poland have arrested eight individuals across the country on suspicion of espionage and sabotage.
In a brief statement on social media, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk said on Tuesday that the case is developing and that “further operational activities are ongoing” without providing further details.
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The detentions come amid accusations that Russia is operating a network of spies and saboteurs across Europe.
Referring to the prime minister’s post, the coordinator of Poland’s special services, Tomasz Siemoniak, said that the detained people are suspected of engaging in espionage and planning attacks.
They were arrested due to “conducting reconnaissance of military facilities and critical infrastructure, preparing resources for sabotage, and directly carrying out attacks”, he said.
While Warsaw has not directly linked the arrests, officials have said previously that Poland has been targeted with such attacks in a “hybrid war” waged by Russia to destabilise nations supporting Ukraine.
Several other European countries have also pointed the finger at Moscow as they have suffered similar attacks since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.
Polish authorities have detained dozens of people over suspected sabotage and espionage over the past three years or so.
Moscow denies the accusations, insisting that they are the result of “Russophobia”.
In May last year, Polish authorities arrested three men for an arson attack. In September, Lithuanian prosecutors broke up a network that they said planned arson and explosive attacks in several European Union states.
The same month, Latvia’s security service announced the detention of a man suspected of passing military intelligence to Russia, and British police arrested three people suspected of running sabotage and espionage operations for Russia.
The United Kingdom has also repeatedly accused Russia of orchestrating sabotage and spy operations on its soil and beyond. The Kremlin has accused London of blaming Moscow for “anything bad that happens”.
Drones increasing concern
This autumn, drone incursions have added to the European security concerns, with Belgium, Denmark and Germany among several countries reporting sightings.
The incursions provoked airport closures in both Germany and Denmark.
“We are at the beginning of a hybrid war against Europe,” Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen said. “I think we are going to see more of it … We see the pattern, and it does not look good,” she added.
Tusk pledged to urgently upgrade Poland’s air defences after NATO forces shot down several drones over his country last month.
The European Union, recognising the inefficiency of using multimillion-euro weapons to battle cheap drones, has reacted to the incursions with proposals to develop a “drone wall” on its eastern borders.
Who: Real Madrid vs Juventus What: UEFA Champions League Where: Bernabeu Stadium in Madrid, Spain When: Wednesday, October 22 at 9pm (19:00 GMT) How to follow: We’ll have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 6pm (16:00 GMT) before our live text commentary streams.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid host Italy’s Juventus at the Bernabeu Stadium, with both sides looking to improve their UEFA Champions League (UCL) ladder position in the Matchday 3 showdown.
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Real, who are one of just six unbeaten sides remaining in the UCL and sit second on the ladder behind Bayern Munich, would want nothing less than three points against Juventus before their next fixture against English champions Liverpool on November 4.
Juventus are languishing in 23rd position in the group phase standings – near the elimination zone – with only two draws so far against Borussia Dortmund and Villarreal. They desperately need a victory against Los Blancos on Wednesday to keep pace with the leaders.
Here is all to know before their high-stakes encounter:
How did Real Madrid and Juventus fare in their domestic leagues this past weekend?
Kylian Mbappe extended his goalscoring streak to 11 consecutive games to help Real Madrid reclaim top spot in La Liga with a 1-0 victory at nine-man Getafe on Sunday.
After rivals Barcelona briefly displaced Real with a narrow win over Girona on Saturday, Xabi Alonso’s side restored their two-point advantage before next weekend’s Clasico.
Juventus lost 2-0 at Como in Serie A on Sunday, another disappointing result after five successive draws in all competitions for Igor Tudor’s side.
Juve slumped to seventh position in the standings, four points behind leaders AC Milan.
Juventus forward Kenan Yildiz reacts after a Como goal in their Serie A fixture at Stadio Giuseppe Sinigaglia, Como, Italy, on October 19, 2025 [Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters]
How many times have Real and Juventus won the UEFA Champions League?
Real Madrid have won the UEFA Champions League 15 times, making them the most successful team in history. They most recently won the title two years ago, in the 2023-24 season, beating German side Borussia Dortmund 2-0.
Juventus have won the trophy twice. Their most recent title was in 1996 against the Dutch side Ajax. Juve did make the UCL final as recently as 2017, losing 4-1 to Real Madrid.
What happened the last time Real Madrid played Juventus?
The two mega clubs last played on July 2 at the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States.
Real won the round-of-16 showdown 1-0, edging Juventus in a tight affair to reach the quarterfinals thanks to a second-half strike from Gonzalo Garcia.
The last time Real and Juventus clashed in the Champions League was on April 11, 2018, when Cristiano Ronaldo’s dramatic 98th-minute penalty sent Madrid through (4-3 on aggregate) to their eighth consecutive UCL semifinal.
Real Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo scores the winning goal against Juventus from a penalty in their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal in Madrid, Spain, on April 11, 2018 [Susana Vera/Reuters]
Real Madrid team news
Alonso will continue to be without several starting-calibre players heading into Wednesday’s contest against Juventus.
Defender Dean Huijsen, who suffered a micro-tear in his left calf muscle during international duty for Spain in early October, is out of the squad. Initially diagnosed as a strain, the injury now threatens his availability for the Clasico fixture against Barcelona on October 26.
Austrian international David Alaba limped off during Sunday’s game against Getafe with a calf issue, and the 33-year-old is a game-time decision. If he is unavailable, then Raul Asencio would likely move into the starting XI.
The side is further weakened by the ongoing absence of four other defenders, as Dani Carvajal, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Antonio Rudiger and Ferland Mendy are all sidelined.
Juventus team news
Coach Tudor will be without centre back Gleison Bremer as he recovers from arthroscopic knee surgery, with the Brazilian expected to be out until mid-November.
Also missing from the defence line is left back Juan Cabal, who continues to rehabilitate a thigh injury suffered in Juve’s 2-2 draw against Villarreal in the Champions League on October 1.
Winger Edon Zhegrova is questionable to play against Real Madrid after he reinjured his hip.
It is unclear which formation Tudor will deploy against Real after he ditched his preferred 3-4-2-1 setup during their upset loss to Como on Sunday.
Brazilian international Bremer, the stalwart of the Juventus defensive line, will be unavailable for action against Real Madrid as he continues to recover from knee surgery [File: Daniele Badolato/Juventus FC via Getty Images]
Michele Di Gregorio (goalkeeper); Pierre Kalulu, Daniele Rugani, Lloyd Kelly, Andrea Cambiaso; Khephren Thuram, Manuel Locatelli, Teun Koopmeiners; Francisco Conceicao, Jonathan David, Kenan Yildiz
Head-to-head
Real Madrid and Juventus have faced each other 21 times in the Champions League, with Los Blancos having the slight advantage in total victories.
Previous meetings: 21
Real Madrid wins: 10
Draws: 2
Juventus wins: 9
Form guide:
Real Madrid: W-L-W-W-W (All competitions, most recent result last)
Juventus: D-D-D-D-L
Real Madrid’s Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior will be hoping to score his first goal of the 2025-26 UEFA Champions League season against Juventus at the Bernabeu on Wednesday [File: Thomas Coex/AFP]
Video shows towering construction cranes being brought down by a tornado in northern France, where at least one person was killed and several were injured.
Nicolas Sarkozy was convicted last month but will have to wait for his appeal behind bars
Nicolas Sarkozy will become the first French ex-president to go to jail, as he starts a five-year sentence for conspiring to fund his election campaign with money from late Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi.
Not since World War Two Nazi collaborationist leader Philippe Pétain was jailed for treason in 1945 has any French ex-leader gone behind bars.
Sarkozy, who was president from 2007-2012, has appealed against his jail term at La Santé prison, where he is will occupy a cell roughly measuring 9 sq m (95 sq ft) in the jail’s isolation wing.
More than 100 people stood outside the jail, after his son Louis, 28, called on supporters for a show of support.
Another son, Pierre, called for a message of love – “nothing else, please”.
Nicolas Sarkozy, 70, was due to arrive at 10:00 (08:00 GMT) at the infamous 19th-Century prison in the Montparnasse district south of the River Seine. He continues to protest his innocence in the highly controversial Libyan money affair.
Sarkozy has said he wants no special treatment at the notorious La Santé prison, although he has been put in the isolation section for his own safety as other inmates are notorious drugs dealers or have been convicted for terror offences.
Other than Philippe Pétain, the only other former French head of state to have been jailed was King Louis XVI before his execution in January 1793.
Inside his cell he will have a toilet, shower, desk and small TV. He will be allowed one hour a day for exercise, by himself.
At the end of last week he was received at the Élysée Palace by President Emmanuel Macron, who told reporters on Monday “it was normal that on a human level I should receive one of my predecessors in that context”.
In a further measure of official support for the ex-president, Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said he would go to visit him in prison as part of his role in ensuring Sarkozy’s safety and the proper functioning of the jail.
“I cannot be insensitive to a man’s distress,” he added.
Ahead of his arrival at La Santé prison, Sarkozy gave a series of media interviews, telling La Tribune: “I’m not afraid of prison. I’ll keep my head held high, including at the prison gates.”
Sarkozy has always denied doing anything wrong in a case involving allegations that his 2007 presidential campaign was funded by millions of euros in Libyan cash.
The former centre-right leader was cleared of personally receiving the money but convicted of criminal association with two close aides, Brice Hortefeux and Claude Guéant, to talk to the Libyans about secret campaign financing.
The two men both had talks with Gadaffi’s intelligence chief and brother-in-law in 2005, in a meeting arranged by a Franco-Lebanese intermediary called Ziad Tiakeddine, who died in Lebanon shortly before Sarkozy’s conviction.
As he lodged an appeal, Sarkozy is still considered innocent but he has been told he must go to jail in view of the “exceptional seriousness of the facts”.
Sarkozy said he would take two books with him into prison, a life of Jesus and the Count of Monte Christo, the story of a man wrongly imprisoned who escapes to wreak vengeance on his prosecutors.
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
American warships operating off Venezuela’s coast are not doing so without a credible threat. This comes from the presence of the Russian-made Kh-31 high-speed air-to-surface missile. Known to NATO as the AS-17 Krypton, the ramjet-powered weapon is available in both anti-radiation and anti-ship versions, with the ship-killer being the most relevant in this context. With this reality, combined with the steady drumbeat of reports raising the prospect of a military intervention of some kind in Venezuela, it’s worth looking closer at this unique capability within its arsenal.
While we have previously discussed in detail the different layers of Venezuela’s air defense system, it’s one of the key assets of its air force, the Aviación Militar Bolivariana Venezolana, AMBV, or Bolivarian Venezuelan Military Aviation, that is the launch platform for its Kh-31s. This is the Su-30MK2V Flanker multirole fighter, 24 of which were delivered between 2006 and 2008, and 21 of which survive in service today.
A Venezuelan Su-30MK2V lands at an airbase in Maracay, around 60 miles away from Caracas, Venezuela, in December 2006. JENNY FUNG/AFP via Getty Images AFP
It should be noted that it’s not entirely clear whether Venezuela received both the anti-radiation Kh-31P and the anti-ship Kh-31A to arm its Su-30s. However, the Kh-31A, at least, appears to have been supplied, as seen in official videos showing AMBV Su-30s carrying the missiles while flying off the coast of Venezuela. Most recently, this kind of footage has been distributed by Caracas in an apparent statement of resolve against potential U.S. aggression. Venezuela has publicized its anti-ship quick reaction alert drills with these missiles in the past, as well. Moreover, the Kh-31P could also be used in anti-ship capacity, homing in on warships’ radars.
🇻🇪🇺🇸⚡#BREAKING – Venezuelan Air Force shows off it’s Russian SU-30 armed with a Russian supersonic Kh-31 air-to-surface missiles as tensions continue to rise between the US and Venezuela. pic.twitter.com/Oap2BS2uUB
A video shows Venezuelan Su-30s using Kh-31s to launch a mock attack on a ship from an alert posture:
The development of the Kh-31 series of missiles began in the late 1970s in what was then the Soviet Union. The original requirement was for a high-speed anti-radiation missile that would be able to home in on and destroy the radars associated with then-new and emerging western air defense systems, such as the U.S. Army’s Patriot surface-to-air missile system and the U.S. Navy’s Aegis combat system.
The Kh-31A anti-ship missile entered production in 1990. Outside of Russia, it has proven an export success, with around a dozen operators, including China, India, and Vietnam.
An infographic showing the features of the Kh-31 and various loadout configurations for different Russian aircraft. The complete missile depicted is a Kh-31P anti-radiation variant, with the alternate guidance and warhead configuration for the anti-ship Kh-31A variant also shown below. Boeing
Looking at the Kh-31A in more detail, it is fitted with an active radar seeker with a lock-on range of around 18 miles. The seeker works in both lock-on before and lock-on after launch modes. The missile also has a radio altimeter to ensure it can fly precisely at low altitude flight over water. All Kh-31s use a rocket-ramjet propulsion system to achieve sustained supersonic speeds. A rocket in the rear of the weapon boosts it to an optimal speed for the air-breathing ramjet to take over.
Combined with its high terminal speed, the Kh-31A has a penetration warhead, designed to punch through the side of a warship and detonate. This is in contrast to the high-explosive/fragmentation warhead in the Kh-31P. Making the missile harder to defeat is its ability to perform multi-axis maneuvers at up to 15G while skimming over the waves.
A Venezuelan Su-30 overflies the Russian nuclear-powered cruiser Pyotr Velikiy, during joint naval maneuvers in December 2008 in the Caribbean Sea. Photo by MAIQUEL TORCATT/ABN/AFP via Getty Images MAIQUEL TORCATT
In terms of performance, the Kh-31A has a maximum range of 31 miles and a minimum launch distance of 9.3 miles. A longer-range version, the Kh-31AD, exists, with a maximum range of 75-100 miles, but it’s unclear if this was ever supplied to Venezuela.
The missile is accelerated to a speed of Mach 1.8 by means of a solid-propellant rocket booster; when the solid fuel is expended, the engine is ejected and the inside of the missile body is transformed into a combustion chamber for the ramjet, which accelerates the missile to Mach 3.5 at an altitude of 53,000 feet, or Mach 1.8 at sea level.
A promotional image of a Kh-31 showing the basic arrangement of the missile. Rosoboronexport
Each round weighs 1,323 pounds at launch, of which 192 pounds consists of the warhead. The Kh-31A is a notably big missile, with a total length of 15 feet 5 inches.
A good indicator of just how seriously the U.S. Navy takes the threat posed by the Kh-31A can be seen in its decision to buy the missiles from Russia and repurpose them as anti-ship missile targets to test the air defenses of its warships. The resulting target missile was known as the MA-31 and is a topic that we have written about in depth in the past.
A Boeing briefing slide showing the MA-31’s performance envelope compared to other targets. BoeingBoeing
Today, the Kh-31A may be old technology and also a weapon that the U.S. Navy has had first-hand experience of defeating (albeit in non-operational scenarios), however, its potency as an anti-ship weapon shouldn’t be underestimated.
A still from a video showing what appears to be a live Kh-31-series missile under the wing of a Venezuelan Su-30. via XAnother still shows a Venezuelan Su-30 with two Kh-31-series missiles under the wing. via X via X
The U.S. naval presence in the region includes the Iwo Jima Amphibious Readiness Group (ARG)/22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU), with more than 4,500 sailors and Marines on three ships: The Wasp class amphibious assault ship, the USS Iwo Jima, and the San Antonio class amphibious transport dock ships, the USS San Antonio and USS Fort Lauderdale.
New details on U.S. Navy deployments to Southern Command 🇺🇸
– 3 destroyers will reportedly arrive off the coast of Venezuela within 24 hours (USS Gravely + USS Jason Dunham left Mayport last week, USS Sampson is near the Panama Canal) – Littoral combat ship USS Minneapolis-St.… pic.twitter.com/9JOlNSx3Bk
Also deployed in the region are several Arleigh Burke class guided missile destroyers, a Ticonderoga class guided missile cruiser, and the Ocean Trader, a shadowy special operations mothership. The presence of a cruiser, in particular, shadowing the Ocean Trader, underscores the fact that the Pentagon is taking the threat to this vessel very seriously. After all, the Ocean Trader has no organic defenses against anti-ship missiles and has, at times, operated very close to the Venezuelan coast.
🔎🇺🇸Is the Noose Tightening? US Special Ops Mothership Operates with Cruiser Near Venezuelan Waters
OSINT Update (Oct 6): The USS Lake Erie (CG-70), a high-value, highly capable, Ticonderoga-Class Cruiser, operating in close proximity (<6 km) with the shadowy US Special… pic.twitter.com/j8xemFDF7N
As for the Arleigh Burkes, it is worth recalling that the Navy has already made efforts to bolster the defenses of some of these. Those that are forward-deployed to Rota, Spain, feature specific kinetic and non-kinetic systems to operate in the face of anti-ship cruise missiles in high-threat areas, including off the coast of Syria, but also in the Black Sea, which is a nearly land-locked super anti-ship missile engagement zone. Other electronic warfare upgrades continue on various surface combatants across the fleet, including some that are radical in scope.
While these ships are capable of dealing with Kh-31s, and the Navy has learned a lot when it comes to defending against complex attacks on their ships over the last couple of years, that doesn’t mean they can ignore them. Its speed leaves very little reaction time, especially considering early warning would be limited if the vessels were operating very close to the Venezuelan coastline.
Exactly what the U.S. plans to do with its military assets in regard to Maduro remains unclear. Back in August, as the military buildup gathered pace, U.S. officials told CNN that it had ordered naval movements in the region to contain the threat from drug-trafficking groups.
As we have outlined in the past, the deployment of an ARG and various surface combatants, as well as other high-end assets, sends a very strong signal to Maduro and the cartels. The Pentagon could carry out airstrikes or even put a limited number of boots on the ground from international waters in a hurry via special operations raids should President Donald Trump so decide. These may be aimed at cartels linked to Maduro and not the regime itself, but they still would be unprecedented.
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores parade in a military vehicle during celebrations for the Independence Day, in Caracas on July 5, 2025. Photo by Juan BARRETO / AFP JUAN BARRETO
Were such a military option to be launched, it would be possible that Venezuela’s Su-30s, armed with Kh-31A missiles, would be called into action, although targeting a U.S. Navy warship would be a huge deal, with massive repercussions.
In recent weeks, however, Venezuela has flown its fighters directly at U.S. warships, a Pentagon official having confirmed to TWZ that a pair of Venezuelan F-16s flew close to a U.S. Navy vessel in September, as you can read about here. Other similar instances have reportedly occurred. With U.S. Navy vessels operating close to the Venezuelan coast, there exists the very real possibility of a surprise attack on these ships as these close encounters would have put fighter aircraft within the Kh-31’s launch range.
Aside from the Su-30/Kh-31 combination, Venezuela’s anti-ship missile capabilities are currently fairly limited.
The Venezuelan Navy has a single operational Mariscal Sucre class frigate, the Almirante Brión, part of a group of warships that were commissioned in the early 1980s. The Italian-made warship was supplied armed with eight launchers for Otomat Mk 2 anti-ship missiles. The same missiles, in twin launchers, were fitted to the Venezeulan Navy’s Constitución class fast attack craft, of which three are reportedly still operational.
Italy also supplied Venezuela with Sea Killer anti-ship missiles, which armed Venezuelan Navy AB.212 helicopters, several of which remain active, although primarily now used for assault and logistics missions.
The operational status of these Italian-made systems should be considered questionable. Even if still serviceable, they are a far less threatening proposition than the Kh-31A. Both missiles have subsonic performance. The Otomat Mk 2 has a range of around 110 miles, while the Sea Killer can hit targets out to a range of around 6.2 miles.
More recent anti-ship missile deliveries comprise the Iranian-made CM-90 (an export version of the Nasr) that were supplied by Tehran along with Peykaap III (Zolfaghar class) fast attack craft. These are also subsonic weapons.
The Venezuela Navy deployed Iranian-built Peykaap-III (Zolfaghar-class) fast attack craft equipped with CM-90 Anti-Ship Missiles (ASCM) supplied by Iran. pic.twitter.com/vc2aiSIKxI
Although the U.S. Navy is now much more familiar with the threat posed by the AS-17 Krypton, and while its warships are fitted with air defense systems that are capable of dealing with just such a threat, among others, this remains a very potent weapon.
If Venezuela were to directly attack an American warship, it would very likely result in being at war with the United States. But if the regime was already in such a predicament, or if it was facing imminent collapse, such an act could become a greater possibility.
In a realist world, power is rarely exercised alone. It takes coordination, sustained support, and mutual loyalty to project strength. That is the foundation of any enduring alliance. Since the Cold War, Western powers have built a sophisticated web of strategic alliances, sometimes tested but still intact. Even amid nationalist disruptions under figures like Donald Trump or Viktor Orbán, the Western alliance remains functional and coherent. But what about the non-Western bloc, Russia, China, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, and others?
The truth is that non-Western alliances remain weak, fragmented, and often symbolic. Lacking geographic proximity, institutional architecture, or political cohesion, these alliances fail to act in unison, especially in moments of crisis. Military cooperation, defense technology sharing, and strategic communication remain alarmingly underdeveloped.
The recent Israeli attack on Iran exposed this blatantly. Reportedly Isreal forces used the Jordanian and Iraqi airspace, struck Iranian nuclear and military facilities, killing multiple top officials. While rumors circulated about an imminent war, Iran’s response was surprisingly feeble. It’s defense systems failed to intercept the attacks, and its military preparedness appeared outdated from the start. But recent retaliation followed a little bit of promise.
The United States denied direct involvement. Yet Washington, alongside the European allies, refrained from condemning the strike. Germany, France, and the United Kingdom stood silent, indirectly backing Israel through intelligence sharing, military cooperation, and diplomatic support. Their strategic coordination remains strong, despite tensions over Iran’s nuclear program.
What about Iran’s Non-Western allies?
Russia, arguably Iran’s closest partner, is deeply engaged in its own war in Ukraine. Yet strategic alliances are tested precisely in such moments. Iran and Russia have long shared regional interests in Syria and other part of the Middle East. Now, that cooperation seems one-sided. While Russia uses Iranian drones in Ukraine, Tehran receives little in return. No warning, no defense coordination, and certainly no technological assistance ahead of Israel’s strike.
Why hasn’t Russia helped accelerate Iran’s nuclear program as Western powers once did for Israel? Where was the intelligence sharing, the strategic dialogue? These absences raise serious questions about Russia’s role in the non-Western alliance framework: Is it simply a transactional partner or something more?
China is a different story. With an advanced defense industry and growing geopolitical clout, Beijing has demonstrated capability. The recent deployment of Chinese J-10C jets to Pakistan, for example, during tensions with India, signaled a serious technological and symbolic counterweight to Western influence. China even provided real-time intelligence to Pakistan. But where was this level of support for Iran? Through recent rumor said, there are couple of military assistance provided to Iran but still not like ally.
A newly inaugurated Iran-China railroad project suggests growing economic ties, but modern alliances require more than trade. Strategic defense coordination is fundamental. Despite Iran’s geopolitical relevance, Beijing remains largely absent in Iran’s security calculus.
Then there is Iran’s own regional network, its so-called “axis of resistance.” Historically, Iran projected strength through proxies like Hezbollah, Hamas, and the Houthis. But this too is unraveling. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah and Hamas political chief Ismail Haniyeh were both reportedly killed by Israeli operations, Haniyeh during an official visit in Tehran itself. These assassinations not only reflect Tehran’s inability to protect its partners but also signal a crisis of credibility. No meaningful retaliation followed. This absence of action weakens Iran’s reputation as a guarantor of its proxies’ survival.
The broader picture is troubling. Non-Western powers often operate like solo actors in a system that punishes isolation. The world is a dark forest; walk alone, and sooner or later, the wolves will find you. This is the lesson non-Western allies must internalize. Shared struggle requires shared commitment. Each country will always have its own domestic priorities, but alliances demand sacrifice, coordination, and strategic depth.
It seems like their trust-building process is yet to work. Or are they afraid to confront Western allies’ wrath over sanctions? China and Russia have been conducting business and various forms of economic cooperation with most of the Western blocs, despite sanctions threats and targeted regulations. These two nations need to step up and anchor the non-Western bloc. A multipolar world needs a table where bipolar allies can collaborate and pave the path for a democratic alliance for the world. Trump’s approach to Europe and other Western countries is not seen as a sign of alliance. So at this moment, non-Western countries can show unity. This not only gives the world new hope for cooperative living ideas but also threatens Trump’s leadership position on global order.
China has the defense capacity to empower allies but remains hesitant. Russia, once a superpower, is now locked in a war that undermines its influence and exposes its limits. In today’s geopolitical landscape, superpowers act more like coaches than players. Mediation, defense sharing, and regional stabilization efforts, rather than confrontation, are what build strategic resilience.
For the non-Western bloc, the Israel-Iran crisis must serve as a wake-up call. Without solidarity, without trust, and without strategy, they risk becoming a coalition of convenience. This also reflects unity in rhetoric but division and defeat in reality.
Lucknow, India – On the evening of September 4, an illuminated signboard lit up a predominantly Muslim neighbourhood in Kanpur, an industrial town in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh.
The signboard said: “I love Muhammad” – with a red heart standing in for the word, love.
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It was the first time the mainly working-class residents in Kanpur’s Syed Nagar had put up such a sign as part of the decorations as they joined millions of Muslims around the world to celebrate Prophet Muhammad’s birthday.
The day, marked as Eid Milad-un-Nabi across South Asia, involves the faithful organising religious gatherings, Quran recitations, and sermons about the prophet’s life and teachings. At some places, the celebrations include mass processions, with people carrying posters to express their love and reverence for the prophet.
In Syed Nagar, however, as soon as the words glowed, a group of Hindu men swooped in, objecting to the celebration. Police were called in, and following a ruckus that lasted hours, the signboard was removed late that night.
Charges related to promoting enmity between different religious groups, as well as deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage the religious feelings of another community, were filed against nine Muslim men and 15 unidentified people from Syed Nagar. No arrests have been made so far.
Police attacking Muslim demonstrators in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India [Al Jazeera]
Mohit Bajpayee, a Syed Nagar resident affiliated with a Hindu group named Sri Ramnavmi Samiti, said he had no objection to the text, ‘I love Muhammad’, but to the placement of the signboard at a place used by them for a Hindu festival.
“All religions have equal rights under the constitution,” he told Al Jazeera. “But the sign was put up at a location where our Ram Navami decorations are usually displayed. Everyone has a right to follow their religion, but new traditions should not be started in new locations.”
But the Muslim residents of Syed Nagar say the signboard was put up at a public place they converged at every year for the prophet’s birth anniversary.
“We had official permission for the decorations. Everyone has the right to practise their religion under the constitution,” said a 28-year-old resident who is one of those charged, unwilling to reveal his identity over fears of further action by the government.
MA Khan, the lawyer for the accused in Kanpur, told Al Jazeera that the Muslim men were also accused of tearing a banner of the Hindu community during the Eid Milad-un-Nabi procession on September 5.
“Many of those named were not even present in the procession,” he said.
‘Disturbing communal harmony’
Uttar Pradesh is home to 38 million Muslims – more than the entire population of Saudi Arabia – comprising nearly 20 percent of India’s most populous state. Since 2017, the politically crucial state has been governed by Yogi Adityanath, a hardline Hindu monk known for his anti-Muslim speech and policies, and a prominent politician from Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu majoritarian Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Days later, the spark from Kanpur ignited a fire some 270km (168 miles) away, in another Uttar Pradesh town called Bareilly – headquarters of the Barelvi sect of Sunni Muslims, who number between 200 million to 300 million across the world.
On September 10, the state police registered a first information report (FIR) against nine Muslims in Bareilly, including a religious scholar, accusing them of “disturbing communal harmony” and starting a “new tradition” that threatened public order.
A Muslim woman protesting in Lucknow, India [Naeem Ansari/Al Jazeera]
On September 21, Maulana Tauqeer Raza Khan, chief of a Muslim group called Ittehad-e-Millat Council (IMC) and descendant of Imam Ahmed Raza Khan, the founder of the Barelvi sect, announced a protest over the FIRs filed in Bareilly and Kanpur, and urged his supporters to gather at a ground after Friday prayers on September 26 to denounce the police action.
The district administration denied Khan permission for the rally.
On September 25, the IMC issued a statement asking people not to gather for the protest. But hours later, Khan’s supporters allegedly circulated a social media message, claiming the IMC statement was fake and aimed at defaming the Muslim body.
The next day, thousands of Muslims assembled near a famous Muslim shrine in Bareilly after the Friday prayers, holding “I love Muhammad” posters and raising slogans against the police for their action in Kanpur.
District authorities alleged that the march was unauthorised and accused some participants of pelting stones at the police and vandalising public property. The police responded with a baton charge, and arrested Khan and dozens of others, as authorities shut down the internet in the town.
Police attacking Muslim demonstrators in Bareilly, Uttar Pradesh, India [Al Jazeera]
In a video message recorded before his arrest, Khan said the crackdown was a targeted suppression of religious expression. “Attempts to suppress our religious sentiments will backfire,” he warned.
A day later, while speaking at an event in the state capital, Lucknow, Chief Minister Adityanath condemned the Bareilly unrest as a “well-orchestrated attempt” to disturb social harmony.
“Sometimes, people are not able to shun their bad habits easily. For that, some denting-painting is required … You saw that in Bareilly yesterday. A maulana [Muslim scholar] forgot who is in power,” he said in Hindi, without naming anyone.
The “denting-painting” soon followed, as has been the pattern with Adityanath’s crackdown on Muslims accused of disrupting public order. A banquet hall belonging to one of the accused was bulldozed by the authorities in Bareilly.
‘Government wants to instil fear’
Demolition of homes and commercial properties belonging to Muslims accused of a range of crimes has become a common practice in Uttar Pradesh and other BJP-ruled states, despite India’s top court recently banning what it called the “bulldozer justice”. Rights groups say such demolitions are a form of extralegal punishment that bypasses judicial processes and devastates families economically.
While the Uttar Pradesh government claimed the demolitions in Bareilly targeted illegally-constructed buildings, the timing and targets suggest a clear strategy of intimidation.
“Police are registering cases against Muslims across the nation to suppress their legitimate protests … The BJP government wants to instil fear so Muslims lose the courage to speak for their religious and fundamental rights,” Sumaiya Rana, daughter of the famous Urdu poet late Munawwar Rana, told Al Jazeera.
Rana herself organised a protest outside the state assembly building in Lucknow, where more than a dozen demonstrators holding “I love Muhammad” placards were briefly detained by the police.
A woman protesting outside the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly building in Lucknow [Naeem Ansari/Al Jazeera]
The Association for Protection of Civil Rights (APCR), a rights group, says at least 22 FIRs have been filed across India in connection with the Muslim campaign, naming more than 2,500 individuals, with at least 89 arrested in Bareilly so far.
“Authorities have treated a slogan expressing love for the prophet as a criminal act and described it as provocative,” APCR secretary Nadeem Khan told Al Jazeera. “In many cases, the administration violated due process in registering cases and demolishing the properties of the accused, which has severe social and economic impacts on Muslim communities.”
SQR Ilyasi, a member of the All India Muslim Personal Law Board, a prominent Muslim body, stressed that peaceful protest is not illegal for any community in India. “Expressing love for the prophet is our right,” he told Al Jazeera.
Activist Vandana Mishra of the People’s Union for Civil Liberties, a rights group, said the authorities frequently allow the Hindu community to “raise religious slogans freely, while the minority faces arrest for expressing love for the prophet”.
“This contravenes the secular and democratic ethos of our constitution,” she told Al Jazeera.
Opposition parties have also criticised the Uttar Pradesh government’s actions.
The Samajwadi Party, one of the state’s biggest political forces, said it attempted to send a delegation to Bareilly to meet the victims of the police crackdown, but claimed its members were prevented. “The government talks of democracy but acts in complete disregard of it,” the leader of the opposition in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly, Mata Prasad Pandey, told reporters in Lucknow.
Lawyer Zia Jillani, who recently visited Bareilly and is representing some of the accused, told Al Jazeera that most of those arrested or facing charges “belong to the marginalised sections of society and earn on a daily wage basis”.
“For them, due to their financial incapability, pursuing and fighting legal cases against the injustices inflicted upon them is an unbearable task,” he said.
“This kind of hate politics preys on the poor, taking advantage of their vulnerability while ignoring justice and accountability.”
Tel Aviv football team says it is working to ‘stamp out racism’ among its fan base.
Israeli football team Maccabi Tel Aviv has said it will turn down any tickets offered to its fans for a match in the United Kingdom, even if an earlier decision by local officials to bar the team’s followers from attending is reversed.
Maccabi Tel Aviv said on Monday that “hard lessons learned” meant it had decided to decline any offer of tickets for the Europa League game against Aston Villa.
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“The wellbeing and safety of our fans is paramount,” the team said in a statement posted online. “Our decision should be understood in that context.”
The club also said it had been working to “stamp out racism” within the “more extreme elements” of its fan base.
“Our first-team squad consists of Muslims, Christian and Jewish players and our fan base also crosses the ethnic and religious divide,” it said.
The team’s decision came a day after Israeli police cancelled a match between Maccabi and its rival Tel Aviv team Hapoel before kickoff over what they described as “public disorder and violent riots”.
The move by Israeli authorities to cancel the game stood in contrast with criticism by British and Israeli leaders of Birmingham City’s decision to ban Maccabi fans from the November 6 match at Villa Park in Birmingham, central England.
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called the ban by the city’s Safety Advisory Group (SAG) “the wrong decision”, while Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Gideon Saar called for the “shameful” and “coward decision” to be reversed.
The UK government said on Friday that it was working to override local authorities to allow Israeli fans to be present.
But after Israeli police shut down the match between Tel Aviv teams on Sunday, some UK politicians questioned whether the government should intervene in Birmingham.
“To Keir Starmer and others who tried to make this about religion! Here’s more evidence. Even under the world’s spotlight, these fans chose violence, injuring police officers,” independent MP Ayoub Khan wrote in a post on X.
Richard Burgon, a Labour MP, broke with his government, saying the developments vindicated the decision to ban away fans from attending the game.
“This news exposes how absurd that campaign has been,” he said on X. “The people of Birmingham have a right to be kept safe.”
West Midlands Police said last week that they had classified the match as high risk based on “current intelligence and previous incidents, including violent clashes and hate crime offences that occurred during the 2024 UEFA Europa League match between Ajax and Maccabi Tel Aviv in Amsterdam”.
“Based on our professional judgement, we believe this measure will help mitigate risks to public safety,” the police force said.
Last year’s clashes in Amsterdam between pro-Palestinian supporters and fans of Maccabi Tel Aviv led to dozens of arrests.
The clashes followed incidents of Israeli fans rampaging through the Dutch capital, assaulting residents, destroying symbols of Palestinian solidarity and chanting racist and genocidal slogans against Palestinians and Arabs.
The clashes also featured reported incidents of anti-Semitism, including a private messaging chat calling for a “Jew hunt”.
Legal experts have also voiced concerns about Israeli teams participating in international sporting matches, citing a report by United Nations investigators that affirmed that Israel is carrying out a genocide against Palestinians.
Earlier this month, more than 30 legal experts wrote to UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin, saying that banning Israel from competitions was “imperative”.
“UEFA must not be complicit in sports-washing such flagrant breaches of international law, including but not limited to the act of genocide,” the experts wrote.
Here are the key events from day 1,335 of Russia’s war on Ukraine.
Published On 20 Oct 202520 Oct 2025
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Here is how things stand on Tuesday, October 21, 2025:
Fighting
Russian forces launched several attacks on Ukraine’s Kherson region, killing one person and injuring three others, the Kherson Regional State Administration wrote in a post on Telegram.
A Russian attack on the Ukrainian border region of Chernihiv cut off power to parts of northern Ukraine, including the main town outside the decommissioned Chernobyl nuclear power station, officials said, according to the Reuters news agency.
The 7th Corps of Ukraine’s Air Assault Forces reported in a post on Facebook that a Russian assault group killed several Ukrainians during an attack on the Ukrainian city of Pokrovsk in recent days, without providing further details of the number of people killed or when the attack occurred.
Russian forces launched an attack on a coal enrichment plan in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk region, private Ukrainian energy company DTEK wrote in a post on Telegram.
In the Russian border region of Belgorod, two people were killed in a Ukrainian drone attack on the village of Yasnye Zori, Governor Vyacheslav Gladkov wrote in a post on Telegram.
Politics and diplomacy
Speaking at the White House on Monday, United States President Donald Trump said of Ukrainians’ prospects in the war: “They could still win it”, but added, “I don’t think they will”.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio spoke with Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov, and discussed “advancing a durable resolution to the Russia-Ukraine war, in line with Trump’s vision,” according a summary of the call released by the US State Department.
Russian lawmakers have drafted a law mandating life imprisonment for anyone involving minors in sabotage and lowering the threshold for criminal responsibility for such crimes to 14 years old, citing rising threats from Ukraine and NATO countries.
Budapest talks
French President Emmanuel Macron told reporters in Slovenia that Ukraine and European countries should be included in upcoming talks between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Hungary.
“From the moment they discuss the fate of Ukraine, the Ukrainians should be at the table. From the moment they discuss what impacts the security of Europeans, the Europeans should be at the table,” Macron said.
Macron also said that Ukraine’s allies, known as “the coalition of the willing”, are planning their own meeting in London on Friday, with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy present.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Zelenskyy said he is hoping to be invited to Budapest, whether the invitation is “in a format where we meet as three or, as it’s called, shuttle diplomacy”.
Weapons
Zelenskyy said that his country is still “working with the United States” to secure “the necessary number of Patriot systems”, saying that he spoke with weapons companies on a recent visit to Washington, DC, and that support is needed at the “political level in Washington”.
Phone snatchers often use e-bikes or mopeds to make off at speed
The Metropolitan Police’s newly appointed lead on phone theft says its work in tackling the crime has not been “good enough”.
Just over 1% of phone thefts in London result in a charge or conviction, according to the force’s data, compared with 11% for robberies.
London Assembly member Neil Garratt urged more to be done to tackle the issue of phone theft, which he compared to an “epidemic” in the city.
Appointed two months ago to focus on phone theft at the Met, Cdr Andy Featherstone said the force’s revised strategy, which involves targeting organised crime, was making a difference.
Cdr Andy Featherstone said involvement of the serious crime directorate signalled how “seriously” phone theft was now being taken
Cdr Featherstone said the issue of phone thefts had been an “outlier” for the Met.
“But the bottom line is that isn’t good enough,” he said. “The public deserve better.”
Earlier this month the force made 18 arrests and seized 2,000 handsets in what the Met claimed to be the UK’s largest-ever operation targeting phone thefts.
“We think they are responsible for approximately 40% of all phone thefts in London,” Cdr Featherstone said.
“Our serious crime directorate has been involved in these operations, which they wouldn’t normally be. They would normally be involved in firearms offences, drug importation, et cetera.”
He said the involvement of the directorate signalled how “seriously” phone theft was now being taken, adding: “We’re putting our very best resources and assets pointed at this crime type.”
Christian D’ippolito lost tens of thousands of pounds as a result of having his phone stolen
Christian D’ippolito, was in Hackney when he had his phone stolen by a group of four men while it was unlocked.
“I couldn’t believe it,” Mr D’ippolito said. “I could not believe that had just happened.
“You see, never in a million years did I expect this to happen to me,” said Mr D’ippolito, who is founder of the Spartan Project, a charity supporting vulnerable young people.
Earlier this month the force made 18 arrests and seized 2,000 handsets in what the Met claimed to be the UK’s largest-ever operation targeting phone thefts
He said his digital wallet, PayPal account and business banking details were compromised and the thieves even tried to take out loans in his name.
“It’s quite incredible, actually, to see how, when given the opportunity, individuals can literally clear you out for everything you have in a very relentless way,” he said.
He lost tens of thousands of pounds as a result.
Mr D’ippolito added: “The general public tends to view phone theft as the loss of a valuable piece of hardware, whereas the criminal mind would take that for granted and view what lies beyond the value of the phone as the real opportunity.”
The Met Police said organised crime groups have pivoted to dealing in stolen phones because of how lucrative it can be.
The force said a phone-snatcher could make up to £400 per stolen phone, with devices fetching up to £4,000 when sold in China, given they are internet-enabled and therefore attractive to those trying to bypass censorship.
According to Met Police figures, 117,211 phones were stolen during 2024, up 25% on the 2019 figure of 91,481.
Neil Garratt, who represents Croydon and Sutton on the London Assembly, has repeatedly called for more action to deal with the rising numbers of mobile phone thefts in the city.
“I challenged the mayor (Sir Sadiq Khan) to show leadership last year, but he refused,” Mr Garratt, a Conservative group member, said.
“So I produced a report showing how to tackle phone theft without breaking the bank.”
That report, published in February, recommended targeting a “small group” of criminals which was “committing the most crime”.
“News that more will be done by the Met is extremely welcome,” Mr Garratt told the BBC. “But I am disappointed that the mayor has yet to take political leadership on this issue and has abdicated responsibility to an overstretched and underfunded police force.
“If Khan had pulled his finger out, how many thousands of phones may have not been stolen since?”
In response, a spokesperson for the Sir Sadiq said: “Nothing is more important to the mayor than keeping Londoners safe and Sadiq is supporting the Met to double down on every level of mobile phone crime, with operations to tackle street robbers as well as the handlers and organised criminal groups driving criminality in our communities.
“Last month the mayor backed the biggest-ever Met campaign to tackle mobile phone crime, successfully disrupting an international major criminal network linked to 40% of all phones stolen in London.
“This work is happening in tandem with record funding from City Hall boosting visible neighbourhood policing and deploying specialist operations in hotspot areas like Westminster and the West End.
“But the police can’t defeat this on their own.
“The mayor has long been clear we need decisive and co-ordinated action to halt the global trade of stolen phones and he will continue to push the mobile phone industry to go much further in preventing stolen phones being used, sold and repurposed, to build a safer London for all.”
Weekly insights and analysis on the latest developments in military technology, strategy, and foreign policy.
Sweden has moved ahead with plans for a new-generation combat aircraft, with defense firm Saab having received an order for continued conceptual studies for future fighter systems. At this stage, however, it remains unclear if there will definitely be a crewed successor to the Swedish Air Force’s current Gripen fighter, or if the ongoing studies will lead to a combat air ‘ecosystem’ comprised of different types of drones. A combination of crewed and uncrewed platforms remains possible, too.
The Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) recently awarded Saab with the contract, worth around $276 million and covering the period from 2025 to 2027. As well as the FMV, Saab will work with the Swedish Armed Forces, the Swedish Defense Research Agency, GKN Aerospace, and other unnamed industry partners. The latest contract builds on a previous one signed in March 2024.
An earlier diagram of a Saab wind-tunnel model for its new-generation combat air program, with the definition of forces and moments measured in the wind tunnel overlaid. Saab via X
The new order includes conceptual studies for both crewed and uncrewed solutions as part of a ‘system of systems’ approach, as well as technology development, and undisclosed demonstrators.
“This order sets the next step on our joint journey in delivering innovative solutions to meet future operational needs of the Swedish Armed Forces and other customers,” said Lars Tossman, head of Saab business area Aeronautics. This statement confirms that Saab is also looking to export whatever platforms ultimately emerge from this development effort. Export orders would help to keep the program financially viable, a challenge we have discussed before. On the other hand, Sweden is in a somewhat unique position in terms of export opportunity, as Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCAs) and uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAVs) become items in demand with many air arms.
Within Saab, the next-generation combat aircraft program is known as the Future Combat Air System (FCAS). Confusingly, the same nomenclature is also used by rival British and pan-European future combat air initiatives. While they are all different, it’s worth noting that Saab was also previously involved with the British FCAS program, before stepping away from it.
Meanwhile, all these FCAS efforts feature a crewed fighter at the center, as well as a range of supporting drones and other advanced technologies, as part of a system of systems. The British and pan-European efforts are, however, working on a more aggressive timeline than Sweden’s.
Examples of a Computational Fluid Dynamics evaluation for an earlier Saab loyal wingman configuration. This one apparently features a stealthier engine exhaust. Saab via X
Late last year, Saab presented various concepts related to its FCAS initiative, including a potential new-generation crewed fighter and a series of drones intended to work alongside it.
A more unusual aspect of these interrelated concepts is Saab’s use of shared components across multiple crewed and uncrewed platforms. This includes a concept for commonality between the non-stealthy Gripen E crewed fighter and a stealthy supersonic uncrewed platform.
Two views of the supersonic uncrewed platform in the F-Series when they were revealed in a TV documentary last year. SVT screencap via X
Leveraging existing technologies should help reduce program costs, accelerate development times, and reduce the maintenance and logistics burden once such systems are in service. However, this is just one possible approach, and, at this early stage, Sweden seems to be keeping its options open.
This would be in keeping with the overall ‘wait and see’ policy that Sweden appears to be adopting as it works out its next-generation air combat requirements.
Another view of the supersonic uncrewed platform in the F-Series. SVT screencap via X
More broadly, however, what we have seen so far from Saab suggests that the overall FCAS program puts uncrewed platforms in a more central position that the other European FCAS initiatives, in which drones are seen rather more as adjuncts to crewed fighters. Bearing in mind the potential pitfalls to developing sixth-generation crewed fighters from scratch, the Swedish approach might prove to be a safer one, long term.
Saab has assembled some important experience in developing advanced drones, with its most prominent examples including the stealthy Swedish Highly Advanced Research Configuration (SHARC) experimental vehicle. The aim of this project was to design a drone configuration suitable for attack missions, while combining low cost and low signatures. The drone was first flown in 2000.
The Saab SHARC (front left) and FILUR (front right) in front of a Gripen fighter. Saab
There was also the Flying Innovative Low-Observable Unmanned Research (FILUR) vehicle, a low-signature demonstrator first flown in 2005. According to Saab, FILUR’s main objective was “to show the tactical importance of stealth technology applied on aerial vehicles, to gain experience and to set a foundation for stealth requirements for future aerial systems and air-surveillance systems.”
These studies were followed by involvement in the French Dassault nEUROn UCAV demonstrator.
Since then, Saab has shown a wind-tunnel model of a supersonic, stealthy ‘loyal wingman’ drone concept, a design that you can read more about here.
A Saab loyal wingman concept in the L-2000 Wind tunnel at the Royal Technical High School, Stockholm. Saab via XAnother view of the same wind-tunnel model with one open weapons bay. Saab via X
At the other end of the scale, Saab’s Peter Nilsson, head of Advanced Programs at the company, has talked about plans for drones that “will only be mock targets and [will] get shot down, but who might help so that you succeed in your mission.” This points to a vision for attritable drones — ones that are inexpensive enough to be willing to lose on high-risk missions while being capable enough to be relevant for those missions.
Last year, Saab revealed studies of its FCAS-related F-series, which include a crewed future fighter, a subsonic uncrewed platform with a weight of no more than five tons, a supersonic uncrewed platform with a weight of more than five tons, and a low-cost subsonic uncrewed platform with a weight of less than one ton. The F-series also includes the Gripen E crewed multirole fighter that’s now in production for Sweden and Brazil. The Gripen E has also been ordered by Thailand and selected as Colombia’s next fighter jet.
A close-up of a laptop showing the Saab F-series concept aircraft. SVT screencap via X
It’s even conceivable that Sweden might forego a crewed fighter and pursue a future combat aircraft ‘ecosystem’ that comprises only different categories of drones.
At the same time, it’s noteworthy that Saab specifically states that crewed solutions are part of the ongoing conceptual studies.
Overall, the F-series represents just one of the options, or potential lines of development that Saab is studying as it looks to bring about a Gripen successor. It would also be feasible for Sweden to retain the Gripen E and pair it with stealthy drones indeed. We have discussed in the past how CCAs are arguably even more relevant to so-called ‘generation 4.5’ fighters than fifth-generation ones.
Pairing Gripen E with stealthy CCAs would drastically increase the survivability and tactical flexibility of the crewed fighters, with the drones acting as a powerful force multiplier. Sweden could also build UCAVs that could undertake many deep penetrating missions separate from a CCA. Such a combined CCA and penetrating UCAV concept would allow more mission areas to be covered without developing a new fighter.
The Saab Gripen E. Saab
It’s also still possible that Sweden might choose to acquire an off-the-shelf solution, perhaps by joining one of the other FCAS initiatives.
However, that would almost certainly bring to an end Sweden’s long history of domestic combat aircraft development. Regardless, with a stated goal to field a successor system to the Gripen around 2050, the latest contract award ensures that conceptual work in this direction will continue and, hopefully, more details of Sweden’s next-generation combat air program will emerge soon.
If you TikTok on any particular night and you can watch America arguing with itself. Most teenagers scroll through protest videos, culture-war debates, and endless outrage while rival nations quietly observe something far more consequential – the erosion of the attention of the American youth.
Think of two children, one spends an entire day watching protest clips and debating identity issues online. The other spends that same time learning robotics or coding. A decade later, only one of them is shaping the technologies that define the future. Multiply this very difference by millions and the picture becomes clear. This is how foreign countries can gain a subtle but powerful advantage by encouraging distraction.
While American youth is drawn into ideological skirmishes, China is building artificial intelligence laboratories, investing heavily in space technology, and cultivating discipline among its students. Russia, though economically weaker, still benefits by showcasing American confusion to its own citizens. By pointing to social division and cultural chaos, it strengthens the illusion that its own model offers stability. The battlefield today is not military; it is psychological.
The New Frontline of Power
I believe that the most contested territory of the 21st century is not land or trade routes but attention. Data may have been the ‘New Oil’ but Attention and the ability to capture and control it is the ‘New Data’. If you control the minds, you control the country. Young Americans live in a constant world of images, arguments, and notifications that shape how they see their nation and their ideological beliefs. They are politically aware but emotionally exhausted.
Several Surveys by the Pew Research Centre show that nearly half of American teenagers believe social media has a mostly negative effect on their generation, and about 1 in 5 say it has harmed their mental health in one way or another. What began as a tool for connection, has become an arena for reactivity, chaos and following social media trends. News is consumed not to understand but to respond.
America’s openness which has been its defining strength, has become a point of vulnerability. During the 2016 election, Russian operatives deliberately amplified such issues online, pushing both liberal and conservative extremes to deepen mistrust and cause diversity. The aim was not persuasion but polarization. It was a targeted attack on the people of America.
TikTok on the other hand, which is China’s most successful global export is designed to capture attention through endless entertainment, while its domestic version, Douyin, restricts usage for minors and promotes educational and patriotic content. The Chinese youth are trained to create and compete, while American youth are taught, unconsciously, to scroll. Why is Douyin used in China and not TikTok? Why isn’t conventional social media banned in China? What does China know about these social debates that it wants to control the flow of media and western ideologies into their country? One should question what Is really happening
The Economics of Distraction
Attention is now a form of economic power. Nations that focus their youth on innovation and competence will dominate the coming century. Those that reward distraction will decline.
The Center for Strategic and International Studies reports that China graduates more than one million engineers each year, nearly four times the number produced in the United States. When a country’s young population spends more time debating cultural issues than mastering scientific ones, it weakens its long-term competitiveness.
Political consequences follow. Polarization has become both symptom and strategy. Congress spends increasing time performing ideological battles instead of solving practical problems. Rivals interpret this as evidence that democracy can be paralyzed by its own openness, and citizens begin to lose confidence in their institutions.
The Algorithmic Advantage
Algorithms have become invisible editors of public life. They decide what people see, what they feel, and eventually what they believe. A Wall Street Journal investigation found that TikTok’s recommendation system can guide users toward extreme or divisive content within minutes of signing up. Douyin, in contrast, enforces time limits for minors and promotes academic material.
The difference in design reveals a difference in philosophy. American platforms optimize for engagement. Chinese platforms optimize priamrily for control. Both shape human behaviour, but only one leaves its users fragmented and fatigued.
Every moment of outrage online generates data, engagement, and profit. The more polarized the conversation, the stronger the business model. That is the genius of this weapon, it destabilizes societies while appearing voluntary. It is a quiet killer of growth, it is the quiet killer of a bright future. Why? Because it changes the nature of the populus to focus on ideological differences, to argue and debate on that rather than focusing on innovation, growth and developing. The American Citizen has become vulnerable to these power plays.
The Psychological Toll
This constant exposure to ideological battles leaves deep psychological marks. A few studies link sustained online conflict to higher anxiety, moral fatigue, and declining trust in authority. People become more skeptical yet also more suggestible, believing less but reacting more quickly.
The youth, despite being more digitally focused, remain more adaptable in belief than older generations. The real danger here, is not what they believe but that they begin to doubt whether anyone can be trusted to tell the truth. When the trust has evaporated, societies become easier to manipulate and it gets much harder for the country to unite and focus on growth and development.
Building Cognitive Resilience
Safeguarding democracy today requires much more than merely armies and technology, rather it requires citizens who can think clearly in an environment designed to distract them. The solution lies in resilience, not censorship or media control. Lets discuss some points that can be adopted to fight this battle
Teach Media Literacy: Schools should help students understand how algorithms shape their perceptions and emotions. Research shows that even brief digital literacy training reduces belief in false information.
Make algorithms transparent: Tech platforms should disclose what content they prioritize and why. Independent audits can reveal manipulation before it spreads.
Rebuild Offline Living: Communities that meet face-to-face build empathy that online arguments cannot. Dialogue, Community building and local participation restore the sense of shared purpose that social media erodes.
Expose Interference very Quickly: Governments should publicly reveal foreign manipulation as soon as it is detected. Transparency disarms propaganda faster than denial.
The Human Cost and the National Risk
Beneath this jargon is a human story. It is the that teenager that watches TikTok before bed and wakes up anxious without knowing the reason for that very anxiety. It is the citizen who cannot trust any sources of news. It is the slow disintegration of focus and faith in the conventional media and the American government.
Many foreign powers have learned that it is cheaper to just divide America than try to defeat it using any Economic or Military power because they sure are too strong on that front controlling the one of the most globally traded currency and one of the strongest Military powers in the world. Their weapon is distraction, which is engineered with precision and amplified through emotion.
The remedy is not to close society but to strengthen it. Attention in itself needs to be treated as a civic skill, something to be trained and protected. The ability to pause, reflect and filter out unimportant and hate-causing content is America’s last line of defence.
The next great contest between open and closed societies will not be fought on a battlefield but in the minds of the populus deciding whether to react or to think. If America’s strength once came from its freedom to speak, its survival now depends on its willingness to listen and act be aware of what is really happening.
The central bank said deal was part of a comprehensive strategy to help it respond to forex and capital markets volatility.
Published On 20 Oct 202520 Oct 2025
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The Central Bank of the Argentinian Republic (BCRA) said it has signed a $20bn exchange rate stabilisation agreement with the United States Treasury Department, six days ahead of a key midterm election.
The central bank’s statement on Monday said the agreement sets forth terms for bilateral currency swap operations between the US and Argentina, but it provided no technical details.
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The central bank said: “Such operations will allow the BCRA to expand its set of monetary and exchange rate policy instruments, including the liquidity of its international reserves”.
The Argentinian peso closed at a record low, down 1.7 percent on the day to end at 1,475 per dollar.
The BCRA said the pact was part of a comprehensive strategy to enhance its ability to respond to foreign exchange and capital markets volatility.
The US Treasury did not immediately respond to a request for details on the new swap line and has not issued its own statement about the arrangement.
US Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said last week that the arrangement would be backed by International Monetary Fund Special Drawing Rights held in the Treasury’s Exchange Stabilization Fund that will be converted to dollars.
Bessent has said that the US would not put additional conditions on Argentina beyond President Javier Milei’s government continuing to pursue its fiscal austerity and economic reform programmes to foster more private-sector growth.
He has announced several US purchases of pesos in recent weeks, but has declined to disclose details.
Midterm vote
Argentinian Minister of Economy Luis Caputo said last week that he hoped the swap deal framework would be finalised before the October 26 midterm parliamentary vote, in which Milei’s party will seek to grow its minority presence in the legislature.
Milei, who has sought to solve Argentina’s economic woes through fiscal spending cuts and dramatically shrinking the size of government, has been handed a string of recent political defeats.
US President Donald Trump said last week that the US would not “waste our time” with Argentina if Milei’s party loses in the midterm vote. The comment briefly shocked local markets until Bessent clarified that continued US support depended on “good policies”, not necessarily the vote result.
He added that a positive result for Milei’s party would help block any policy repeal efforts.
The company impressed one market professional at its recent investor day.
Planet Labs(PL 3.58%) stock had a good start to the trading week on Monday. That’ll happen when an analyst increases their price target by more than 30%, which is what occurred before the market opened that morning. Planet Labs enjoyed an over 3% lift to its share price as a result, which outpaced the 1.1% rise of the bellwether S&P 500(^GSPC 1.07%).
A 33% boost
The pundit responsible for the raise was Needham’s Ryan Koontz, who now feels Planet Labs is worth $16 per share; he previously placed a $12 price target on the stock. In making the change, Koontz maintained his buy recommendation on the shares.
Image source: Getty Images.
According to reports, the analyst made his change on the basis of presentations made during the company’s investor day. He wrote that management emphasized its strategic focus on satellite services arrangements. The company is also encouraged by what it expects to be rising defense budgets from governments around the world.
Given all that, Koontz raised his estimates modestly for Planet Labs’ fiscal 2027, which begins early in calendar year 2026.
Growth in the ether
Planet Labs’ main activity is the provision of detailed geographic data on Earth from a network of satellites. It’s still consistently loss-making, however, despite some impressive revenue growth. It’s therefore a risky investment, and should only be considered by investors comfortable with such plays.
Eric Volkman has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Israel has breached the Gaza ceasefire with Hamas, killing dozens of Palestinians.
Israel says it’s returned to the Gaza ceasefire – after launching a wave of air strikes on Sunday, killing more than 40 Palestinians.
It blamed Hamas for the breach, saying its fighters were responsible for an attack that killed two Israeli soldiers.
Hamas denies breaking the ceasefire.
The violence was a reminder for Palestinians that Israel is willing to suspend peace, and unleash its firepower, whenever it sees fit.
The United States insists the truce will hold – and has sent Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Presidential Advisor Jared Kushner to Israel.
But the renewed assault has cast doubt on whether the ceasefire will advance to the second phase – which is meant to see Hamas disarm and Israel withdraw from Gaza.
Presenter: Bernard Smith
Guests: Alon Pinkas – Former Israeli ambassador and former consul general in New York
Hussein Haridy – Former Egyptian assistant foreign minister
Frank Lowenstein – Former US special envoy for Israeli-Palestinian negotiations
Exiled former President Andry Rajoelina condemns takeover and refuses to step down despite defections in the security forces.
Published On 20 Oct 202520 Oct 2025
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Madagascar’s coup leader Colonel Michael Randrianirina, who seized power this month after Gen Z-driven protests forced the former president out the country, has appointed a new prime minister.
Randrianirina, who was sworn in as president last week, said on Monday that he had chosen businessman Herintsalama Rajaonarivelo as the new prime minister because of his experience and “connections with the international organisations that work with us”.
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Andry Rajoelina, the former president, whom lawmakers impeached for desertion of duty after he fled abroad last weekend, has condemned the army takeover and refused to step down while in exile.
Rajoelina fled for his life amid the nationwide protests led by the “Gen Z Madagascar” youth movement, which initially erupted in September over persistent water and power cuts and soon expanded into calls for a system overhaul.
Rajoelina says he has travelled to a safe location, which he has not disclosed. Last week he also said that a resignation letter attributed to him was fake, and warned citizens that “lies” were being spread to “confuse” the public.
Randrianirina’s military coup has been condemned by the United Nations and by the African Union, which suspended Madagascar’s membership.
The little-known army colonel, who has long been a vocal critic of Rajoelina, the new president made his move when his soldiers rebelled and joined the anti-government demonstrations.
His appearance riding on an armoured car among the protesters and accompanying them to a main square to demonstrate meant he emerged as the leader of the uprising, which before that time had no visible figure in charge.
The country’s High Constitutional Court ratified the takeover within hours of it happening.
Chainlink is leading the way higher in the crypto sector today. Here’s why.
Among the leading megacap cryptocurrencies in the market, Chainlink (LINK 8.05%) has been one of the more volatile digital assets of late. The project’s native LINK token has surged 14.4% since 4 p.m. ET yesterday, as of 2:30 p.m. Monday. This move is notable in the crypto sector during this trading session, and indicates a significant amount of interest in Chainlink from investors of all types.
Let’s dive into the investment case around Chainlink, and specifically what’s driving today’s move in the top token.
Catalysts galore
Image source: Getty Images.
Chanlink is a crypto project I keep pretty close tabs on. But from time to time, it’s possible to overlook certain catalysts for a given project. And Chainlink has seen a flurry of updates and integrations the market has clearly caught on to faster than me.
One of the more notable catalysts comes from the institutional investing world, with Nasdaq-listed real estate company Caliber Corporation announcing this past week it was buying another $2 million worth of LINK tokens. This brings the company’s holdings to roughly $10 million, signaling that there are other tokens in the market companies are interested in buying outside of Bitcoin.
Also last week came a joint announcement from S&P Global Ratings and Chainlink around a partnership to allow financial institutions to have more visibility into the stability and holdings supporting various stablecoins. Chainlink’s core oracle capabilities, in allowing off-chain data to be ported onto the blockchain, has allowed for these sorts of partnerships. And right now, the market appears to be banking on additional partnerships coming down the line.
But perhaps the most notable recent news driving Chainlink higher today comes via so-called whales, or large crypto investors, who have continued to add to their holdings in LINK. In other words, it’s not just companies like Caliber Corporation stepping up to the plate. Big-time crypto investors are buying heavily, with recent reports indicating that $116 million of Chainlink’s native token has been purchased since its recent dip.
Bottom line
Overall, Chainlink’s status as a core oracle network sets it apart from the competition and provides a solid long-term investing thesis. However, these recent catalysts do suggest that the dips we’ve seen in Chainlink may continue to be bought.
Currently, Chainlink remains among the top tokens on my watch list, and I’d encourage investors to keep an eye on this token before its next catalyst materializes.
Chris MacDonald has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Bitcoin and Chainlink. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
