WASHINGTON LECTURES EUROPE ABOUT RUSSIAN ENERGY WHILE OPENING THE DOOR TO RUSSIAN DIESEL The hypocrisy is staggering. For years, Washington has criticized Europe for buying Russian oil and gas, arguing that European money was financing Putin’s war machine. And there was a legitimate argument behind that criticism. Energy dependence gave Moscow enormous economic and political leverage. But now, while Russia continues its war against Ukraine, the Trump administration is moving to ease restrictions on Russian diesel. Apparently, buying Russian energy is unacceptable when Europeans do it, but perfectly reasonable when Washington needs to relieve pressure on American fuel prices. How is Europe supposed to take American lectures seriously anymore? Europe is being squeezed from both directions. Russia has demonstrated that energy supplies can become instruments of geopolitical coercion. Washington is increasingly demonstrating that economic relationships, military assistance and strategic dependencies can also become instruments of political pressure. And here’s the larger problem. The United States spent decades encouraging Europe to trust American leadership, American energy supplies, American military technology and American security guarantees. Now Washington is giving Europeans reasons to question every one of those dependencies. What choices does that leave Europe? Continue depending on partners whose decisions can suddenly undermine European interests? Accept political pressure to preserve access to essential resources and technologies? Or undertake the enormously expensive and difficult process of building greater strategic independence? None of those options is painless. But the more Washington weaponizes its economic and strategic influence, the more attractive European independence becomes. Europe cannot change its geography. Russia will always be on the same continent. And Europe cannot afford to build its future around the assumption that Washington will always be a reliable partner. The greatest irony is that American pressure may ultimately accomplish what decades of European political debate could not: convince Europe that strategic autonomy is no longer optional. The United States may win some immediate concessions, but it risks losing something far more valuable. The trust and influence that made it the leader of the Western alliance in the first place.

THE RALLY GETS THE INSULT. THE ENVOY GETS THE SUMMONS. Libya summoned the US chargé d'affaires on October 25 after Trump disparaged the country at his Georgia rally the previous day, Reuters reported. Libya's rival administrations both condemned the remarks and rejected being pulled into American electoral arguments. By Sunday night, Trump was praising Libyans as proud and hospitable while demanding an end to Libya's role as a corridor for illegal migration. Quite a diplomatic itinerary for one weekend.

LULA WINS. FLÁVIO BOLSONARO WANTS THE RESULT ANNULLED. Brazil's electoral authority declared Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva the winner of the October 25 runoff, securing his fourth term. Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede and said he would seek annulment, objecting to Justice Cristiano Zanin's decision to extend voting by two hours, Reuters reported. There is a complication worth keeping in the picture. AP reports that both campaigns had requested extra voting time because of transport problems and heavy rain. The order came minutes before the scheduled close. Some polling stations had already closed when it reached them, and how many ballots were cast during the extension remained unclear.

Salvini kept his job. Ukraine's funding is what he wants to cut. Matteo Salvini was reappointed League leader on October 25 despite falling poll ratings, Reuters reported. His party belongs to Italy's governing coalition, and he has pledged to press the government to stop financial support for Ukraine. That is pressure from a coalition partner, with national elections expected next year. The party vote itself changes no aid commitment.

THE DAKAR CAN CROSS A DESERT. IT CANNOT OUTDRIVE A WAR. On October 25, Amaury Sport Organisation and Saudi Motorsport Company announced that the January 2027 rally would leave Saudi Arabia following regional developments. Reuters linked the disruption to attacks by Yemen's Houthis. The race itself is still planned to go ahead. The organisers' October 25 statement left the replacement territory unannounced, with competitors and teams awaiting new logistics. After seven consecutive Saudi editions since 2020, the partners describe this as a temporary relocation. They plan to return for the rally's fiftieth running in 2028.

Going home now comes with a quarantine bill. Uganda announced on October 25 that citizens returning with a history of travel to the Democratic Republic of Congo must undergo 21 days of quarantine. AP reported that they must pay for it themselves. Health Minister Chris Baryomunsi also announced passenger locator forms for all arrivals as Kampala tightens Ebola precautions.

British Columbia has changed who answers the energy industry's calls. Provisional results reported by Reuters on October 25 gave Lorne Doerkson's Conservatives 64 of 93 seats, ending nine years of New Democratic Party government. The Conservatives promised to remove emissions limits, replace the provincial carbon tax framework and court LNG investors including ExxonMobil, Chevron and Woodside. That gives companies a government actively seeking their return. It does not tell them when a terminal or pipeline will be built.

THIRTEEN DOLLARS. ONE CHICKEN SANDWICH. AN ENTIRE ARGUMENT ABOUT LEBANON. Reuters reported on October 25 that Beirut's Glow Paradise had sold over 20,000 Chic Taouk sandwiches in eleven days, according to its managing partner Hrag Jeghalian. Online outrage had become marketing. The queues, meanwhile, could make an economy look healthier than the households unable to join them.

A BORDER CLOSURE REACHES THE KITCHEN. Pakistan's Gabd Rimdan and Taftan crossings with Iran closed on October 17. In its October 23 report, Reuters cited traders saying LPG imports had stopped and a twelve kilogram cylinder had risen from 4,500 to 7,000 rupees within days. Balochistan's government cited security and smuggling concerns. Iran's foreign ministry cited technical issues. Gabd Rimdan had reopened for Pakistani exports of perishable food. That did not mean gas was flowing again. The same border can be open for bananas and closed for someone's cooking fuel.

SYDNEY HAS ANOTHER FRONT DOOR. Western Sydney International opened to passengers on October 25, with Anthony Albanese inaugurating the new airport, Reuters reported. It brings an aviation hub to Badgerys Creek, about 60 kilometres west of central Sydney. Cargo flights began in July. The government's June announcement set initial capacity at ten million passengers a year, with expansion possible as demand grows. For airlines and exporters, this is another gateway into Australia's largest city. For western Sydney's residents, international connections are moving closer to home.

JAPAN'S FACTORIES LOSE MOMENTUM. The flash manufacturing PMI fell to 53.3 in October from 54.1 in September, Reuters reported on October 23, citing S&P Global. It remained above the 50 threshold for expansion. Manufacturers recorded their weakest increases in output and new orders since March. Across the private sector, input cost inflation accelerated as raw materials and labour became more expensive. Firms continued raising selling prices. Slower growth is arriving alongside higher costs. That is an uncomfortable combination for businesses and their customers.

BREXIT'S RED LINES HAVE FOUND AN ERASER. Andy Burnham is open to discussing Britain's return to EU free movement, Reuters reported on October 25, citing his Sunday Times interview. The prime minister argued that immigration had changed since Brexit, with more people settling permanently rather than returning home. Keeping Britain outside free movement would not be a red line in talks, according to the newspaper. That is room to negotiate, with no agreement announced. A border policy sold as settled is back in the argument.

PUTIN WANTS NATO BACK IN 1997. GOOD LUCK WITH THAT. So Russia invades Ukraine, spends years fighting a devastating war, and now wants Europe to roll back nearly three decades of security arrangements as part of a peace deal? Poland, the Baltic states and Finland aren’t bargaining chips. And NATO enlargement isn’t something Moscow gets to reverse simply because Putin considers it inconvenient. Peace negotiations should address the war in Ukraine, not give Russia a veto over the security decisions of sovereign European nations.

$40 BILLION IN AI CHIPS? IS MUSK PLANNING TO INVADE THE ENTIRE GALAXY? Apparently, building rockets and running the world’s largest satellite network wasn’t ambitious enough. Now SpaceX wants an astronomical amount of computing power to compete in the AI race. But here’s the interesting part. Musk says the $40 billion financing deal is closed. Bloomberg’s sources say negotiations were still ongoing. Even the financing announcement seems to be moving faster than the paperwork. At this rate, Mars might need its own data center before its first permanent residents.

WAIT. I THOUGHT TRUMP WAS FIGHTING THE NEW WORLD ORDER? For years, we’ve been told Trump was fighting the Deep State, defeating the globalists and dismantling the New World Order. Now Putin is proposing a meeting with Trump and Xi that some are comparing to a second Yalta, with the world’s great powers negotiating spheres of influence. And Trump is open to meeting them. So let me get this straight. When unelected globalists supposedly decide the world’s future behind closed doors, it’s a conspiracy. But when three powerful presidents contemplate doing something remarkably similar, it’s diplomacy? The irony is spectacular.

Australian HIMARS have now fired overseas. Australia's embassy in Jakarta reported that first on October 23, following Exercise Keris Woomera. About 1,000 Australian personnel trained with more than 1,200 Indonesian troops over nine days in East Java, the Bali Sea and nearby waters. The exercise also included the two countries' first cyber integration training. Ships, aircraft and artillery rehearsed working together, including getting forces from sea to shore. Japanese personnel attended as observers. The forces conducting the bilateral exercise were Australian and Indonesian.

Ottawa and Ankara are shopping for industrial partners. Mark Carney and Recep Tayyip Erdoğan launched their strategic partnership on October 22 with a three year action plan. Its concrete targets include defence production, aerospace, energy supply and AI. The joint statement welcomes a defence industry partnerships memorandum between Global Affairs Canada and Türkiye's defence industry secretariat. Export Development Canada and Türk Eximbank are also to support commercial opportunities in third countries, according to Ottawa's account of the meeting. That last detail deserves attention. The relationship is being built around opportunities to sell beyond each other's borders as well as into them. The energy agenda covers LNG, civil nuclear power and critical minerals. A Canadian trade mission is planned for 2027. A free trade agreement remains a negotiating objective.

What does security mean if a funeral needs protection? Reuters reported on October 24 that nine people were killed and forty wounded in the previous day's attack at a Greek Orthodox church in Jordan's Karak governorate. King Abdullah ordered a forceful security response. The US embassy in Amman said protection had been increased at shopping malls, foreign embassies and other locations. No group had immediately claimed responsibility. Officials said links to known militant organisations had not been established.

Forty two years of service. An immediate exit. New Zealand's Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Tony Davies, resigned on October 23 after acknowledging an inappropriate relationship while in a position of command. He said he regretted not disclosing it earlier. His statement did not specify when it happened or describe the circumstances, AP reported. Defence Minister Paul Goldsmith said the undisclosed integrity matters made Davies' position untenable. The matter has been referred to the Inspector General of Defence. The minister's announcement also set out the succession: Army chief Major General Rose King would act until Sunday, followed by Vice Chief Rear Admiral Mat Williams. The resignation changes the person leading the armed forces; it leaves the inspector general to examine the conduct.

A DISCREET CIA PARTNERSHIP. ANNOUNCED TO EVERYONE. On October 23, Marco Rubio publicly urged people seeking political change in Cuba to cooperate discreetly with the CIA, Reuters reported. His post on X offered no further details. At a Florida rally, Trump said Washington would deal with Cuba after Iran and send Rubio to conclude an agreement. That is public pressure for political change, alongside an invitation to work with US intelligence. It is not confirmation that a military operation has been ordered. Cubans deserve a future they choose themselves.