Mideast oil exports exceed pre-Iran war levels for first time, tracking data shows
IDF troops shoot dead suspect who tried to breach army post in south Syria, says military * Samoan PM apologizes for resurfaced ‘Heil Hitler’ video
Data shows Mideast oil exports exceeded pre-Iran war levels last week
Middle East oil exports, excluding Iran, surpassed their pre-war levels last week, despite attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, according to data from the maritime tracking firm Kpler.
For the first time since the US and Israel launched their offensive against Iran at the end of February, the weekly average of shipments rose for several days above the pre-conflict average of 18 million barrels per day.
Samoan PM apologizes for resurfaced ‘Heil Hitler’ video
Samoa’s prime minister apologizes after video surfaced showing him saying “Heil Hitler” and making a Nazi gesture.
Prime Minister La’auli Leuatea Schmidt says the footage was from a family gathering almost 20 years old and was never meant to see the light of day.
“The footage shows me using the words ‘Heil Hitler’ and participating in a gesture associated with Nazi Germany in a private family gathering — not intended for the public,” he says in a statement.
“Whatever the context or intention at that gathering 20 years ago, I recognize that those words and gesture were inappropriate and capable of causing offense and hurt and I apologize for using them.”
Schmidt has previously voiced his staunch support for Israel and has committed to opening an embassy in Jerusalem before the end of the year.
“I reject Nazism, antisemitism, racism and all forms of political extremism,” he says.
He wore a Jewish prayer shawl when he was sworn in as prime minister in 2025, entering the room to the sound of a ceremonial “shofar” horn.
“I stand for Israel, the land of God,” he said at the time, according to local media. “Samoa will stand up and support the holy land of God.”
Irish soccer staffer alleges being spat on by Israeli during match
A staff member of Ireland’s national soccer team alleges that he was spat on by an Israeli player at tonight’s match in Serbia.
The staffer, Damien Doyle — the team’s head of athletic performance — claims he was spat on as the two sides left the field for the half-time break, according to The Irish Times.
The coaches for Israel and Ireland as well as the Israeli Football Association decline to comment on the allegation, saying they did not witness anything so they cannot weigh in.
Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro beats polls in presidential vote, faces Lula in runoff
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro will face President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the runoff of a presidential election, the country’s electoral authority says.
With just over 97% of the ballots counted, the right-wing challenger took 47.45% of valid votes in the first round, beating the forecasts in most private surveys. Leftist Lula received 44.66% of the votes.
The two leading candidates will advance to the second round of voting on October 25, beating out a field of 12 candidates in a campaign focused on concerns about the growing cost of living, corruption and insecurity in Brazilians’ daily lives.
Regev said to have ignored multiple Shin Bet warnings over flight security
The Shin Bet security agency reportedly issued repeated warnings in recent years of security failures surrounding the identities of aircrew and passengers flying into Israel.
According to the Haaretz newspaper, citing figures involved in the security of inbound flights, the Shin Bet had recommended that the responsibility for overseeing the security of foreign flights be passed from the Transportation Ministry to the Israel Airports Authority and the Civil Aviation Authority.
The newspaper reports that the Transportation Ministry nevertheless opposed such a move and ignored the Shin Bet warnings.
Meanwhile Channel 12 news also reports that Transportation Minister Miri Regev ignored three such warnings in recent months and refused to transfer the oversight of such flights to another body.
The TV network says the warnings were send to Regev, the Transportation Ministry and the National Security Council, but no action was taken.
Flavio Bolsonaro leads incumbent Lula in partial Brazil poll results
Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of the far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, opens a wide lead ahead of incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in partial results from today’s election.
With results in from around a quarter of the country’s electronic ballot boxes, Flavio Bolsonaro has about 51% to Lula’s 41%, while several other candidates stand in the single digits.
Opinion polls ahead of the election showed Lula slightly ahead, and a likely run-off for the candidates on October 25.
To win in the first round, a candidate must score more than 50% of the vote.
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, is monitoring the vote count in Brasilia, while Lula is following from Sao Paulo, where he is scheduled to lead a march of supporters later.
Flavio Bolsonaro was a little-known senator a few months ago when his father anointed him his political heir, unable to run himself as he serves a 27-year sentence for an attempted coup after losing a 2022 election bid.
The 80-year-old Lula is seeking a fourth term at the helm of Latin America’s biggest nation, a major leftist bastion in a region engulfed by a conservative wave in recent months.
IDF troops shoot dead suspect who tried to breach army post in south Syria, says military
IDF troops shot dead a suspect who tried to breach into an Israeli army post in southern Syria a short while ago, the military says.
The IDF says troops identified the suspect trying to enter the post and moments later, the soldiers opened fire, killing him. The military does not say if the suspect was armed.
No IDF soldiers were injured in the incident.
The IDF has been deployed to nine posts inside southern Syria since the fall of the Bashar al-Assad regime in December 2024, mostly within a UN-patrolled buffer zone on the border between the countries.
US removes all bombers from British air base targeted by a suspected terror attack
The US Air Force has brought home its bombers stationed at a US run military air base in England used to strike Iran following an investigation into a planned terror attack at the RAF Fairford base.
The bombers were redeployed back to their home bases in the United States, according to a Pentagon official who was not authorized to discuss sensitive military movements and spoke today on condition of anonymity.
Aviation watchers such as the Military Air Tracking Alliance have observed dozens of B-52 and B-1 bombers operating out of RAF Fairford since the opening days of the Iran war. Observers noticed a host of B-1 bombers fly out of the base today.
Eisenkot challenges Netanyahu to a televised debate before election
Yashar party chief Gadi Eisenkot calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to face him in a televised debate ahead of the October 27 election.
In an official letter, Yashar says, “A person who wishes to lead is obligated to give full, direct, and honest answers to the voters.”
Netanyahu has avoided debates in previous election cycles.