Mario Nawfal

🇺🇸🇨🇳 After 40 years of working with Chinese banks, Visa is finally getting a shot at processing payments inside China, a market Beijing has long kept under tight control. China's central bank just gave Visa approval to start setting up its own local card-processing business, something it applied for back in 2020. Mastercard and American Express already got their approvals years ago, so Visa is actually late to the party. The timing is interesting, though. Trump personally raised Visa's market access with Xi Jinping during his May visit, and Visa's CEO has since become chairman of the U.S.-China Business Council. Now Beijing has given the green light just weeks before Trump and Xi are expected to meet again. Of course, getting permission to compete is one thing. Getting Chinese consumers away from WeChat Pay and Alipay is a whole different headache. Source: CNBC / Writer: Julie

'tis but a scratch... I'm sure it'll buff out 😂 Writer: Ian t.co/JajAEUoXpZ

This may only be a training exercise, but it gives an insight into the realities of trench warfare Now throw drones and artillery into that, and anyone who still thinks war is glamorous must be insane Yet politicians are more than happy to send young men to their death All wars are brutal and pointless It's the 21st century and we still haven't figured out how to solve our problems without resorting to killing people Writer: Ian t.co/wTocvu9orJ

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia stopped issuing public missile warnings days before a series of Houthi attacks on Riyadh's international airport killed at least 18 people and injured more than 300. Authorities issued no public alerts ahead of four attacks on Riyadh over the past week, despite previously warning residents of incoming missiles and drones. Local diplomats were reportedly told that the warnings had become too disruptive, with residents complaining about being woken up at night. Western embassies, however, continued issuing private security alerts to their staff, even as the Saudi public received no warnings. Saudi Arabia resumed public threat alerts yesterday, but authorities have yet to explain why the system went silent before the deadly strikes. Source: Reuters / Writer: Mhedi

Even cooling it with water, this one gets hot and messy Writer: Ian t.co/JWCVFbvsCO

🇸🇦🇵🇹 Not even Houthi missiles are keeping Ronaldo from chasing 1,000 goals. Al Nassr's match in Riyadh was delayed about an hour by a missile alert, with fans told to stay put until the all-clear. CR7 kissed the Saudi emblem on his jersey before kickoff, scored career goal No. 981 in a 3-1 win, then celebrated with a Saudi flag scarf around his neck. Missiles, delays, alerts, whatever. The man has 19 goals left and he’s not waiting around 😆 Writer: Julie t.co/9w2qDEJ1S5

Apparently, any Brit who loves their country and culture and points this out is somehow a far-right racist Writer: Ian t.co/uIqDWNkHXr

🇬🇧 Russell Brand's trial on rape and sexual assault charges began yesterday in London, with the comedian facing seven charges involving six women. The allegations date from 1999 to 2009 and include three counts of rape, three counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault. Brand has pleaded not guilty to all seven charges, maintaining that he has never engaged in non-consensual sexual activity. The trial is expected to last several weeks, with prosecutors preparing to present allegations dating back more than two decades. With Russell making a living on criticizing the British government and the strong liberal bias of British institutions, I wouldn't hold my breath for a fair trial. Writer: Mhedi t.co/M9CkHZzC1e

This also doubles as an IQ test 😂 Writer: Ian t.co/X4SEl1XRMz

🇾🇪🇸🇦 Houthi missiles are slamming into Saudi airports and the U.S. could get dragged in, but the roots of this fight go back a lot further than most people realize. Yemen was 2 separate countries until 1990, and the cracks from that shotgun marriage never really healed. The Houthis grew out of a northern religious revival movement in the 1990s, took over the capital Sana'a in 2014, and have been at war with a Saudi-led coalition ever since. More than a decade later, they're still in charge in Sana'a, and they're taking the fight straight to Riyadh. Writer: Julie t.co/1oAwizkNGB

🇸🇦🇾🇪 The Houthis fired more ballistic missiles at Saudi Arabia last night, and MBS's big pitch as the Gulf's go-to business hub is starting to feel the heat. The missiles targeted Riyadh and a city near the Yemeni border and were intercepted, with warnings sent out to residents. Recent strikes have already shut down operations at Riyadh's main airport and sent the capital's financial district home to work remotely. Some business execs are giving this week’s World Petroleum Congress in Riyadh a miss, and next month’s Misk Global Forum has been scrapped altogether. Next up is the Future Investment Initiative later this month, which usually pulls in Wall Street heavyweights like BlackRock’s Larry Fink and Citi’s Jane Fraser. Hosting a global investor summit in a city under missile fire is a hard sell, no matter how good the pitch deck looks. Source: Bloomberg / Writer: Julie

If you work hard enough, for long enough, you can achieve your goals Don't believe anyone who says you can't Writer: Ian t.co/uPnhZiNrit

🇫🇷🇷🇺 France is hunting Russia's shadow fleet all the way into the Indian Ocean. French naval forces boarded the sanctioned oil tanker DF Peak more than 450 nautical miles south of Réunion, the French island east of Madagascar, suspecting it of sailing under a false flag and illegally transporting fuel. The ship has a long history in Russia's tanker fleet and has been sanctioned by the U.S., EU, UK and several other countries. It's now under French escort while inspections continue. Macron says France will go after the shadow fleet wherever it operates, and this time he wasn't kidding about the distance. Just days ago, Trump paused sanctions on Russian diesel exports to help bring down fuel prices ahead of the midterms. So while Washington is easing pressure on Russian fuel, Paris is boarding tankers halfway across the world. Sources: Euronews, The Maritime Executive / Writer: Julie t.co/QZRnVAJfjg

This is the person who heckled Trump and was thrown out of his Ohio rally Surely they could have seen that one coming 😂 Writer: Ian t.co/NKklafwpgJ

🇺🇸 He went from running his mouth to being a pussycat as soon as she showed up 😂 Writers: Mhedi, Ian t.co/DUqkYNEgiW

This poor girl was praying inside a temple when a construction worker came in and tried to r*pe her WTF India, is nowhere safe for young girls?!?! Writer: Ian t.co/A8h71nfUcp

🇸🇦🇾🇪 Saudi Arabia went silent on missile warnings right before the Houthis hit Riyadh's airport. The reason, reportedly, is that people were complaining the alerts were waking them up at night. At least 18 people are dead and more than 300 wounded after 4 attacks on the capital in the past week, and not a single public alert went out before any of them. The warning system had gone quiet since late September, even as Houthi attacks kept piling up, and residents have been told to keep images of interceptions and impact sites to themselves. Western embassies were quietly sending their own missile alerts to staff the whole time, but even they were left in the dark before Saturday's strike, the deadliest of the lot. Riyadh finally turned the alerts back on yesterday, after the capital had already been hit around a dozen times this month. Frm U.S. ambassador to Saudi Arabia Michael Ratney: "The lack of alerts of incoming Houthi attacks creates the very nervousness they are trying to avoid." Source: Reuters / Writer: Julie t.co/oO1Yx9dMpN

A Berkeley metallurgist began to develop a series of mysterious illnesses and suspected someone might be tampering with her food She installed a spy camera and was horrified to discover her coworker, David Xu, was poisoning her with cadmium!! Goes to show, just because you're paranoid, it doesn't mean they aren't out to get you Writer: Ian t.co/p7npubZJr3

🇧🇬🇷🇺 Drones hit two ships in the Black Sea off Bulgaria's coast, sinking one and damaging the other, with at least twelve crew members injured. Calls are now growing for NATO intervention and tougher action against Russia, despite the incident occurring outside Bulgaria's territorial waters. Former European Parliament member Aleksandar Yordanov demanded Russia's complete isolation, calling for reduced diplomatic ties with Moscow. At the same time, Fmr. Deputy Defense Minister Yordan Bozhilov urged Bulgaria and Romania to consult NATO, while other defense experts call for stronger military defenses and greater alliance involvement. Although the drones' origins remain unconfirmed, Bulgarian officials have blamed Russia, raising the prospect of a wider diplomatic confrontation over security in the Black Sea. Source: Bloomberg / Writers: Mhedi, Ian

🚨BREAKING: 🇮🇱🇺🇸 A Delta flight from New York was moved to an isolated area at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport after an anonymous bomb threat prompted a security alert. Passengers were evacuated to the terminal while security teams searched the aircraft for explosives. Initial assessments suggest the threat may have been a false alarm, but its credibility has not yet been established and the investigation is ongoing. Sources: Jerusalem Post, Ynet, Israel Hayom / Writer: Julie t.co/mWcxuHfanP

🇮🇳 Manufacturing in India is a movie you ALWAYS have to watch to the very end. 🤣 Writer: Mhedi t.co/14FwD6UuMs

This guy left his phone charging in a football stadium while he watched the match, not knowing if it would still be there when he came back Writer: Ian t.co/LsYzDOiWVh

🇮🇷🇺🇸 Iran’s convinced Trump is coming back for round 2 after the midterms, so it’s fortifying its nuclear sites and getting the whole country ready to fight. Satellite images show dirt mounds piled up around the Pickaxe Mountain and Natanz nuclear sites to make any ground raid a headache, while airports, seaports and power plants are stocking up on shelters and emergency supplies. Billboards in Tehran are now pitching civilians on training with shoulder-fired antiaircraft missiles and sniper rifles, and the Revolutionary Guard just rolled out its first female commando units. Tehran’s also been warning regional officials it could go after the UAE, Saudi oil facilities, data centers and undersea internet cables if the fighting picks back up. It’s even floated sinking U.S. warships and killing their crews. Washington isn’t exactly sitting on its hands either, with a 3rd carrier strike group and another Marine expeditionary unit on the way. Trump’s sworn off attacking Iran before the Nov. 3 midterms, but he’s openly toyed with the idea of hitting Pickaxe Mountain. Meanwhile, Revolutionary Guard troops are visiting kindergartens to read kids war stories and show off a Tomahawk missile they claim to have "neutralized." Goldilocks never stood a chance. Source: WSJ / Writer: Julie

🇬🇧 This 92-year-old man went back to the streets he grew up on in Tottenham, London, for the first time in 56 years, and was HAUNTED by what he saw. When he was a boy, the place was 99% English, and now barely anyone there looks anything like him. One local admitted the sense of community is "completely gone" in what is now an epicenter of crime and drugs. Writer: Mhedi t.co/4gOgrAx4EN

Africa just got its first Starlink airline. Royal Air Maroc is bringing Starlink to 41 aircraft from 2027, with free access planned for Safar Flyer members. That’s fast, low-latency internet on Royal Air Maroc flights across Africa, Europe, the Middle East and the Americas. A video call over the Sahara suddenly sounds pretty normal. Once passengers get used to proper internet at 35,000 feet, everyone else has to catch up. @Starlink @SpaceX / Writer: Annette, Designer: Janné

🇺🇸 Leonardo DiCaprio just hit the beach shirtless, and the paparazzi made sure the ENTIRE INTERNET got a front-row seat. The Hollywood star was spotted splashing around in the Pacific Ocean with girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti and a celebrity crew including Tobey Maguire, Courteney Cox, and Kate Hudson. And judging by these pictures, Leo has been taking his role in “The Wolf of Wall Street” a little too seriously when it comes to enjoying the good life. Bro survived the TITANIC, won an Oscar, and apparently decided abs were no longer part of the contract 🤣 Source: @DailyMail / Writer: Sol

🇺🇸 Only in America can you go to a college football game and have the U.S. ARMY literally DROP IN FROM THE SKY. Members of the Army Parachute Team parachuted straight into Louisville's football stadium in Kentucky before the Cardinals faced Florida State. The footage shows an absolutely INSANE aerial view as the soldiers descend toward the field, with thousands of fans watching from the stands. Americans really know how to turn a football game into a Hollywood production Source: MediaMagikGroup (YT) / Writer: Sol

With sky-high gas prices, another forever war in the Middle East, and 30-year fixed mortgage rates at 7.4%, people are heading into the midterms with one question: How is this America First? Writer: Ian

OUCH, THAT HAD TO HURT LIKE HELL! WWE star Tiffany Stratton launched herself FORWARD off a ladder, attempting to rotate through the air, but the ladder shifted beneath her as she jumped, throwing off her move. She completely missed the landing and crashed BACK-FIRST onto the floor. That was an absolutely BRUTAL impact. Writer: Sol t.co/iWTXExCCzo