🌍 Norway's $2 Trillion Fund May Reinvest in Nuclear Arms Makers
Norway's sovereign wealth fund — the world's largest, with over €2 trillion in assets — could be permitted to invest in nuclear weapons manufacturers again, under a formal proposal published Thursday.
The fund currently excludes makers of nuclear weapons from its portfolio. The new proposal would reverse that exclusion, reopening the door to defence firms in the nuclear sector.
The shift reflects growing pressure across Europe to expand defence investment as governments reassess security priorities.
🕌 Aramco HQ Hit, Flights Suspended as IMF Warns of Global Fallout
A strike on Saudi Aramco's headquarters has prompted flight suspensions and a rise in oil prices, with the IMF warning that attacks on Saudi Arabia could carry significant consequences for the global economy.
The International Monetary Fund cautioned that sustained disruption to Saudi energy infrastructure risks rippling far beyond the region. No group has been named as responsible in the source material.
Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter, and any prolonged disruption to Aramco operations historically triggers sharp moves in global energy markets.
🇺🇸 US Inflation Hits 3.7% as Iran War Drives Fuel Costs
US inflation rose to 3.7% in September, exceeding expectations, with soaring fuel prices tied to energy supply disruptions from the US-Israel-Iran conflict as the primary driver.
The figures arrive as the final CPI reading before the midterm elections, intensifying pressure on voters already facing higher costs at the pump. Energy disruptions linked to the ongoing conflict have prevented inflation from easing as anticipated.
🌍 Pakistan Suspends Imran Khan's Stronghold Province Under Emergency
President Asif Ali Zardari declared a state of emergency in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the northwestern province bordering Afghanistan that serves as jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan's main political stronghold.
The declaration follows a sharp rise in militant attacks in the region. Khan's family reports his health is worsening in custody, compounding pressure on the opposition movement built around the imprisoned former leader.
🌍 Turkey Seizes Opposition TV Channel, Installs Government Trustee
Turkish police raided the Istanbul offices of pro-opposition broadcaster Halk TV on Wednesday, preventing staff from entering the building and halting live broadcasts.
A government-appointed trustee has been installed to run the channel, Halk TV said — a move critics see as the latest blow to press freedom in Turkey.
🌍 Saudi Court Sentences Sri Lankan Worker to Death Over Facebook Comment
A Saudi appeals court has sentenced Anojan Sivarasa, a 24-year-old Sri Lankan migrant worker, to death for a Facebook comment deemed blasphemous — overturning an initial five-year prison sentence.
Sivarasa, who had been in Saudi Arabia just 10 months working in construction, posted a Tamil-language comment on June 28 replying to a Facebook video. He deleted it and uploaded an apology before being arrested on July 1. The Court of Appeal in the Eastern Region handed down the death sentence on September 17. Human Rights Watch, which obtained court documents, is calling for his immediate release. Saudi Arabia executed at least 356 people in 2025 — a record high — and more than 2,000 over the past decade.
MI5 Director General Sir Ken McCallum has warned that Britain is entering a "new era of national security," with the agency now tackling more state-directed threats than at any point during the Cold War.
McCallum singled out Russia and Iran as primary sources of hostile activity, noting that the suspected attack against RAF Fairford was "not unique in the UK." He also flagged emerging risks from artificial intelligence as compounding the threat landscape.
The warning marks a significant escalation in public messaging from Britain's domestic intelligence service, signalling that state-sponsored operations against UK targets have moved beyond isolated incidents into a sustained pattern.