Editor’s note: There will be no headlines recap on Tuesday due to obligations IRL…
Saudi Arabia stopped pumping on the East-West pipeline after Pumping Station No. 2 was hit again. That pipeline is the kingdom's only export route that avoids Hormuz. Houthis also claim ballistic missile and drone strikes on Aramco's Khurais hub, which processes about 1.5 mb/d and was last hit in Sept 2019. Riyadh calls the claims "misleading", but an AP reporter saw the flames.
Khalid bin Salman asked Hegseth for US airstrikes. The answer was intelligence and targeting help but no "kinetic action for now". CENTCOM reportedly sees Yemen as a distraction from Iran. A distraction from Iran… and Greenland… and Cuba… and…
There have been at least 7 vessels hit in Hormuz since Sept 28, all on tankers. Some accounts put it as high as 9 vessels in 5 days. The reported hit rate per loading was 7.7% in the week to Oct 3, about 1.8x the 10-week average. Meanwhile Aramco's own CEO says Hormuz is not open.
Iran's Oil Minister Mohsen Paknejad has resigned and Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the government-owned National Iranian Oil Company, will be in charge of the ministry as acting minister, state media said on Sunday. Curious headline, but no reason for the move was given. One analyst quipped that he was fired because he couldn’t move enough oil through Hormuz.
Russia's MFA says "foreign diplomats and Kiev residents should leave the city”. The MoD says strikes will intensify in response to Zelensky's refinery threats. Bridge attacks continue, Zelenskyyy says they’ll build pontoon bridges to compensate. lulz, as if Russia would have any problem destroying those before they can even be finished.
Russia: Five hospitals are reported under quarantine. About 200 contacts of a dead 28-year-old anti-plague lab worker are isolated, universities have cancelled classes and an aluminum plant has made masks mandatory. Cover story says it’s “pneumonia”.
Merz: “Mr Putin, end this senseless war”. He left out the part about who started it… Meanwhile EU Commissioner Marta Kos says Ukraine joining EU on Jan 1 is “not possible.”
Medvedev spells out conditions for Ukraine peace: Ukraine would need to embrace a neutral, non-nuclear status, reject its nationalist policies and recognize the four Ukrainian regions Russia claims to have annexed. According to Medvedev, this could underpin a diplomatic settlement process. “If this does not happen, we will do it militarily,” he said.
France: Up to 500 schools will be fully or partly closed on Monday, and 24 have been burned or ransacked. All those scholars demanding a higher-quality education. At the same time 12% of fuel stations are short of at least one fuel and the debt/GDP ratio nears 120% against (vs. ~80% in 2009).
Brazil: Flavio Bolsonaro beats every poll, wins 47.0% to 45.2%; runoff Sunday October 25. Polymarket had Lula at 64% and Bolsonaro at 28% before the vote. No cause for alarm, when it comes to elections fake and gay eventually wins the day.
AI: Trump's Super Intelligence Force gets 120 days to recommend oversight. Wherein we learn “oversight” means “regulatory capture”.
Goldman expects Micron and Nvidia to deliver over a third of S&P 500 earnings growth this quarter. Eggs status: all in one basket.
Former British banker and whistleblower Simon Andriesz, who outed Howard Lutnick’s links to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, has died by suicide while housed at a trauma treatment center after extensive battles with government regulators. Another loose end tied up…
Eden Prairie MN had their Homecoming Football Game shut down because of Somali Gang Fights. Somali niggers can’t let their US cousins dominate the crime stats unopposed…
President Trump Calls on MAGA to produce a Massive Midterm Turnout: “Pretend I’m on the Ballot”. Do you want a blue wave? Because this is how you get a blue wave.
Good news headlines in short supply today, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled for them throughout the day…
