ISRAEL - Until Washington recognizes that ideology, not economics, drives the Middle East, its diplomacy will remain blind to the forces shaping the region. For all the good the Trump administration has done in the Middle East – restoring “Peace through Strength”-style deterrence, rebuilding alliances, and rejecting the Obama-era tilt toward Iran – it is now making a number of mistakes that stem from two fundamental errors that threaten to undermine much of that progress. Both stem from Western misunderstandings of the region’s political and religious realities.

USA - Hardliners and conservative commentators in Iran celebrated Zohran Mamdani’s election as New York’s first Muslim mayor as a symbolic victory for Islam over the West and a sign of America’s decline. State-affiliated outlets such as the conservative daily Hamshahri and Nour News framed the win as “America Against America,” interpreting it as proof of deep divisions within the US establishment and the “collapse of the old order” marking the beginning of the end of “Trumpism.” Conservative and state-run media emphasized that Mamdani’s win reflected both a moral and political defeat for America and Israel, with Asr-e Iran describing the election as a “crossing of the mental barriers” created after 9/11 and the erosion of the “Jewish lobby’s” power over US politics. The IRGC Qods Force Telegram channel called it “the defeat of Trump and Zionism” and “a joyful event” marking America’s changing identity.

UK - The Corporation is certainly not the most trusted news brand, Tim Davie. The seemingly endless succession of scandals involving the BBC’s coverage of international issues completely undermines the Corporation’s claim to be the world’s most trusted news brand. It is a reflection of the parallel universe inhabited by the BBC’s senior executives that, at the same time that they are being forced to apologise for further “mistakes” in the body’s news output, they continue to insist their coverage of key events represents a “gold standard”. As Director-General Tim Davie wrote in his resignation letter, “the BBC remains the most trusted news brand globally”. Davie’s comments certainly stand in stark contrast to the realities of the BBC’s recent coverage of world affairs.

UK - The BBC is a "conveyor belt of propaganda" and should be defunded, according to a Reform member. Belinda De Lucy, Reform UK's Education and Families spokesperson, slammed the public broadcaster on the Daily Expresso podcast speaking to host JJ Anisiobi, claiming they sat on the truth about Trump's altered speech for months before it was exposed. Highlighting Trump's message on Truth Social, which condemned the behaviour from an "ally", Ms De Lucy said the BBC has "not only shamed that wonderful national treasure we used to have, but it's shamed our country." She said the stories the BBC "churns out are so anti-British" that it was either time for them to "return to their roots", or be defunded.

UK - Our nation is in the midst of an identity crisis. The institutions that define us, that make us different, are all under attack. The BBC is just the latest. The monarchy, the Armed Forces, Parliament, the judiciary, the police, the National Trust, the Church of England, the Civil Service, the Conservative Party and the NHS are either fraying at the edges or are in terminal decline. All are architects of their own difficulties. The BBC and its cheerleaders are trying to make out that a cabal of Right-wing newspapers and governors intent on destroying the Corporation orchestrated the coverage that led to the resignation of its director general and head of news. We are constantly being told, not least by the BBC, that it is the world’s most trustworthy news source. But if the great number of your journalists hold pretty much the same worldview – liberal, soft Left, anti-Tory, Brexit-hating, Trump-loathing and Farage-excoriating – then you are not providing an unbiased news output.

UK - As we fell silent for two minutes on Tuesday, I found myself wondering what the fallen would make of the dangers now facing the country they loved and gave their lives to protect. The threat of looming tragedy jostles uneasily with a mounting sense of farce. Carry On Across the Channel continued to play to full boats as a second migrant removed to France under the Government’s “one in, one out” deal returned to the UK. The Prime Minister’s spokesman said that the swift detection of the migrant “is evidence of the system working”. You may well wonder what the system would look like if it wasn’t working. As Nigel Farage says, this is now a national security emergency. From Epping to Lands End, we see how the main concern is to hide the scale of the threat from the people. I don’t say this lightly, but my fear is what we are seeing could rapidly become a Grooming Gangs 2 where sexual predators go unchecked. Will it really take the rape or murder of a child by an asylum seeker to force the Government to begin deportations? The fallen would not recognise such a country; they did not give their lives for this.

USA - Donald Trump threatened to sue the BBC for $1 billion (£760 million), accusing it of a “reckless disregard for the truth”. The US president turned the screw on the corporation as it was reeling from the resignation of director-general Tim Davie and head of news Deborah Turness over the selective editing of Mr Trump’s speech on the day of the Capitol Hill riot. A senior official in the Trump administration suggested it “may consider” removing the BBC’s White House passes as a result of the row. Mr Trump’s lawyers said a “failure to comply will leave President Trump with no choice than to pursue” the broadcaster for damages for the “overwhelming financial and reputational harm”. The US president gave the BBC a deadline of Friday to comply, or face a legal claim for $1 billion in the Florida courts.

UK - The spliced together version of Trump's comments aired by Panorama MADE IT SEEM THAT HE SAID: “We’re gonna walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be with you and we fight. We fight like hell and if you don’t fight like hell, you're not gonna have a country anymore.” Fifteen minutes into the speech, Trump actually said: “We are gonna walk down to the Capitol and I’ll be with you. I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building TO PEACEFULLY AND PATRIOTICALLY MAKE YOUR VOICES HEARD.” It was completely misleading to edit the clip in the way Panorama aired it. The fact that he did not explicitly exhort supporters to go down and fight at Capitol Hill was one of the reasons there were no federal charges for incitement to riot.

UK - BBC chairman Samir Shah finally issued an apology over the doctored footage of Donald Trump yesterday as a blame game within the corporation broke out into the public domain. A civil war between the BBC's board and its news division erupted following the resignations of director-general Tim Davie and Deborah Turness, the chief executive of BBC News, on Sunday. So it was left to Mr Shah to address the most egregious claim that footage of the President had been spliced together so it appeared that he told supporters to 'walk down to the Capitol' and 'fight like hell' during his speech on January 6, 2021. The two sections that were edited together were actually delivered by Mr Trump more than 50 minutes apart. Mr Shah conceded that the editing gave the impression 'of a direct call for violent action' from the US President and had led to more than 500 complaints since the report, by former editorial adviser Michael Prescott, emerged last week. The corporation's chairman wrote: 'The BBC would like to apologise for that error of judgment.' Yesterday, as she turned up for work, Ms Turness denied that her news team was 'institutionally biased', arguing that 'it is the most trusted news provider'.

USA - Right now, as you read this, 42% of shipping containers between China and America have vanished in three weeks. Gone. From 71 vessels to 41. Below the 60-ship floor that held for twenty years. This is not a dip. This is cardiac arrest of the $28 trillion trade system that feeds your stores, your job, your portfolio. November container volumes: 1.75 million units, down 19.2% year over year, the worst collapse since February 2024. China’s export orders are contracting at 48.9%, the fastest drop since May. US manufacturing orders sit at 49.4%, drowning below the 50% line that separates growth from contraction. The correlation is 0.9%. When ships stop, factories stop. When factories stop, your paycheck stops. You have until November 21 to reposition. After that, the market reprices reality. The fuse is burning. The explosion is guaranteed. Watch the ships.

USA - If the banking system is stable, why is the Fed already bailing it out again? Something very serious is happening in America’s financial system and almost nobody is talking about it. Across the country, ordinary people are waking up to find their bank accounts completely wiped out. Paychecks, savings, gone overnight. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve is quietly injecting billions of dollars into the system to keep struggling banks alive. Even federal banks are running dry. Military workers are reporting missing paychecks. And yet… the mainstream media stays silent. Why? Because they don’t want panic. But the truth is, panic might already be setting in.

USA - A growing number of young Americans are publicly admitting they have no plans to pay off their debt. On TikTok, skipping student loan payments or ignoring credit card balances has become a trend rather than a taboo. One 23-year-old went viral for saying she owes $300,000 but doesn’t care, claiming that if she died tomorrow, the debt would disappear. As long as she can buy Starbucks, she said, she’s fine. Others have echoed that mindset, calling debt a “status symbol” and encouraging followers to simply stop paying. But the data paints a different picture. US household debt has reached $18.4 trillion, and while most people still make payments, delinquencies are climbing.

USA - There are 42 million Americans at risk of losing access to SNAP food stamp benefits due to the prolonged government shutdown. SNAP is the largest social support program in the United States. The average recipient receives around $190, but the payout largely depends on household size, geographic location, and certain deductions. The federal government spends $9 billion per month to fund SNAP food assistance programs. There is a welfare crisis in this nation. The national debt continues to reach record highs while the welfare state increases. Yet, 1 in 10 Americans living off Uncle Sam is wholly unsustainable and indicative of a failed society.

USA - When people are literally fighting against the government, what else are we supposed to call it? As conditions in the Windy City have deteriorated, there has been a mass exodus of wealthy taxpayers and law-abiding citizens. Meanwhile, mass immigration has fueled the explosive growth of Chicago gangs. Recently, FBI Director Kash Patel admitted that there are now “110,000 gang members” living in Chicago. They outnumber the police by about a 10 to 1 margin, and there are many neighborhoods that are simply not safe for anyone to go into at night. The largest gang in the city of Chicago is known as the Latin Kings. It has more than 25,000 members, and the leaders of the gang have just issued a “shoot on sight” order for any federal agents that are involved in immigration enforcement operations in the city… Needless to say, thousands of the members of the Latin Kings gang came into this country illegally. And they are willing to kill to keep from being deported.

UK - A new type of Christianity - more militant, more political - is on the rise. But some in the Church of England claim this is a "corruption" of their faith. Bishop Ceirion Dewar rejects the Church of England as heretics. Instead, he gathers his flock under a gloomy sky on a beach in Cornwall. Wearing a white robe over a wetsuit, Dewar strides down the beach and prepares for a mass baptism. Critics call Dewar "the far-right bishop" - a label he rejects. But he does represent a new type of Christianity - more militant, more political - and one that is on the rise. This is something new and growing - a movement that has long marched against immigration, against Islam, is now marching behind the cross.