TAIWAN - The US is playing a dangerous game of putting a public face on a policy of defending Taiwan from China, for which it has zero capability to implement. Following a recent escalation of tensions between Beijing and Taipei, Chinese President Xi Jinping vowed on Saturday to pursue “reunification” with Taiwan by peaceful means and warned foreign nations about meddling in the issue.

JAPAN - Japan’s foreign ministry said on Tuesday it would consider its “options” and make necessary “preparations” toward supporting Taiwan if China continues to ramp up its military intimidation of the island. Asked by reporters how Tokyo views Beijing’s record-breaking flyovers through Taiwanese airspace in recent days, Japanese Foreign Minister Motegi Toshimitsu said he hoped “this matter is resolved peacefully between the two parties through direct talks.” “Additionally, instead of simply monitoring the situation, we hope to weigh the various possible scenarios that may arise to consider what options we have, as well as the preparations we must make,” he said at an October 5 press briefing. “The new government will continue with the harder line, as Motegi is showing. This fits with Japan’s broader push to balance China from a position of strength,” Ward opined.

UK - Experts have raised the alarm, warning of a "significant threat" to food production after the discovery of several superbugs that ruin crops and infests homes. A brown marmorated stink bug has been trapped in Surrey as part of a monitoring study. While native to Asia, it appears to have spread to parts of Europe and the US and it can cause havoc to fruit crops. In the US, they are known for invading homes houses, gathering in their hundreds, and can be catastrophic for farmers. A brown marmorated stink bug has been trapped in Surrey as part of a monitoring study. While native to Asia, it appears to have spread to parts of Europe and the US and it can cause havoc to fruit crops. In the US, they are known for invading homes houses, gathering in their hundreds, and can be catastrophic for farmers.

ISRAEL - Jordan condemns Jerusalem court's decision to permit Jews to pray silently on Temple Mount. 'Temple Mount is a place of worship only for Muslims.' Religious practices on the Temple Mount had relied upon the long-standing status quo established by Defense Minister Moshe Dayan in 1967, as well as the “Kerry Understandings” with Israel, reached with the Israeli government and Jordan in 2015. The status quo forbids prayer by Jews on the Mount.

CANADA - As of November 30, all Canadians attempting to board a flight or take a train in Canada will need to provide proof of vaccination. While Trudeau and Biden have kept the land border closed - Canadians who wish to leave the increasingly authoritarian state of Canada will be unable to do so, just like their Australian cousins. According to the government, starting October 30, all domestic travellers will be asked to provide a vaccine passport or negative COVID test. However, negative COVID tests will no longer be accepted by the end of November. “For travellers who are in the process of being vaccinated, there will be a short transition period where they will be able to travel if they can show a valid COVID-19 molecular test within 72 hours of travel, but that transition period will end on November 30,” a news release from Transport Canada reads. Canadians who falsify information or otherwise fail to comply with the vaccine mandate will face serious consequences, including $5,000 per violation for either travellers or employees, while operators could be fined up to $25,000.

EGYPT - Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has hailed the peace agreement signed with Israel in 1979, urging leaders and officials in the region to follow the example of late Egyptian President Anwar el-Sadat in overcoming popular concepts in his era. He made the remarks during a cultural symposium dubbed “October 1973: Crossing to the Future,” which was organized by the Armed Forces in celebration of the 48th anniversary of the October 6 War. Sisi praised late President Anwar El-Sadat, who decided to wage the war and assumed responsibility for his decision before heading to peace. Sadat’s initiative to reach a peace deal with Israel reflected his ability to move beyond the entrenched ideas and policies of his era, Sisi affirmed. He urged rulers and those responsible for managing crises in the region to take Sadat’s action as an example and pursue his steps.

ISRAEL - Every F-35 pilot owes the Israeli industries a certain chunk of his or her operational success. These are some of the fighter jet’s blue and white components. The helmet worn by an F-35 stealth fighter pilot has long been no ordinary helmet, but a personal pilot head system, HMDS, as defined by Israeli manufacturer, Elbit Systems. Each helmet is personal, tailored to each pilot individually, a match that takes several days to complete and includes a 3D scan of the head, the distance between the pilot's eyes and more. The head system includes a VISOR reflector on which the flight and mission data are projected. The sophisticated helmet 'enslaves' the armament and directs it to the target, by a simple movement the pilot makes with his or her head. Here lie the valuable advantages of the system: rapid response time, and reduction of the pilot’s workload, among other important elements. The aircraft’s wings are also much more than aerodynamically shaped iron blocks. Rather, they are an advanced accumulation of technologies of composites, produced with the utmost precision by the Israeli Aerospace Industries (IAI).

USA - Everyone pretty much agrees that we have a major problem with crime in this nation. But when we talk about “crime”, are we all talking about the same thing? Normally, when most of us think about “crime” what comes to mind is the rampant violence in our city streets. The FBI just released the final numbers for 2020, and they showed that the murder rate was up about 29 percent. That was the largest one year increase in U.S. history by a very wide margin, and law enforcement authorities are warning that the numbers for this year will show another huge jump. With so much violence in our streets, it is only natural that when we think of “crime” that we tend to think of young men recklessly firing guns in the core urban areas of our major cites.

USA - National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan hosted his Israeli counterpart Eyal Hulata in Washington on Tuesday to discuss Iran. In the meeting, Sullivan conveyed to Hulata that the US is prepared to “turn to other options” if diplomacy with Iran fails.

MIDDLE EAST - The biblical “sin cities” of Sodom and Gomorrah could have been destroyed by a meteor “cloudburst” that incinerated all 8,000 inhabitants, a fascinating new study suggests. The giant space rock exploded over the town 3,650 years ago, creating a fireball. Scientists say the same event might also have given rise to the tale of Jericho’s walls “tumbling down,” as that city was just 20 miles away.In the Bible, God was said to have been enraged by the wickedness of the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah, raining “fire and brimstone” upon them. Now there seems to be hard evidence that a “heavenly event” really did happen around that time. The cosmic calamity laid waste to the Jordan River Valley’s northern shore, razing a huge 100-acre city to the ground. It also exterminated other cities and multiple small villages. There would have been no survivors.

ISRAEL - Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Aviv Kohavi said Tuesday that Israel will continue to launch attacks to “destroy” Iran’s capabilities, including its civilian nuclear program. “Operations to destroy Iranian capabilities will continue, in any arena and at any time, and the operational plans against Iran’s nuclear program will continue to be developed and improved,” Kohavi said. While the IDF has not launched an overt attack inside Iran, the Israelis frequently carry out covert attacks against the Iranian nuclear program. Most recently, Iran has accused Israel of attacking an Iranian nuclear warehouse with a drone in June. The attack damaged equipment belonging to the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Iran is calling on the nuclear watchdog to condemn the incident. Over the past few months, Kohavi has repeatedly said the IDF is “accelerating” plans to attack Iran’s nuclear program, signaling that Israel is planning a more overt operation inside the country.

IRAN - A deadly attack on an oil tanker by explosive-laden drones. Unmanned aircraft launched from the Gaza Strip hitting Israeli neighborhoods. Strikes on Saudi Arabian refineries and pipelines and on bases housing US troops in Iraq. Behind this wave of attacks, US, European and Israeli defense officials say: Iran and its allies across the Middle East. They say Tehran’s rapidly developing ability to build and deploy drones is changing the security equation in a region already on edge. The drones themselves are often made with widely available components used in the ever-growing commercial drone market and by hobbyists, the officials say. Some mimic the designs of Israeli and American military drones. “Developing a nuclear weapon would take years. With drones, just a few months,” an Iranian official told The Wall Street Journal. “Drones have changed the balance of power in the Middle East.” Iran has used copies of the most sensitive pieces of technology developed by US and Israeli companies.

MIDDLE EAST - The Middle East was a crucial arena in the Cold War. It was then that Israel first acquired its value to the US as a bulwark against perceived Soviet penetration into the Middle East. Nations chose blocks, and the Middle East was divided up into Cold War camps. As the Second Cold War dawns, it has not yet risen over the Middle East. Most of the countries that had joined the American side are still on the American side. But if there is not a cold war, there is a cool war. Several countries that are on the American side and still look to the US are also glancing-at least a little – at Russia and China. And some that are not on the American side are moving firmly into a block with Russia and China.

ISRAEL - It’s no secret that in recent years, Uncle Sam has found himself asleep at the wheel while China has been pushing ahead in the global race. Four decades of pursuing a policy of friendship towards Beijing had simply opened the door to exploitation. With political, economic, academic and cultural spheres united under a nationalist agenda, China has been quietly rolling out a strategy for dominance. In the last two decades, there have been more than 460 Chinese investments and mergers and acquisitions in Israel, totaling tens of billions of dollars. Today, there are up to 45 new deals annually. It will come as no surprise that these deals focus on infrastructure and technology — two key areas of security sensitivity. The most controversial of these was the Haifa Port development, which was awarded to a Chinese state-backed investor, Shanghai International Port Group, in 2015. Haifa is the biggest port in Israel, and a critical future transportation hub. It is also the place where the Sixth Fleet of the US Navy docks. Washington feared that this would provide an opening for Chinese surveillance of the eastern Mediterranean.

TAIWAN - Taiwan is committed to defending its democracy against an increasingly aggressive China, the island’s president has vowed, warning of “catastrophic consequences” for the region should it fall. The comments from Tsai Ing-wen, in an essay published on Tuesday, came amid record-breaking incursions by Chinese warplanes into its air defence zone. On Tuesday Taiwan’s premier, Su Tseng-chang, said the “over the top” activity violated regional peace, and Taiwan needed to be on alert.