Macron's popularity sinks to record low - poll

The French president is facing a deepening political crisis. French President Emmanuel Macron's popularity has hit a record low, with his approval rating falling to just 11%, according to a new poll published by Le Figaro on Thursday. Earlier this month, Macron avoided impeachment despite accusations that he bears responsibility for France's deepening political crisis. His government has lacked a parliamentary majority for two years, since his decision to dissolve the National Assembly in June 2024. The move, prompted by his coalition's defeat in the European Parliament elections, was widely seen as a gamble that backfired, producing a hung parliament and halting much of the country's legislative work. Since taking office in 2017, Macron has seen seven of his prime ministers resign, including Edouard Philippe (July 2020), Jean Castex (April 2022), Elisabeth Borne (January 2024), Gabriel Attal (July 2024), Michel Barnier (December 2024), and Francois Bayrou (September 2025). The...

Dark Tidings

". . . the fake news isn't reporting on Operation Arctic Frost. It's not that they're trying to cover it up. . . but that they actually think it was totally normal and legitimate." — Hans Mahncke Surely you've noticed in recent years just how gruesome the Halloween townscape has become with our competitive yard displays of giant skeletons, shrieking ghouls, corpses seeming to emerge from the crabgrass, and miscellaneous body parts strewn about the property. The symbolism seems pretty overt: America yearns to become a death cult. The world has seen this before and it generally doesn't end well. Something in their equivalent of the zeitgeist drove the Aztecs to sharply ramp-up the scale of their human sacrifices in the years just before Hernán Cortés came to their capital city, Tenochtitlán. Bernal Diaz, a foot-soldier in Cortés's legion, later wrote: "I remember that they had in a plaza, where there were some shrines, so many places of dead skulls, which could be counted, according...

The Shift: Trump administration detains British journalist over Israel criticism

The shocking arrest of British pundit and Israel critic Sami Hamdi is yet another example of how far-right commentators wield influence in the Trump administration. Over the weekend, British pundit and Israel critic Sami Hamdi was detained by ICE agents at the San Francisco International Airport. In a social media post, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin announced that Hamdi's visa was revoked and that he was pending removal. "Under President Trump, those who support terrorism and undermine American national security will not be allowed to work or visit this country," she wrote. The arrest is yet another example of how far-right commentators wield influence in this administration. Days before Hamdi was detained, the Islamophobic right-wing activist Amy Mekelburg called on the government to deport him. She claimed: "He was training U.S. Muslims in digital agitation, electoral sabotage, and political warfare in alignment with Muslim Brotherhood doctrine....

Newsom's prostitution law creates disturbing new sex market in LA

California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom's pimp shield law, pushed by Democratic legislator Rep. Scott Weiner, has helped foster a disturbing new sex market on Figueroa Street in Los Angeles, featuring prostitutes as young as 12 and 13 years old. For far too long, the "kiddie stroll," as it's known, has gone unreported because major media outlets refused to cover it, allowing it to flourish under the watch of Democratic politicians. But now it's time to shine a light in the darkness and expose the truth about what's happening to these poor young girls and why nothing has been done to bring the harrowing evil to an end. An article from the New York Times Magazine is finally covering this horrific scene in Los Angeles, though they've conveniently neglected to cover anything concerning the prostitution law Newsom's administration passed.

The tragedy of expatriation: Europe's lost future

A recent survey has caused quite a stir in France, highlighting a new reality facing a changing Europe: the brain drain and expatriation of its most productive individuals. "Brain drain is a phenomenon that Europe generally attributes to the African continent. Now, France is fully affected." According to this study, every year, nearly 15,000 young graduates from French engineering and management schools choose to start their careers abroad. The main reasons? Low salaries due to high taxes, but also a perception of decline. Indeed, 70 percent of talented individuals believe that France is in decline, while 81 percent and 74 percent are concerned about the political and economic situations respectively. Other figures illustrate this trend: there are more French founders of unicorns (companies valued at over $1 billion) in the United States (46) than in France (around 22 as of 2024). This trend is not unique to France. It can also be seen in Germany, where some young talents are...

Meteor fireball lights up skies across Minnesota, Wisconsin on October 29

Some people were treated to an astral spectacle late Wednesday night, as a "fireball meteor" flashed across the night sky in parts of Minnesota and Wisconsin. WCCO viewer Diane Lloyd captured footage of the meteor over Sartell, Minnesota, at about 10:15 p.m. About 150 miles northeast of Sartell, The Duluth Harbor Cam on Lake Superior also caught what may be the same meteor over the Aerial Lift Bridge. The Neenah Fire Department in western Wisconsin also posted to social media about the awe-inspiring sight. "Last night at 10:13 p.m., as Officer Brent Wittman was leaving the ThedaCare Neenah Emergency Department, a meteor was seen lighting up the evening sky," police said. According to the American Meteor Society, there were nearly three dozen fireball reports in Minnesota on Wednesday between 10 p.m. and midnight, and more than 70 reports across Wisconsin.

Trump, Xi and that G-2 in South Korea

So the latest incarnation of the much-hyped G-2 came and went. It did feel like a switch from Trump Tariff Temper Tantrum to Temporary Truce. Naturally there has been an avalanche of spin focusing on the easing of "trade tensions"; but what really mattered in practical terms was the lack of a full "deal" after 1h 40mins of debate in South Korea - complete with a smiling handshake coda. Well, anyone with an IQ over room temperature knew from the start what Trump wanted to extract from Beijing. Essentially 3 items: Easing of restrictions on rare earth exports, because the whole, vast US industrial-military complex with its coterie of embedded high-tech industries simply cannot be "affected" by a supply chain rupture, and there's no way to build one in less than at least 5 years.China should buy enormous amounts of US agricultural products, especially soybeans: otherwise Trump's voter base will be in revolt, then bye bye to mid-terms and even the next presidential victory. Toxic asset...

Caribbean Crisis 2.0: Inside the cancellation of the Putin-Trump summit

The ghosts of the Cuban Missile Crisis are back, this time haunting Ukraine, Venezuela, and Washington's divided politics. In world history, the Caribbean Crisis - or the Cuban Missile Crisis - refers to the tense October of 1962, when the US and the Soviet Union stood on the brink of nuclear war. The confrontation began with the deployment of American missiles in Türkiye, along the Soviet Union's southern border, and Moscow's subsequent decision to place nuclear warheads in Cuba, just off Florida's coast. Through intense diplomacy between October 16 and 28, both sides agreed to withdraw their weapons, set up a direct hotline between Washington and Moscow, and lay the groundwork for future arms control deals. During those thirteen days, the air was thick with fear, yet the true scope of negotiations remained hidden from the world until long after the danger had passed. In a striking twist of fate, sixty-three years later - in October 2025 - relations between Russia and the US have...

Nearly 100,000 Young Men Flee Ukraine In 2 Months Following Loosened Restrictions

Media reports in Europe, including in The Telegraph and Politico, are this week documenting a new massive surge in young men fleeing Ukraine in order to not be conscripted, in which case they could be sent to front lines and face certain death. "Almost 100,000 fighting-age Ukrainian men have left the country in the past two months after Volodymyr Zelensky eased departure rules, new figures show," The Telegraph reports. The figures are primarily based on the Polish border guard, as the neighboring EU country shares a long border with Ukraine, and has been from the start of the war absorbing refugees and trying to maintain strict counts and records.

Poland, Slovakia, Hungary Defy EU By Keeping Bans On Ukraine Imports

A new European Union deal to liberalize trade with Ukraine took effect Wednesday, but Poland, Hungary and Slovakia are defying it, maintaining their protectionist bans on imports from the country. Their defiance comes amid mounting grievances over EU prioritization of the West's proxy war on Russia over the prosperity of EU member states and their citizens. Approved on Oct 13, the new EU arrangement expands tariff-free Ukrainian access to European markets, replacing a temporary lowering of trade barriers adopted after Russia invaded Ukraine in 2022. "We believe (the agreement) is a stable, fair framework, that can be reliable both for the EU and for Ukraine, to ensure a gradual integration in our single market, while providing stable trade flows," said European Commission spokeswoman Ariana Podesta. The European Commission (EC) is the EU's principal executive branch.

REPORT: 2,000 civilians dead as Sudan fractures, officials say

The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been forced out of El Fasher by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) after a yearlong siege, allowing the rebels to gain control of the western Darfur region, officials announced Tuesday. A Tuesday statement from the Joint Forces, which is allied with Sudan's army, said the RSF "committed heinous crimes against innocent civilians in the city of El-Fasher, where more than 2,000 unarmed citizens were executed and killed on Oct. 26 and 27, most of them women, children and the elderly," according to the Times of Israel.

6 dead in Telangana, India as Cyclone Montha triggers heavy rains and flooding

At least six persons died in separate rain-related incidents after heavy rains lashed different parts of Telangana due to the impact of Cyclone 'Montha' on October 29, police and district officials said on Friday. A husband and wife were washed away while trying to cross an overflowing stream on a two-wheeler in Siddipet district and their bodies were traced on Friday, police said. In other incidents, a man died when a road-side tree uprooted and fell on him while riding a bike in Suryapet district and an elderly woman died in a wall collapse incident in Mahabubabad district. A man in his mid 60s, who was bed-ridden, died when flood water entered his house in Warangal, officials further said. There were some more incidents wherein people went missing after getting swept away in floodwaters Heavy rains on October 29 led to waterlogging of roads and inundation of low-lying areas at several places in Warangal, Hanamakonda, Mahabubabad, Karimnagar, Khammam, Bhadradri Kothagudem,...

2 dead after New York City flooding that submerged vehicles, flooded subways after record rainfall

At least two people died Thursday in flooded basements after record rainfall in parts of New York City that also deluged some streets and subway stations, according to police. The New York Police Department confirmed the two deaths to ABC News. ABC New York station WABC said a 39-year-old man was found unconscious and unresponsive in a flooded basement in Brooklyn. The FDNY Scuba Team recovered his body from the basement before he was taken to the hospital where he was pronounced dead, police said. In a separate incident in Washington Heights, in northern Manhattan, police said the body of a 43-year-old man was found in a flooded boiler room, WABC reported. Police are investigating both incidents.

Landslide triggered by heavy rainfall, killed at least 22 people in rural Papua New Guinea

At about 2 am on 31 October 2025, a landslide struck a rural community at Kukas in Enga Province, Papua New Guinea. News reports suggest that it was triggered by heavy rainfall and that 22 bodies have been recovered to date, but that the final toll may be as high as 30 people. Loyal readers will know that tracking down landslides in rural PNG is a major challenge - the quality of baseline mapping of villages is quite poor. However, an ABC News report indicates that the landslide occurred in the vicinity of Pausa, so I think the most likely location is in the region of [-5.67878, 143.91848]:-

Large meteor fireball over Spain & Portugal (Oct 28)

The stunning fireball in this video was recorded from Spain on October 28, at 5:01 local time (equivalent to 4:01 universal time). It was almost as bright as the full Moon. The event was generated by a rock (a meteoroid) from a comet that hit the atmosphere at about 226,000 km/h. The fireball overflew Spain and Portugal. It began at an altitude of about 125 km over Oliva de la Frontera (province of Badajoz, Spain), moved southwest, and ended at a height of around 77 km over the locality of Serpa (district of Beja, Portugal). This bright meteor was recorded in the framework of the SMART project, operated by the Southwestern Europe Meteor Network (SWEMN) from the meteor-observing stations located at Huelva, La Hita (Toledo), Calar Alto, Sierra Nevada, La Sagra (Granada), Sevilla, and Mazagón. The event has been analyzed by the principal investigator of the SMART project: Dr. Jose M. Madiedo, from the Institute of Astrophysics of Andalusia (IAA-CSIC). Its code in the SWEMN database...

Eurasian cuckoo turns up in Long Island, New York - only the 4th time recorded in the US

Birdwatchers across the country are going absolutely cuckoo over a once-in-a-lifetime discovery on Long Island. According to the clip posted below, a golfer named Roy William Gardner stumbled upon an extremely rare bird that's only been documented four times in U.S. history, a species native to Europe that likely got blown off course during migration. A Common Cuckoo. Gardner told CBS News he was riding between holes in a golf cart when he noticed "an unusual bird going post to post." Curious, he snapped a few photos and texted them to his nephew — who just happens to be an ornithologist from Cornell and now a bird biologist at UCLA. Within hours, the images spread through birding groups like wildfire, sparking what enthusiasts are calling "one of the biggest bird sightings in recent years." The clip was shared to the TikTok account for CBS New York, and people in the comments are um, going cuckoo over this sighting. It's pretty safe to say this rare bird has become an accidental...

Meteor fireball over Colorado on October 29

We received 9 reports about a fireball seen over CO and UT on Wednesday, October 29th 2025 around 11:38 UT. For this event, we received one video.

Young footballer killed by lightning strike in Queensland, Australia

A young woman killed by lightning on Queensland's Sunshine Coast has been described as a talented athlete who was practising her soccer skills when the tragedy occurred. Paramedics rushed to the aid of 21-year-old Finley Bone after she was struck when thunderstorms hit late on Thursday afternoon at the Cooroy Sporting Complex. She was transported to Nambour Hospital in a critical condition but could not be revived. Finley's mother, Donna Markert, said she was a talented athlete who had gone to the soccer field with her partner to practise goal kicking. "No one can believe this happened," Markert told ABC News. "Fin had her life taken away in a minute."

Biden's Jack Smith 'enemies list' scandal widens as 400 Republican targets revealed

The Biden administration spied on nearly 20% of Republicans in Congress, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) revealed in a Wednesday bombshell. Specifically, Grassley released 197 subpoenas that the Biden FBI reportedly used to gather testimony and information on over 400 Republican targets as part of the agency's "Arctic Frost" probe. "197 subpoenas were issued by Jack Smith and his team. These subpoenas were issued to 34 individuals and 163 businesses, including financial institutions," Grassley said, adding "Arctic Frost was the vehicle by which partisan FBI agents and DOJ prosecutors could improperly investigate the entire Republican political apparatus. Contrary to what Smith has said publicly, this was clearly a fishing expedition."

Google minion doubles down on censorship in appalling Senate hearing

A top Google executive made clear at a Wednesday hearing that the tech giant was proud of its censorship record. This admission may have dire implications for Big Tech's ability to censor without consequences. Markham Erickson, a government affairs executive at Google, repeatedly stated at a Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation hearing that though the Biden administration had pressured Google to censor, the search giant had ultimately acted independently. Erickson also emphasized that Google had not admitted wrongdoing or made changes despite settling President Donald Trump's lawsuit against the company for censoring him in 2021. Ultimately, Erickson did not blame the third-party actors for the rampant censorship, but said, "No matter how the information comes to us, we feel a responsibility and are proud of the way we handle those communications to make independent decisions." [Emphasis added].