Qatar plans to establish a local defence production hub with regional and international partners, including the US, UK and France.

The initiative will strengthen capabilities against ballistic missiles, drones and cyber threats amid heightened regional tensions.

Qatar’s Defense Minister Sheikh Saoud Al Thani on Iran:

Germany and France had a conflict for almost 75 years, with three major wars.

But then they decided to establish economic ties. And it came first with Airbus in 1970.

We want to build a bridge in order to use economic ties to prevent any conflict.

Because Iran is our neighbor. We need to find ways to prevent any kind of conflict in the future.

Republicans are increasingly blaming each other as concerns grow over potential losses in November's midterm elections.

House Republicans accuse Senate candidates of wasting campaign resources, while some senators blame Trump for backing weak candidates.

Others criticize GOP leadership for failing to support vulnerable incumbents.

Source: POLITICO

NEW: Volkswagen plans to freeze salaries for its 660,000 employees worldwide until 2030, potentially reducing real wages by around 10% due to inflation.

The plan also reportedly includes cuts to bonuses, benefits and jobs.

Groups of young people looted and vandalized shops in central Milan on Sunday, a day after the city’s cost-of-living protests turned violent.

About 2,000 youths, many organizing in small groups through social media, smashed windows and stole goods from stores including a Carrefour supermarket and Levi’s, Under Armour and Decathlon outlets near the Duomo and Via Torino.

Police used tear gas and water cannons, sealed off the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele and closed the cathedral early to tourists.

More than 200 people were taken to police stations, about 80% of them minors, and business groups estimated damages in the hundreds of thousands of euros.

Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez:

We naively believed the United States, a great democracy and ally, would not repeat the mistake it made 20 years ago.

It trampled on international law. Except this time, instead of intervening in Iraq, it is intervening in Iran.

That is exactly what is happening, and we are paying for it with our own money.

In less than a year of war, Europe has paid an additional €100 billion.

To give you an idea, that is more than twice what Europe spends on its Common Agricultural Policy to protect farmers, livestock breeders, and fisheries.

Luxury boutiques and major retail chains were looted or damaged across France during Saturday’s nationwide cost-of-living protests, with about 1,500 businesses hit and early losses estimated in the hundreds of millions of euros.

— Louis Vuitton
— Celine
— Dior
— Hermès
— Burberry
— Lacoste
— Apple
— Decathlon
— Sephora
— Carrefour
— Galeries Lafayette

Graffiti such as “Eat the rich” and “Tax the rich” appeared on many storefronts.

Retail leaders called for faster compensation and stronger action against the looters.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu:

It has now been demonstrated that there is an ultra-left movement that wants to organize disorder — not to say something even more serious — profound disorder in the country until the presidential election.

I believe this was clearly communicated to us by the intelligence services this morning.

There is an entire network that could even mobilize to challenge the timetable of the presidential election, and even the holding of the presidential election itself.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu:

You may have noticed on social media that many looters are geniuses. They had the brilliant idea of not wearing a hood or a mask.

So a very significant, massive judicial operation is starting today.

In the Paris area alone, I believe nearly 200 investigators from the Paris police prefecture will analyze images and videos.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu:

We cannot allow violent minorities to impose an agenda of violence and prevent us from holding this election.

This raises the question of the security of candidates, their personal security.

NEW: French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu:

We have chaos, to put it crudely — forgive the expression — that is very localized in urban centers.

I have asked the prefects to introduce a number of curfews for tonight. Partial curfews.

One of the objectives of these curfews is to protect people, but also property, particularly businesses.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu:

On Saturday, although we saw very difficult scenes of violence against property, nobody was killed, and that is a miracle.

It is a miracle that the toll was not higher. That must be said again.

French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu:

We have a number of arrests leading to police custody, which are now resulting in a very high rate of judicial action, almost 80%.

Two-thirds are adults, almost all of them are men, and they are often people already known to the police.

So judicial proceedings will also allow us to calm things down by putting a number of individuals out of action.

Ukrainian forces carried out the world's first aerial evacuation of a wounded soldier using a heavy Gurzuf Defence hexacopter.

The soldier was rescued from the front line after mines and enemy drone activity made ground evacuation impossible.

He is now recovering.

Turkish President Erdogan:

Good news is coming from Syria, but Zionist Israel is doing everything it can to stir up trouble there as well.

IRGC Spokesperson:

From a technical and military standpoint, the United States lacks the capability to initiate another conflict.

However, with elections approaching, it may attempt to manufacture a military success for political purposes.

We are not ignoring any possibilities and remain fully prepared to respond. This time, our response will be far more severe.

Trump:

The migrants have taken over France. They must CLOSE THE BORDERS, FAST!

French President Emmanuel Macron has begun a three-day Gulf tour to secure extra oil and diesel supplies for France, as the U.S.-Iran war and disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz push up fuel prices.

He met Kuwait’s emir on Monday and will continue to the UAE, Bahrain and Qatar, joined by the CEOs of TotalEnergies and Engie.

The Élysée said the goal is “additional volumes and more supplies for the French people,” which it said would indirectly lower prices.

France is also pushing for routes that bypass Hormuz, such as the UAE’s pipeline to Fujairah.

The trip comes after nationwide protests over fuel costs, with diesel in France averaging about €2.36 a liter and Brent crude trading near $108 a barrel.

NEW: Benny Gantz announces he will not run in Israel’s October 27 election, ending his Blue and White party’s bid just eight days before the vote:

“I will not be running in the upcoming elections. I will continue to fight for unity,” the former army chief and defense minister said, calling unity “the only solution that will prevent another disaster.”

Polls had consistently put Blue and White at around 1%, well below the 3.25% threshold needed to enter the Knesset.

Opposition figures, including Gadi Eisenkot, had pressed him to drop out to avoid wasting anti-Netanyahu votes.

The move reverses his pledge on October 10 to stay in the race “to the end,” and he is set to give a fuller statement Monday evening.

Europe’s biggest telecom operators are teaming up to challenge Starlink.

Deutsche Telekom, Orange, Telefónica and Vodafone are exploring a joint bid for EU satellite spectrum to offer direct-to-smartphone connectivity.

The initiative aims to reduce Europe’s dependence on U.S. satellite providers amid growing transatlantic tensions.

The companies would build ground infrastructure and partner with an existing satellite operator rather than launch their own satellites.

Key challenge: Finding a suitable partner, as U.S. and Chinese companies dominate satellite networks and Europe’s Eutelsat remains far behind Starlink.

Source: FT