Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary blasts EU:

We live in Europe where we have fundamentally failed to be competitive.

The Draghi report is two years old. It has sat on the shelf gathering dust.

Ursula von der Leyen talks about competitiveness and does absolutely nothing about it.

You can now fly across the continent for €50. It is one of the very few industries where we outcompete the Americans. They’re ahead of us in AI, they’re ahead of us in IT.

You have that ship of fools in the European Parliament designing more regulations to increase the cost of air travel when consumers want lower fares.

Source: Euronews

Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary on EU:

We have a scandal in Europe. We apply environmental taxes only to intra-EU flights.

We don’t tax the Americans, the Asians or the Chinese, despite the fact that their flights account for more than 53% of Europe’s CO2 emissions.

Nobody would design a stupid system like this other than the European Parliament and Ursula von der Leyen.

If you’re serious about competitiveness, tax the Americans when they land here in Europe.

We only tax the poor, dumb European citizens traveling around visiting friends and family.

Source: Euronews

U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack on Yemen:

I think Saudi Arabia is in a very difficult position. Look, the history of Yemen, and, you know, I'm not about to teach the region who understands it.

These kinetic reactions have never worked. It doesn't work. It's probably not likely that it's going to work.

U.S. Ambassador to Türkiye Tom Barrack:

I think Trump has been clear that he supports Saudi Arabia, and the backing that they need logistically, he will supply.

But America getting involved in a ground, kinetic battle somewhere else seems fruitless.

Ryanair's CEO Michael O'Leary calls Ursula Von der Leyen "useless":

She’s afraid to do anything except talk. She’s useless.

Ursula von der Leyen hides in the Berlaymont doing nothing except giving speeches.

Source: Euronews

Germany's Chancellor Merz:

In terms of GDP per hour, Germany remains firmly among the global leaders.

We are proud of our educational system, world-class research institutes, and level of innovation.

Germany's Chancellor Merz:

We are experiencing accelerated economic growth in 2026 despite mounting geopolitical pressures and the surge in energy prices.

Just last week, the IMF raised its growth projection for Germany up to 1.3% for this year and expects this trend to continue into 2027.

Germany's Chancellor Merz:

We have seen a further deepening of ties between the EU and Canada.

Canada has become so pro-European as it never was before, and more will follow.

Marco Rubio on Ukraine:

The Department of War, everything that we've been doing with Ukraine remains the same.

Nothing has changed.

Marco Rubio on Ukraine:

We're not deliberately denying interceptors to Ukraine.

Former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev responds to new U.S. sanctions on Russia by quoting German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche:

What does not kill me makes me stronger.

Marco Rubio:

I saw somebody associated with the Ukrainian government say that people in Ukraine are dying because the U.S. is denying them information.

That's scandalous. That's outrageous. That's simply not true. That's not accurate.

Marco Rubio:

Trump is responding to the insinuation that somehow he is doing things to deliberately harm Ukraine, which is not fair and not true.

NEW: Pakistan’s Army Chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran with a delegation of Pakistani officials.

Marco Rubio on Ukraine War:

One of the reasons why this war needs to end is because Ukraine's electric grid is being devastated.

One of the reasons this war needs to end is because every month 20 or 25,000 Russians are slaughtered as they try to advance in Ukraine.

All of these are bad things.

NEW: Zelensky arrived in Oslo for talks with U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff and European partners on a plan to end the war with Russia.

The meetings, hosted by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Finnish President Alexander Stubb, aim to develop peace proposals on security guarantees for Ukraine and terms for a lasting peace, which Witkoff would then present to Vladimir Putin.

Zelensky was joined by top officials including presidential office head Kyrylo Budanov and intelligence chief Rustem Umerov, while Jared Kushner took part remotely.

Britain plans to deploy RAF Typhoon fighter jets to protect Saudi cities and infrastructure from escalating Houthi attacks.

The UK will also send an A400M transport aircraft and military advisers, expanding its defensive support.

Source: Bloomberg

Iran is deliberately dragging out peace talks to deny Trump a political victory before the November 3 midterms, according to senior Iranian officials.

Source: Reuters

🛢️ Oil prices rose today, with Brent crude climbing about 1.8% to around $111 a barrel, near five-month highs.

U.S. benchmark WTI rose about 2% to around $100.50.

Prices were driven by Houthi claims of attacks on Saudi energy sites, including Aramco facilities at Yanbu and the Shaybah oilfield, and reports of a tanker hitting a mine near the Strait of Hormuz.

Those risks outweighed the Trump administration’s recent easing of sanctions on Russian energy exports, with Brent up roughly 80% over the past year.

UKMTO reported an incident involving a tanker and military forces approximately 121 nautical miles east of Duqm, Oman, on October 19.

UKMTO said the tanker was involved in an interaction linked to ongoing military activity in the region.