Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ) delivered the first 2 HÜRKUŞ trainers to the Turkish Air Force after completing acceptance tests.

12 total deliveries planned by end of 2026, ramping to 2/month in 2027, with all 55 aircraft delivered by 2028.

The 1,600 hp turboprop reaches 30,000 ft and 320 KCAS.

It forms the first step of Türkiye's all-domestic pilot training chain:

HÜRKUŞ → HÜRJET → 5th-gen KAAN.

Export contracts signed with 3 countries for the HÜRKUŞ-B variant.

Greece and France are considering a reroute of the Great Sea Interconnector (Crete-Cyprus HVDC cable) to avoid Türkiye's new Fethiye-Kaş marine park, declared in August 2026 near Kastellorizo (Meis).

France now controls the project.

Meridiam took 66% ownership in August, Nexans will lay the cable, and a French-flagged survey vessel will be used.

Athens and Paris have agreed to notify Türkiye of survey work rather than request permission, citing UNCLOS rules that cables don't require coastal-state consent.

The problem: 40% of seabed surveys remain unfinished in the sensitive waters east of Kasos, where Turkish warships interrupted work in 2024.

Greece is also considering extending territorial waters to 12nm south/west of Crete before resuming surveys.

No new survey date is locked in.

Source: Kathimerini

Four Chinese men broke into a Korean restaurant named "시진핑" (Xi Jinping), spray-painted over the name, smashed furniture, and sprayed pesticide on kitchen ingredients.

They spent an hour inside at 2:40 AM, then fled to Incheon Airport and flew back to China the same day.

The restaurant in Bundang had received threats for years over its name.

Police are seeking arrest warrants and considering an Interpol Red Notice.

The owner plans to rename the shop.

Netanyahu made a secret trip to Abu Dhabi on September 27 to ask MBZ to deny a report that the UAE warned him of Hamas's October 7 attack.

The Haaretz investigation claimed MBZ called Netanyahu ~10 days before the attack, warning that Sinwar was planning an "earthquake."

Netanyahu allegedly said Israel was prepared, then didn't share the warning with security chiefs.

Netanyahu calls it an "absolute lie" and says he'll sue Haaretz.

The UAE says intelligence is shared through "professional bodies, not at the level of national leaders."

Netanyahu flew privately from Ben Gurion, spent ~4 hours in Abu Dhabi, and returned the same evening.

Source: AP

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich on Gaza:

The biggest key to migration is: take away their hope.

If you annex up to the Yellow Line and say, "This is ours," and leave them with a tiny, crowded and destroyed area, everyone will understand that there is nothing to look for there and they will start searching for solutions for where to go.

That is the right thing.

Europe Debates NATO-Style Action Against Russian Hybrid Warfare

An EU emergency security proposal would coordinate responses to sabotage, cyberattacks, and drone incursions, as European capitals question whether existing measures can deter Moscow.

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Goldman Sachs models a potential US diesel export ban.

Initially US diesel drops ~$0.25/gal per week of ban.

But longer it lasts, worse it gets.

Diesel/gasoline are co-produced, so cutting diesel output pushes gasoline UP by ~$0.30/gal once storage fills.

Meanwhile European wholesale diesel rises ~$3/bbl per week (~2%), partially offset by SPR releases.

After the ban lifts, global prices would still be higher than without it due to lost US refinery output.

Goldman recommends hedging via long European gasoline positions.

CBC visual investigation uses satellite imagery showing IDF clearing bombed Gaza neighborhoods with heavy machinery, then building military bases on the sites — while bodies remain buried.

This is an erasure of war-crimes evidence.

Forensic Architecture documented thousands of similar incidents.

Families say they were never contacted about remains.

An Oxford law professor noted this is only legal if bodies are collected, identified, and evidence preserved.

The ICJ ordered Israel to preserve evidence of alleged Genocide Convention violations in 2024.

IDF says clearing is for "tactical necessity" and complies with international law.

South Korea demands explanation and apology from Ukraine after Zelensky publicly revealed at UNGA that two captured North Korean soldiers had been transferred to Seoul.

South Korea says Ukraine itself requested secrecy over the handover, fearing domestic criticism about losing a POW swap opportunity.

Seoul agreed to protect the men's safety and their families in North Korea.

Ukraine denies any confidentiality deal existed.

Seoul called that denial "false" and said the disclosure was made without adequate consultation, damaging trust.

The presidential office is reviewing "additional measures."

Iran's rial hit a record low, the free-market dollar crossed 240,000 tomans and is trading around 243,000-244,000.

The currency has more than doubled in a year (was ~111,000 tomans per dollar a year ago).

The official rate remains at ~173,000 tomans, creating a massive gap.

Google Maps updated its default satellite imagery for Gaza to January-February 2026 captures, making the scale of destruction immediately visible to anyone opening the app.

The 2026 tiles show dense residential blocks in Rafah and Khan Younis reduced to gray rubble fields, Al-Shifa Hospital area heavily altered, and massive tent camps on remaining open ground.

UNOSAT's latest count: 201,290 damaged structures (82% of all buildings), 134,422 destroyed.

The imagery covers ~235 km² at ~13 cm resolution — sharp enough to see individual walls and tent clusters.

Apple Maps has not made an equivalent update.

Netanyahu Asked UAE Leader to Deny Hamas Warning Report in Secret Visit

Netanyahu secretly flew to Abu Dhabi and asked Mohamed bin Zayed to deny a report that he had warned the Israeli prime minister about a looming Hamas attack before October 7.

READ MORE

Unverified reports claim that a drone struck Ethiopia's main air base at Harar Meda/Bishoftu while PM Abiy was present for Meskel celebrations.

Opposition sources claim three casualties including allegedly a UAE drone advisor.

Abiy reportedly unharmed.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband:

I want to say to the millions of people in this country and indeed elsewhere who have been moved and outraged by the plight of the Palestinian people: we hear you. You were right.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband:

It’s time to roll up our sleeves all over again because once again the world order needs rebuilding anew.

We need to be honest about the world we confront.

War has returned to Europe.

UK Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband:

We will always, always stand up to Russia’s threats wherever they are.

We will stand with the people of Ukraine until they prevail.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei:

In the past, the two seas to Iran’s south were a playground for enemy forces. But today, because of the painful blows they have suffered at the hands of the courageous fighters and defenders of the Strait of Hormuz, they do not venture beyond the Arabian Sea.

Whenever they have taken that risk, they have brought harm upon themselves. And the day is near when the Arabian Sea, too, will be emptied of them.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei:

Today, some describe us as the world’s fourth superpower. Of course, they say this according to worldly calculations.

But by divine calculations, we are considered the foremost power in the world.

Saudi Arabia's East-West pipeline has restarted oil exports.

Pope Leo XIV:

Human dignity demands legal and safe rescue and assistance, real cooperation against traffickers, effective protection of victims, serious processes of reception and integration, and policies that allow every person to live with dignity in their own land.

But all this would still not be enough. To welcome a person means to integrate them as into one’s own family, offering them the possibility to develop their talents, abilities and sensitivities, but also to enter into the spirit of the home.

The universality of Europe’s founding values assures us that this dialogue is possible and can provide a solid foundation for our societies, allowing us to work more effectively for peace and for a reconciled world.