NEED TO KNOW
UAE Flydubai flight nearly crashes after co-pilot attack: A flydubai flight from Dubai to Tel Aviv carrying more than 170 people nearly crashed on Wednesday after the co-pilot attacked the captain with a cockpit crash axe and attempted to seize control of the aircraft, in what UAE authorities have called an attempted terrorist attack. The plane plunged more than 16,000 feet in about 30 seconds before the severely injured Indian captain managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the attacker. Two reserve pilots then landed the aircraft safely in Saudi Arabia. The co-pilot, an Omani national previously barred from flying by Oman over extremist concerns, is under investigation.
KSA Saudi plans for Houthi offensive: Saudi Arabia is reportedly preparing a possible offensive against the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen to reverse their recent gains along the Red Sea coast and restore access through the strategic Bab el-Mandeb shipping route. The operation could involve more than 100,000 Yemeni troops overseen by Riyadh and supported by Saudi airstrikes, with plans ranging from a focused coastal assault to simultaneous attacks on several fronts. The US is providing intelligence and military advisers, while Pakistan and Turkey have supplied equipment, but US forces are not currently expected to participate directly in combat. Yesterday, the Houthis claimed they attacked an Aramco facility in Riyadh with ballistic missiles and drones, with smoke and fire seen near the site.
G7 Strategic reserve release after US pressure: The G7 nations have agreed to release 100 million barrels of oil and diesel from emergency reserves over four months, coordinated by the International Energy Agency, to ease soaring fuel prices. The plan includes a substantial front-loaded diesel release within the first 20 days. The move follows pressure from President Trump, who had threatened a US diesel export ban and faces political pressure over record domestic diesel prices ahead of the midterms. G7 leaders also reaffirmed they would not impose energy export restrictions among themselves.
FR School protests escalate: Hundreds of French high schools closed this week as student protests over teacher shortages, overcrowded classrooms and dilapidated buildings spread nationwide, with fires reported at several schools and damage running into tens of millions of euros. Police made around 5,000 arrests and dozens of people were injured, including school principals, amid clashes and vandalism. Education Minister Édouard Geffray condemned the violence while urging calm and dialogue, and the government has accused far-left politicians of exploiting the unrest.
EU Eurozone inflation surge: Eurozone annual inflation rose to 3.8% in September, its highest level in three years and well above the ECB’s 2% target. The increase from 3.2% in August was driven largely by soaring energy costs linked to the Middle East conflict, with energy inflation reaching 18.8%. Core inflation held steady at 2.5%. The hotter-than-expected reading has strengthened expectations that the ECB may need to tighten policy further at its next meeting on 29 October.
IQ US troops leave Iraq after 23 years: The US has completed the withdrawal of its remaining 2,500 troops from Iraq, ending the 12-year US-led Operation Inherent Resolve mission against Islamic State and more than two decades of American military presence, during which 4,500 Americans died. Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi hailed October 1 as a new day of full national sovereignty and declared it “Independence Day.” The withdrawal was also celebrated as a victory by Iran and its allies, as the US presence acted as a counterweight to Tehran's influence in Iraq. Baghdad has delayed the planned disarmament of Iran-backed militias until mid-2027, and several powerful groups have so far refused to surrender their weapons.
NL U-turn on unrealized gains tax: The Netherlands has abandoned its plans to tax unrealized gains on shares, bonds and cryptocurrencies after investors warned that the proposed system could drive capital and investors out of the country. The government is instead moving toward a system based primarily on taxing realized investment returns, while still considering changes to the broader wealth-tax regime. The reversal is intended to protect the country’s investment climate after strong criticism from investors and financial institutions.
BR Brazil heads to the polls: Brazilians are voting today in a tightly contested presidential election between leftist incumbent Lula da Silva, seeking a fourth term, and Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of Jair Bolsonaro who was narrowly defeated by Lula four years ago. Polls show the race neck-and-neck and if neither candidate wins an outright majority, a runoff will be held on 25 October. The contest carries regional and global weight, as a Bolsonaro victory would strengthen the pro-Trump right-wing bloc across Latin America and potentially align Brazil more closely with Washington, while Lula has resisted such alignment and accused the US of election meddling. Bolsonaro has pledged to pardon his father, who is serving a sentence for plotting a coup after the 2022 election, raising concerns about the future of Brazil’s democratic institutions.
RU Hundreds under observation after lab worker dies from plague: A laboratory technician at the Irkutsk Anti-Plague Institute in Siberia has died after a suspected pneumonic plague infection, according to Russian media reports. The woman, identified as Daria Shipilova in her late 20s, reportedly became ill after accidental exposure to a broken test tube containing the pathogen and died on 2 October after being hospitalized with severe pneumonia. Nearly 200 people who had contact with her have been placed under medical observation, with authorities stating that none currently show symptoms and all laboratory tests so far are negative. The pneumonic plague is highly contagious and almost always fatal without rapid antibiotic treatment.
US Anthropic prospectus leaked: Anthropic’s IPO prospectus, seen by Reuters, revealed the company is betting that AI will transform the global economy more profoundly than industrialization or the internet, while posting enormous losses and planning hundreds of billions in future spending. Revenue surged 12-fold in 2025 to nearly $4.6 billion, yet the company recorded a $42 billion net loss and more than $8 billion in operating losses (from $2.98 billion in 2024), with compute and infrastructure costs alone reaching $7.33 billion. The filing shows deep dependence on Amazon and Google, which together routed 47% of sales and also serve as major investors, cloud suppliers and competitors. Anthropic is seeking a valuation around $2 trillion.
CH Business bankruptcies surge: Swiss business insolvencies rose sharply in the first nine months of 2026, with 11,412 companies declaring bankruptcy, 37% more than during the same period last year. Construction, catering and retail were among the hardest-hit sectors, with retail bankruptcies up 51%. Part of the increase is linked to a 2025 legal change allowing unpaid corporate tax debts to be pursued through bankruptcy proceedings, whereas previously authorities could only collect unpaid taxes through seizure. At the same time, 40,487 new companies were created, up 2% year-on-year.
US Prisoner on ventilator after failed execution: Tennessee’s attempt to execute death-row prisoner Christa Pike by lethal injection failed on Wednesday, with Pike continuing to breathe and eventually being taken to hospital. One of her lawyers, who was present in the death chamber, called the ordeal “cruel and torturous”. Pike was subsequently placed on a ventilator and remained unconscious while doctors worked to treat the effects of the drugs. Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee has suspended the state’s remaining scheduled execution for 2026 and ordered an independent investigation, four years after a previous review found serious problems with the state’s execution procedures. Pike’s is the second failed execution in the state in less than five months, and the fifth nationwide in the past five years.
GOOD TO KNOW
Protests over housing crisis grip Spain
The protests that started last week, triggered by the forced eviction of 87-year-old Maricarmen Abascal from the Madrid apartment where she had lived for more than seven decades, have intensified this week. Images of the elderly disabled woman being removed quickly turned her case into a national symbol of the country’s deepening housing crisis. Protests erupted with activists attempting to block the eviction and have now spread to other cities as demonstrators demanded stronger tenant protections, rent controls and an end to “vulture fund” practices. Tens of thousands took to the streets on Saturday in around 50 cities, with police clashes reported in Valencia. In Madrid alone, the government estimated roughly 70,000 demonstrators, although organizers claimed much higher figures.
The government responded to the protests with two emergency housing decrees. The measures included extending protections against eviction for vulnerable tenants until 2030, a two-year extension of the rent freeze for existing leases, tighter rules on short-term rentals, and a second measure allowing automatic and indefinite renewal of rental contracts. The Parliament rejected both measures on Friday, after Catalan separatist party Junts joined the opposition in voting against them, arguing they would reduce the supply of rental housing and ultimately push prices higher. The defeat intensified the protests, with the Tenants’ Union vowing to maintain its Madrid encampment and calling for a general strike.
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VA Pope doubles down on AI stance: According to a New York Times investigation published this week, Anthropic has spent the past year holding private meetings with religious scholars to explore whether its Claude models might be conscious or possess moral status, and to help shape their behavior. Co-founder Christopher Olah attended the May launch of Pope Leo XIV’s encyclical “Magnifica Humanitas” and privately lobbied Vatican advisers to take machine consciousness seriously after reading an advance draft that rejected the idea. The encyclical states that AI systems “do not undergo experiences, do not possess a body, do not feel joy or pain.” This week the Pope reinforced that position, saying algorithms “lack the spark of humanity” and stressing an ontological difference between human creativity and machine-generated content.
US AI takes over McDonald’s prices: A Reuters report revealed that McDonald’s is increasingly using artificial intelligence to guide menu prices at its restaurants across the US and some international markets. The system analyzes millions of daily transactions to estimate how much customers at each location are willing to pay and recommends “optimal” prices for individual items. While the company said franchisees remain free to set their own prices, some store owners report pressure to follow the AI recommendations, and the tool has widened price differences even between nearby restaurants. The approach aims to boost corporate profits but has raised concerns about customer backlash and potential antitrust scrutiny.
US “Dots” launch: OpenAI has launched “dots,” a new type of always-on AI agent that can independently pursue user goals across apps such as Slack and Microsoft Teams. Powered by its GPT-6 Astra model, the agents are designed for enterprise use and can handle tasks like updating proposals, researching data and building software with limited supervision. The move deepens OpenAI’s push into autonomous AI and puts it in direct competition with Meta’s Muse agent. The company emphasized safety features requiring explicit consent for sensitive actions, amid ongoing concerns over previous rogue agent incidents.
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