TURKEY - The Turkish president suggested in a speech at a pro-Palestine rally this afternoon that Turkey can "come at any night unexpectedly". Turkey's president appears to have threatened to intervene in Gaza in an impassioned speech at a pro-Palestine rally this evening. Recep Tayyip Erdogan delivered a speech to a rally this afternoon in which he told attendees Israel was responsible for war crimes, and framed Hamas as "freedom fighters". In comments that have prompted Israeli outcry, and led the country to withdraw its diplomatic presence, president Erdogan suggested assaults on Gaza constituted a "massacre".

TURKEY - For the first time in Turkey’s history, a fleet of 100 warships is on the move in the Bosphorus Strait, a spectacle that not only demonstrates Turkey’s growing military might but also its technological prowess. This is not merely a show of force but a testament to Turkey’s focus on enhancing its scientific and technical capabilities. The sight of 100 warships moving in unison is a powerful image and an embodiment of Turkey’s evolving capabilities. A result of advancements in Turkey’s shipbuilding industry, these warships represent a level of energy, talent, and ability that has not been seen before in any Turkish fleet. It is a spectacle of power and precision that reflects the progress Turkey has made. This event signifies more than just Turkey’s naval capabilities. It is a statement about Turkey’s rise as a regional power. With its growing influence in the Middle East and its expanding military prowess, Turkey is asserting itself on the world stage.

MIDDLE EAST - Now we are going to find out who was bluffing and who was not bluffing. Israeli troops have gone into Gaza, and we are being told that this is a war that could last for months. Of course it could easily last a lot longer than that. If the stated goal is to eliminate Hamas, that certainly won’t be easy. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is calling this a second war of independence, and he just told the world that “Never Again is now” …So Israel was clearly not bluffing.

USA - Joe Biden came to office declaring America is back. Now, facing hot wars in the Middle East and Ukraine and a simmering cold one with China, the US is beginning to look overextended. The US defense industry — Biden’s “arsenal of democracy” — is struggling to produce enough artillery shells to ensure Ukraine can keep firing them at Russian forces. The Pentagon is bombing targets in Syria as it rushes air defenses to the region to protect troops in case Israel’s war against Hamas prompts new attacks by enemies.

ISRAEL - The imagery is enticing, the rhythm and rhyme are propulsive. “From the river to the sea,” runs the popular slogan, “Palestine will be free!” [What the author seems unaware of, is that knowingly or otherwise, the above slogan is a perversion of the biblical promise in Joshua 1:2-4]:

EUROPE - EU militarisation stepped up a notch as European troops completed what is likely just the first of many live exercises as one joint EU fighting unit off the coast of Cadiz in southern Spain. 2,800 military personnel from 19 member states took part in the exercise.

UK - All this was on a 43-minute ­compilation of footage — from CCTV, from Hamas body­cams, first-responder cameras, and so on. It was shown a few days ago, by the Israeli government, to dozens of experienced international journalists, and it was by no means the most horrific episode. They saw a young girl — maybe seven years old — being chased under a desk, and then shot at point-blank range. They saw people being tortured, burned, beheaded. Members of the audience were seen to retch involuntarily, to weep and to beg ‘Make it stop’.

ISRAEL - The relentless bombardment came as Israeli defence chiefs confirmed IDF troops were 'expanding operations' across the enclave, in a move military experts say signalled the impending full-scale ground invasion of the territory. Ahead of the onslaught, Palestinian civilians were warned by the IDF to flee to the south of Gaza, before missiles then slammed into the Hamas-controlled region, razing buildings to the ground and bathing the skyline in an apocalyptic orange glow, as fire raged.

AFRICA - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz this weekend makes his third visit to sub-Saharan Africa in two years, as conflicts elsewhere highlight the growing importance of an energy-rich region in which Berlin has traditionally had little involvement. He will visit major energy producer Nigeria, as well as Ghana, with migration flows and instability in West Africa also on his agenda. Much of the impetus for the trip has come from the realization that Germany - and Europe - need Africa more than it thought, said Greens legislator Anton Hofreiter. "People realized we needed allies against Russia's invasion of Ukraine," he said. "And suddenly we noticed they weren't necessarily on our side... That was a rude awakening." The war between Israel and Hamas has leant new urgency in particular to the energy aspect of the trip.

USA - Newly-minted House Speaker Mike Johnson (Republican for Louisiana) told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Thursday that the entirety of his worldview could be found if one would simply “go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it.” Johnson, who received unanimous Republican support after three weeks of chaos — and three other nominees for the position — was elected on Wednesday to replace ousted House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (Republican for California) and spoke with Hannity about getting back to business in the House of Representatives. “I said, ‘Well, go pick up a Bible off your shelf and read it – that’s my worldview.’ That’s what I believe and so I make no apologies for it,” he said. Johnson took his Bible with him to deliver his first speech as House Speaker — where he told every other member of Congress that he believed they were all called by God to use their gifts to the best of their ability to serve the American people.

USA - Some big Wall Street banks are expecting next week’s refunding announcement by the Treasury to reflect the government’s large and ongoing borrowing needs. JPMorgan Chase and Deutsche Bank, estimate that Treasury will need to borrow roughly $1.5 trillion during the current fourth quarter and first quarter of 2024 — on top of the $1 trillion estimated borrowing that took place in the third quarter. Meanwhile, JPMorgan anticipates that Treasury will announce $800 billion in net marketable borrowing for the October-December period, and $698 billion for January-March of 2024, according to strategist Jay Barry and others.

ISRAEL - Israel’s military conducted a preliminary incursion into Gaza on Thursday with tanks, the largest raid since declaring war on the Hamas terrorist organization that invaded Israel on October 7, The Wall Street Journal reported. The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) conducted a “limited raid” into Gaza on Thursday, Israeli military spokesperson Daniel Hagari said, amid intense domestic pressure to proceed with the pledged ground invasion aimed at eliminating Hamas entirely and rescuing hostages in Hamas captivity, according to the WSJ. IDF tanks and personnel destroyed obstacles in preparation for “the next stages of fighting,” Hagari said. No Israeli soldiers were injured during the raid, Hagari said, according to the WSJ.

SWITZERLAND - "What do we need so many humans for?" Leading advisor to the WEF, Yuval Noah Harari, "predicts" that rapid advances in computing technology will "make humans redundant", creating a "massive class of useless people" who will need to be kept "happy" with "drugs and computer games". "Now, we see the creation of a new massive class of useless people. As computers become better and better in more and more fields, there is a distinct possibility that computers will outperform us in most tasks, and will make humans redundant. And then the big political and economic question of the 21st century will be, what do we need humans for? Or at least, what do we need so many humans for?"

AUSTRALIA - "The plan of the Great Reset is that you will die with nothing." Australian senator, Malcolm Roberts, dropping serious truth bombs about Klaus Schwab's World Economic Forum — and its dystopian Great Reset agenda — in the Australian parliament. "Klaus Schwab's 'life by subscription' is really serfdom. It's slavery. Billionaire, globalist corporations will own everything — homes, factories, farms, cars, furniture — and everyday citizens will rent what they need, if their social credit score allows."

USA - This girl socially transitioned at 13, got puberty blockers at 14, testosterone at 15, and would have had a double mastectomy at 16 if Covid hadn't hit. She detransitioned at 17. Now she lives with this permanent damage. “I have to live the rest of my life with a man's voice, acne scars, joint pain, severe cramps, hot flashes, sore ribs, and shave my face once a week, because when I was fifteen I would have rather died than be a woman. I may never be able to have a baby because of a stupid mistake I made when I was fifteen. I don't know how to ever trust a therapist or doctor again. This is my life forever.”