ISRAEL - The fast-food chain is under fire for sending food to the Israel Defense Forces amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. McDonald's is facing a potential boycott after word got out that the multinational fast-food chain supplied free food to soldiers in the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF). Newsweek is reporting that McDonald's began supplying Big Macs and French fries to the soldiers shortly after they began their attacks on Hamas. And users on Twitter are quickly calling for a mass boycott.

USA - Researchers have created the largest atlas of human brain cells so far, revealing more than 3,000 cell types — many of which are new to science. The work, published in a package of 21 papers today in Science, Science Advances and Science Translational Medicine, will aid the study of diseases, cognition and what makes us human, among other things, say the authors. The enormous cell atlas offers a detailed snapshot of the most complex known organ. “It’s highly significant,” says Anthony Hannan, a neuroscientist at the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health in Melbourne, Australia. Researchers have previously mapped the human brain using techniques such as magnetic resonance imaging, but this is the first atlas of the whole human brain at the single-cell level, showing its intricate molecular interactions, adds Hannan. “These types of atlases really are laying the groundwork for a much better understanding of the human brain.”

IRAN - Iran reportedly sent a message to Israel on Saturday stating that the nation does not have an interest in further escalation in the war currently being waged by Israel against Hamas after an October 7 massacre by Hamas, and that intervention will be necessary should it continue. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian told United Nations envoy to the Middle East Tor Wennesland at a meeting in Beirut, Lebanon on Saturday that while the nation does not want to see the ongoing Hamas-Israel war escalate further, the Islamic Republic very well may take action, especially if Israel launches a ground offensive in Gaza, according to sources.

USA - “If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the State of Israel,” Senator Lindsey Graham said. Senator Lindsey Graham (Republican for South Carolina) threatened Iran on Sunday, calling the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah “a proxy of Iran” and warning that Iran would face consequences should Hezbollah escalate the tense situation along Israel’s northern border. “If Hezbollah, which is a proxy of Iran, launches a massive attack on Israel, I would consider that a threat to the State of Israel, existential in nature,” Graham said Sunday during an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press".

PAKISTAN - The leader of Pakistan’s largest religious political party, Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam (JUIF), pledged its financial support to Hamas and vowed to join the Palestinian militant group “on the frontlines” in the fight against Israel during a massive rally in the city of Peshawar on Saturday, local media reported. “If the Islamic countries allow us passage, we are ready to join the fight on the frontlines,” JUIF head Maulana Fazlur Rehman told the crowd at the Mufti Mahmoud Conference. He revealed that Hamas had requested financial assistance and said he had promised that the party would provide it.

CHINA - China has responded to a recent US report that raises the possibility of simultaneous wars between America, Moscow, and Beijing. Knewz.com has learned that in its response, a state-aligned publication of the Asian nuclear superpower cautioned Washington, saying that "those who play with fire will perish by it." This warning comes in response to a 145-page report released by the Congressional Commission on the Strategic Posture of the United States, which states that the US is ill-prepared to face the growing nuclear threat posed by Russia and China. "It is an existential challenge for which the United States is ill-prepared, unless its leaders make decisions now," the report notes.

USA - If you are going to go out, you might as well do it with a bang. At the beginning of June, our national debt was sitting at $31,467,639,287,894.39. Today, it has risen to $33,442,148,619,617.43. That means that we have added almost two trillion dollars to the national debt in just three months. It is the largest single debt in the entire history of our planet, and it will never be paid off. Our debt spiral has reached a terminal phase, and all we can do now is prolong the agony. If we keep taking on more debt at an exponential rate, we may be able to extend our seemingly endless party for a little while longer. As for the bright future that our children and grandchildren were supposed to have, we destroyed that a long time ago, and so it doesn’t really matter what we do now. What our politicians are doing to us is truly a crime against humanity. This is not going to end well, and that should be obvious to everyone.

LEBANON - As the escalating conflict between Israel and Hamas continues to play out, Hezbollah has been making its presence felt. One of Hezbollah’s leaders said during a recent speech that the organization rejects calls from other nations to stand down and refrain from entering the conflict. Foreign powers have urged Hezbollah to stay put on the sidelines - but deputy chief Naim Qassem vowed to join "when the time comes for action". He told supporters gathered in the southern Beirut suburb: "The behind-the-scenes calls with us by great powers, Arab countries, envoys of the United Nations, directly and indirectly telling us not to interfere will have no effect. Hezbollah knows its duties perfectly well. We are prepared and ready, fully ready, and are following developments moment by moment."

SAUDI ARABIA - Saudi Arabia has suspended plans to normalize relations with Israel amid the latter’s ongoing war with Palestinian Hamas militants, Reuters reported on Friday. Backed by the US, the deal would have been a diplomatic coup for Washington and a strategic blow to Iran. Prior to Hamas’ surprise attack on Israel on Saturday, Saudi Arabia and Israel were drawing close to a deal that would have seen the Sunni kingdom recognize the Jewish state, with Saudi Arabia gaining a defense pact with the US and more advanced American weapons in exchange, although the White House stressed that the precise terms had yet to be worked out. With Israeli warplanes continually bombing Gaza since Saturday and an invasion of the Palestinian enclave reportedly imminent, Saudi officials paused the deal to avoid setting off a wave of anger across the Muslim world,

RUSSIA - The Middle East is on the verge of a major war, Russia’s permanent representative to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, has warned, commenting on the recent flare-up of hostilities between Israel and Hamas. The diplomat also condemned the “terrifying” level of violence witnessed in the region of late and called for an immediate ceasefire.

USA - The boss of JP Morgan has warned that the world faces its 'most dangerous time' in decades. Jamie Dimon sounded the alarm over the combination of a fragile global economy with war in Ukraine and the Middle East. Speaking as the bank reported a 35 per cent rise in profits, the Wall Street banker said: 'We still do not know the longer-term consequences of quantitative tightening, which reduces liquidity in the system at a time when market-making capabilities are increasingly limited by regulations. Furthermore, the war in Ukraine, compounded by last week's attacks on Israel, may have far-reaching impacts on energy and food markets, global trade, and geopolitical relationships. This may be the most dangerous time the world has seen in decades.'

ISRAEL - "The people of Israel have been — I don't know if sacrificed is too rough of a word — but we have been sold out." Israeli journalist, Efrat Fenigson, who served in Israel's intelligence forces, raises serious doubts about the government's "surprise attack" narrative. "No military involvement, no police, no arms on the ground for hours and hours. This is something that is non-typical and unusual for Israel defence forces." "The fact that the border was breached in 15 places is completely ridiculous because normally with one breach of the fence, the whole army is triggered and things start moving immediately. Things start moving immediately and here there was nothing for hours."

ISRAEL - Have you noticed that Israel is the only country in the world that gets blamed for being attacked? And that there are people who loathe it so much that they are actually prepared to defend or excuse the deliberate mass murder of civilians, including old women and tiny children? There is something deeply wrong with the Western world's view of Israel, and this is not confined to absurd, marginal figures such as Jeremy Corbyn, wandering in the dense jungles of Trotskyism. It is far deeper and broader.

USA - Troubles are coming to the world economy — not as single spies, but as battalions. They are doing so on multiple fronts, in the United States, China and Europe. Coupled with renewed geopolitical strains in the Middle East, those troubles heighten the chances of a full-blown world economic and financial market crisis by the middle of next year. Among the greatest threats to the US and world economic recoveries is the recent spike in US Treasury bond yields, the key interest rate in the world economy. In the short space of two months, the 10-year Treasury bond yield spiked from less than 4 percent to over 4 ¾ percent — a 16-year high.

USA - “Because of the Ukraine war we don’t have the surplus of military supplies that we used to, and we haven’t really ramped up production,” said Gulf Bank and Trust President Guy Williams. “So, in effect, we have two wars going on at once where we’re trying to support people.” That’s because the US is one of Israel’s main allies, and the country was shocked by a large-scale surprise attack from Hamas this weekend. So far, the death toll has far exceeded the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks here in the states, Williams told WWL’s Newell Normand.