EGYPT - Egypt has pledged to support Saudi Arabia in its escalating conflict with Yemen’s Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, the country’s top security body has announced. Riyadh has been pressing allies for assistance following Houthi attacks on Saudi airports and oil facilities in retaliation for its military operations in Yemen. The group has demanded that Saudi Arabia lift its blockade of Yemeni airports and ports, describing its approach as “an eye for an eye.” Egypt’s National Defense Council, chaired by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, announced the decision on Sunday, a day after he sought parliamentary authorization to deploy troops and military equipment abroad. The council pledged “all possible forms of support” to help Saudi Arabia defend its security but did not specify what assistance Egypt would provide.

RUSSIA - Moscow’s diesel agreement with Washington marks a diplomatic success, but offers no guarantee of a Ukraine peace deal. The diesel deal between Moscow and Washington has once again shaken up the geopolitical chessboard, with each passing day bringing fresh and unexpected developments. Most striking is Kiev’s behavior. Despite his enormous dependence on Washington, Vladimir Zelensky has decided to challenge Donald Trump directly, adopting an unusually confrontational approach. A more pragmatic politician might have announced a moratorium on strikes against Russian oil refineries until the US congressional elections, particularly as Washington had demanded no further concessions. Instead, Zelensky has chosen confrontation, creating a diplomatic crisis of his own making, but whether it develops into something more serious remains to be seen.

USA - Imagine spending more than a century convincing the entire world that a shiny little rock is worth thousands of dollars, only to have China trot in and figure out how to make the exact same thing in a factory for a fraction of the price. Well, that’s pretty much what’s happening to the moguls over at De Beers, the legendary diamond company that used clever propaganda that convinced generations of Americans that true love should come with a gigantic price tag.

MIDDLE EAST - The letter from the son whose father was absent fighting a war started off normally enough: “Dear Dad, I miss you so much and I wish I could hug you and see you victorious.” But then, the missive from 10-year-old Ibrahim Sinwar to his Hamas leader father Yahya quickly took a dark, frightening turn: “I wish I could grow up, hold the Kalashnikov and shoot the Jews.” Shocking. But also not. In the two decades Hamas has run Gaza, both Israelis and humanitarians inside the Palestinian territory have been warning about the increased radicalisation of Gaza’s children. This starts in schools, shockingly often financed with money from British taxpayers: Arabic lessons which bring in the words “explosive belts” worn by suicide bombers, comprehension with texts about slashing the throats of Jews, Islamic classes in which self-sacrifice and martyrdom are encouraged.

FRANCE - France is bracing for a fresh sell-off in government debt after a wave of violent protests erupted across the country. Bond yields in France are expected to rise on Monday morning in response to the clashes, as economists fear the country increasingly appears “ungovernable”. Higher borrowing costs will pile more strain on the country’s troubled public finances, while also stoking fears that the violence will lead to a more populist, free-spending candidate coming to power. Andrew Kenningham, of Capital Economics, said yields on French government bonds could surge by as much as 0.1 percentage points on Monday, taking rates back to their highest level in decades. Mr Kenningham said: “It underlines how difficult it is to implement any reforms in France, that sense that France is ungovernable.” More than 1,800 people have been arrested after nationwide protests descended into chaos, with cars set on fire, shops and restaurants looted and the city hall in Limoges largely destroyed in a blaze.

UK - Two decades after its first gay ceremony, The Archers will feature its first lesbian wedding. Millions are expected to tune in to BBC Radio 4’s radio drama – the world’s longest-running soap – to hear Pip Archer, played by Daisy Badger, and Stella Pryor, played by Lucy Speed, marry on Sunday. The Archers featured its first gay ceremony in 2006 when Adam Macy, played by Andrew Wincott, and Ian Craig, played by Stephen Kennedy, entered into a civil partnership a year after they became legal in Britain. More than a quarter of a million extra listeners tuned in for that ceremony, which was the culmination of a two-year romance that took off in the middle of a strawberry field in April 2004.

UK - The funniest thing I’ve ever heard is that the kids are rioting in Paris because of “educational inequality”. I was taught in classes of 30 in wooden huts so cold you could see your breath in winter, but it never occurred to me to burn down the town hall. This isn’t a “legitimate expression of rage”, it is a pathology, evidence that the whole of Europe – not just France – has a cancer, of which violence and decay are merely the symptoms. Our tumour is bad philosophy. It has been growing for years.

FRANCE - The same alliance that is doing it in France will also bring rioting, looting and civil unrest to the United States as well. It is known as “the Red/Green alliance”, and their shared goal is “revolution” all over the western world. Right now we are witnessing an unprecedented tactical convergence between far-left/Marxist movements (“red”) and radical Islamist groups (“green”), and this should deeply alarm all of us. Ultimately, the long-term goals of far-left organizations are much different from the long-term goals of the radical Islamists. But they both deeply hate the same people, and they both want to see the established order overthrown. So for now they are allies of convenience, and they are not afraid to use violence to achieve what they want.

FRANCE - President Macron has vowed to crack down on violence in France while Donald Trump claimed 'immigrants with hatred in their hearts' had made the country ungovernable. The French President made an impassioned plea 'for unity' following a weekend of chaos involving up to 500,000 protesters. In a live TV address on Sunday night, he said: 'Businesses have been looted, while public buildings, shops, and town halls have been attacked. 'Looking at these images, we have all asked ourselves how French people could do this to France.'

FRANCE - France is seeing its worst riots in decades — violence clearly aimed not simply at the ruling party, but at France itself — and the left-liberal establishment is still trying to blame a few bad apples. That’s true not just of President Emmanuel Macron, but of global media that claim it’s mainly about student grievances over budget cuts — at least one BBC article actually used the phrase “mostly peaceful protests.”

FRANCE - The French are revolting. It’s a tradition with them. Riots are as French as croissants, adultery and the 35-hour work week. France’s current riots may, however, presage the fall of the Fifth Republic. Mobs of students in the streets. Schools going up in flames. Police using tear gas and flash-ball guns. Hundreds of injuries and thousands of arrests. The spark for the disorder was strikes by left-wing teachers and other public-sector workers, including firemen. The students besieged their schools at once.

EUROPE - Elsewhere in Europe, copycat protests also took hold on the streets of Italy and Belgium. A rally against the cost of living took place in Milan, Italy, which saw numerous clashes with police. Italian police fired tear gas at Italian protesters in the square in front of Milan's Gothic cathedral, after rioters allegedly threw stones at officers, France 24 reported. Protesters in Milan also gathered in the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II - a luxury shopping centre. Shop owners put down their shutters and tourists appeared to flee the central area as the clashes turned violent, with the central Duomo metro station being temporarily closed. Several people were reported to be injured and a number of arrests were made, according to Italian media. Meanwhile, in Brussels, demonstrators were seen standing on an overturned car during a students' protest in Belgium, inspired by the demonstrations in France.

ALBANIA - Thousands of young Albanians gathered outside the Education Ministry in ​the center of the capital Tirana on Saturday on the fifth day of a growing student-led movement ‌to force Prime Minister Edi Rama to resign. The protest turned violent when a group of young people wearing masks hurled rocks at riot police, who responded with stun grenades, tear gas and a water cannon. Demonstrations over corruption and a lack ​of jobs have begun spreading throughout Albania. In Tirana this week, protesters smashed windows, set alight ​government buildings and clashed with police.

USA - 17th October: US President Donald Trump has declined to endorse Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bid for reelection, even as the campaign for the upcoming Knesset elections intensifies. In a Thursday interview with Newsmax, Trump acknowledged pressure to take a public stance but stopped short of any commitment.

USA - 19th October: Axios points out, "This is the first time in the history of the US–Israel relations that a US president explicitly and publicly endorsed a candidate in the Israeli elections."