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© Sky NewsMigrants in Dunkirk, France, preparing to cross the English Channel
Shabana Mahmood is hosting counterparts from the Western Balkans and other European allies in London, and will demand greater international co-operation to tackle small boat crossings.
The summit is designed to ensure nations on the continent strike new deals to tackle illegal migration, following Britain's "one in, one out" agreement with France signed earlier this year.
Calling for a "joined-up" response to the challenge, Ms Mahmood will say "coming together as we are today [...] will make all of our borders and our countries stronger".
© Steve Prezant / Getty Images
According to a new guide released on Monday by MI5's National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), the UK has been the target of "long-term strategic foreign interference and espionage" from Russia, China, and Iran.
The document warns that hostile actors could use seemingly ordinary interactions and casual conversations for information gathering, recruitment, or blackmail. It advises politicians to remain alert, trust their instincts, and, "if something doesn't feel right," report to their security teams.
© Strategic Culture Foundation
The so-called "Roadmap on European Defense Readiness 2030" sounds like a war manifesto and a self-fulfilling prophecy, putting the EU on a disastrous collision course with Russia.
It is incredible that such an ominous direction is being blatantly dictated by an unaccountable elite in Brussels. Eighty-five years ago, the Third Reich had a plan to rule over Europe by dominating the Soviet Union. The EU elite are carrying on the plan.
As for the "defense readiness" (that is, "war readiness") roadmap, the future is already here, not in five years. The EU is presently on a disastrous collision course with Russia.
Like the United States, the European Union has been at war with Russia through its proxy regime in Ukraine since February 2022, and before that, going back to the 2014 coup in Kiev.
Over the past four years, the EU has supplied nearly €180 billion of taxpayer money to weaponize a NeoNazi regime in Kiev. As we noted in last week's editorial, that vast allocation (and waste) of resources is far greater than the EU's own member nations have received for developing their economies and societies. When has the European public had a chance to vote on that? Decisions are being made by an elite cabal.
Unlike the Trump administration, the European Union under the influence of arch-Russophobes like European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and foreign affairs chief Kaja Kallas, has shown absolutely no will for finding a diplomatic resolution to the conflict in Ukraine. With honorable exceptions, most of the European governments are pushing the war hysteria. So, too, are the European media, as are the American mainstream media. Russia is the evil aggressor, no diplomacy, no dialogue with Moscow, no surrender, and so on. It's war-on-autopilot.
Under pressure from Washington, the Netherlands expropriated Nexperia. By disregarding property rights, Europe is undermining its credibility and attractiveness.
What just happened in the Netherlands should alarm anyone who still believes Europe is a safe, rules-based place to do business.
Under a dusty 1952 wartime statute — the Goods Availability Act — the Dutch government has effectively seized control of Nexperia, one of Europe's few thriving semiconductor firms. The company's Chinese CEO was suspended, its shares placed under a government-appointed trustee, and a "temporary" director given decisive voting power. The official justification: vague allegations of governance failures. The real trigger, however, appears to have been American pressure.
According to court filings, Washington privately warned The Hague in June that unless it removed Nexperia's Chinese leadership, both the firm and its parent, Wingtech Technology, would be added to the U.S. Entity List — an economic death sentence that would cut them off from global suppliers. The Dutch responded by invoking a Cold War-era emergency law to justify what amounts to expropriation.
A Geopolitical Trap
The irony is breathtaking. In trying to shield its chip sector from geopolitical risk, the Netherlands has just created one. Beijing swiftly retaliated by banning Nexperia from Chinese supply chains — commercially equivalent to a death warrant for a chipmaker. Europe now finds itself squeezed between two economic superpowers: Washington's sanctions on one side, Beijing's countermeasures on the other. Heads you lose, tails you lose.
This is more than one company's tragedy — it is a self-inflicted wound to Europe's credibility. Nexperia employs more than 10,000 people in Europe and produces over 100 billion chips annually. It is headquartered in the Netherlands, pays European taxes, and complies with European law. Yet the Dutch government decided that its Chinese ownership — legally approved years ago — made it expendable.
© Forum Geopolitica
Under a dusty 1952 wartime statute — the Goods Availability Act — the Dutch government has effectively seized control of Nexperia, one of Europe's few thriving semiconductor firms. The company's Chinese CEO was suspended, its shares placed under a government-appointed trustee, and a "temporary" director given decisive voting power. The official justification: vague allegations of governance failures. The real trigger, however, appears to have been American pressure.
According to court filings, Washington privately warned The Hague in June that unless it removed Nexperia's Chinese leadership, both the firm and its parent, Wingtech Technology, would be added to the U.S. Entity List — an economic death sentence that would cut them off from global suppliers. The Dutch responded by invoking a Cold War-era emergency law to justify what amounts to expropriation.
A Geopolitical Trap
The irony is breathtaking. In trying to shield its chip sector from geopolitical risk, the Netherlands has just created one. Beijing swiftly retaliated by banning Nexperia from Chinese supply chains — commercially equivalent to a death warrant for a chipmaker. Europe now finds itself squeezed between two economic superpowers: Washington's sanctions on one side, Beijing's countermeasures on the other. Heads you lose, tails you lose.
This is more than one company's tragedy — it is a self-inflicted wound to Europe's credibility. Nexperia employs more than 10,000 people in Europe and produces over 100 billion chips annually. It is headquartered in the Netherlands, pays European taxes, and complies with European law. Yet the Dutch government decided that its Chinese ownership — legally approved years ago — made it expendable.
© Boring CompanyElon Musk's Boring Company
Trump's latest threat to supply Ukraine with Tomahawk missiles may have been a key driver prompting Moscow's sudden willingness to engage in talks at the highest level. While full details of the call remain undisclosed, the tone shift signals possible upcoming breakthroughs in negotiations to end the three-year war in Eastern Europe, which has resulted in some casualty figures on both sides at 1.4 million, according to a recent New York Times report, citing U.S. and British government estimates, among other sources.
What comes out of Budapest remains to be seen. But already, Russian sovereign wealth fund head Kirill Dmitriev is posting on X about Elon Musk's Boring Company potentially building a 70-mile undersea rail tunnel linking Russia and Alaska through the Bering Strait - a proposed $65 billion megaproject.
Comment: One can only hope.
Comment: OMG, The Walrus is goin' to jail!
Just kidding. This indictment will generate a few headlines, but then it'll 'go away'...
© AP/Carolyn KosterFormer national security advisor John Bolton
The 18-count indictment also suggests classified information was exposed when operatives believed to be linked to the Iranian regime hacked Bolton's email account and gained access to sensitive material he had shared. A Bolton representative told the FBI in 2021 that his emails had been hacked, prosecutors say, but did not reveal he had shared classified information through the account or that the hackers now had possession of government secrets.
The indictment sets the stage for a closely watched court case centering on a longtime fixture in Republican foreign policy circles who became known for his hawkish views on American power and who served for more than a year in Trump's first administration before being fired in 2019 and publishing a scathingly critical book about the president.
Comment: So is Bolton a (oh-so-satisfying) sacrificial lamb, or will he be the first of many? Keep the popcorn warm. . . .
In any case, prison's almost too good for this neocon warmonger:
© Steve Sacks/StarTribune (détail)
© WikimediaAIPAC logo
"You may have heard our name, but how much do you really know about AIPAC?," the commercial asks.
"Funded by Americans. Directed by Americans. Strengthening an alliance that benefits America!," declares a tweet promoting the ad.
AIPAC generally portrays itself as an omnipotent force able to stomp out any political campaign that dares to stray from the party line, but this ad clearly shows they are suddenly on the defensive.
Comment: It is more than being 'on the defensive'. AIPAC buys its power and votes utilizing American resources to secure Israel's bidding - a go-between with agenda.
© Evelyn Hockstein/Reuters/FileUS President Donald Trump during a cabinet meeting • White House • October 9, 2025
In a post on Truth Social, Trump declared the United States "will NOT stand for this Global Green New Scam Tax on Shipping, and will not adhere to it in any way, shape, or form." The president characterized the measure as a threat to American consumers and called on member states to "vote NO in London."
This week's IMO extraordinary session will decide on the adoption of the Net-Zero Framework — a carbon-pricing regime targeting the international shipping sector. The package combines a tightening marine fuel-intensity standard with a priced compliance mechanism that would channel revenues into an IMO Net-Zero Fund for low-carbon rewards, infrastructure, and transition support.
Comment: The text of the following statement was released by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick, Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, and Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy:
President Trump has made it clear that the United States will not accept any international environmental agreement that unduly or unfairly burdens the United States or harms the interests of the American people. This October, members of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) are poised to consider the adoption of a so-called "Net-Zero Framework," aimed at reducing global greenhouse gas emissions from the international shipping sector.Money Scam is the goal. Carbon dioxide is the excuse to collect it.
Whatever its stated goals, the proposed framework is effectively a global carbon tax on Americans levied by an unaccountable UN organization. These fuel standards would conveniently benefit China by requiring the use of expensive fuels unavailable at global scale. These standards would also preclude the use of proven technologies that fuel global shipping fleets, including lower emissions options where U.S. industry leads such as liquified natural gas (LNG) and biofuels. Under this framework, ships will have to pay fees for failing to meet unattainable fuel standards and emissions targets. These fees will drive up energy and transportation and leisure cruise costs. Even small vessels would incur millions of dollars in fees, directly driving up costs for American consumers.
The Trump Administration unequivocally rejects this proposal before the IMO and will not tolerate any action that increases costs for our citizens, energy providers, shipping companies and their customers, or tourists. We will fight hard to protect the American people and their economic interests. Our fellow IMO members should be on notice that we will look for their support against this action and not hesitate to retaliate or explore remedies for our citizens should this endeavor fail.
© APMarwan Barghouti serving five life sentences in Israeli prisons since 2002 on charges related to the Second Intifada
Palestine's most popular leader, Marwan Barghouti, was beaten unconscious by Israeli prison guards and his family fears for his life, his son has said, citing evidence given by former Palestinian detainees released this week as part of the ceasefire deal.
Arab Barghouti said his 66-year-old father was assaulted by eight guards on 14 September as he was being transferred between Ganot and Megiddo prisons.
Comment: Sum total of Israeli inhumanity is on display in its treatment of Barghouti.
Comment: The use of "honeypots" is nothing new in the espionage world: