🇮🇷⚔️🇮🇱 Urgent 🚨 Sirens sound in Tel Aviv city.

🔴 @DDGeopolitics

😳 China test-fires intercontinental ballistic missile into Pacific Ocean - first known test since 1980

The ICBM carried a dummy warhead and fell into a designated area of the sea Wednesday, the Defense Ministry said in a statement posted to social media.

The launch by the PLA’s Rocket Force was part of routine annual training, complied with international law and was not directed against any country or target, according to the statement.

@RiseGS

❌ Hezbollah ‘fires first ballistic missile’ at Tel Aviv

Hezbollah said it had fired a ballistic missile towards Tel Aviv on Wednesday morning, the first time it has claimed such a strike in its nearly year-long battle with Israel.

The group said it had targeted Israeli spy agency Mossad’s headquarters, who it said was responsible for assassinating its leaders and blowing up its pagers and walkie-talkies.

Israel’s military said it was the “first time ever” that a missile fired by Hezbollah had reached the Tel Aviv area before it was intercepted by its air defences. It reported no injuries from the attack.

@RiseGS

🇬🇧 British Army Sends Troops to Cyprus as UK Nationals Told to Leave Lebanon ‘Immediately’

The deployment of 700 troops comes as the situation in the Middle East deteriorates.

Brits have been told to ‘leave immediately’ by the UK govt - as potential commercial escape routes get cut off on a daily basis.

The RAF has planes and transport helicopters on standby to provide support if necessary.

@RiseGS

⚠️ JUST IN: Israeli Airstrike in Northern Beirut Kills Three - Lebanese Health Ministry

Three people were killed and nine others injured in an Israeli strike on the Lebanese Shi’ite town of Maaysrah in the Christian-majority Keserwan region.

The village is north of Beirut and it was the first time the area was struck in intensified hostilities.

@RiseGS

Which US companies are Harris and Trump's biggest donors and what's behind their choice? Part 1 👉 Part 2

A recent chart by financial tech startup Quiver Quantitative has unveiled a breakdown of donations from major US companies to presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump.

In August alone, Harris raised $361 million versus $130 million for Trump. Harris has also outspent her rival: the New York Times said that she spent 20 times more on Meta platforms and twice as much on YouTube than Trump in September.

Who’s backing Harris?

▪️Tech giants: Google, Oracle, Nvidia, Apple, Facebook, Broadcom and Amazon threw their weight behind the Democratic nominee. Google disbursed a whopping $1.4 million for Harris. Despite Microsoft donating to both campaigns, its support to Kamala is 17 times bigger than what it sent to Trump. While urbanized Silicon Valley professionals tend to support the Democrats, some of them might also expect Harris to stick to Joe Biden's Chips Act policy envisaging subsidies to US tech giants in a bid to outperform China.

▪️Wall Street is "with her": Wall Street tycoons, including George Soros' son Alex and BlackRock co-founder Ralph Schlosstein, rushed to endorse Harris immediately after she announced her bid. JP Morgan sided with Harris, while Wells Fargo and Morgan Stanley put their eggs in both baskets but favored Kamala.

▪️Hollywood: Hollywood tends to back the Democrats, with Netflix and Disney upholding the trend again with $125,961 and $91,402 donations to the Harris campaign. Hollywood stars are frequently employed by Democrats for political events and actions, and many rely on them heavily for soliciting donations during fundraiser gatherings.

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👽 Canada Releases Image of Object Shot Down Over Yukon in 2023

The low-resolution, grainy image shows a doughnut-like shape with an open center and a notch or gap in its circumference.

The UFO was shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023 and the image been obtained by CTV News following a freedom of information request.

Heavily redacted documents show how the image was approved for public distribution within days of the headline-grabbing incident, but then held back after a public affairs official expressed concerns that releasing it "may create more questions/confusion."

@RiseGS

⚡ BREAKING: IDF calls up two reserve brigades for operational missions in northen Israel

‘The Israeli Army is ready for ground maneuvers as conflict enters new phase,’ the IDF’s Northern Command chief said Wednesday. (Maariv)

A declaration of war?

@RiseGS

💬 Erdogan: ‘Hamas is a resistance group that endeavors to protect its territory’

“We are against terrorists. I am one of the leaders who knows Hamas well.

I have never called Hamas a terrorist organisation. I do not look at Hamas as a terrorist organisation,” Erdogan noted to NBC.

@RiseGS

🤡 NEW: Biden “disinvites” Georgian PM Irakli Kobakhidze to UN reception - over "anti-democratic actions, critical rhetoric” toward US and the West (Reuters)

Talk about a hissy fit. 😂

@RiseGS

🇺🇳🇺🇸 Joe’s greatest hits at the UN

… of course he got lost on stage.

➡️ Join us! | @MyLordBebo

❌ Israeli media calls for all of Lebanon - every single village - to be destroyed by the IDF…

Perfectly normal behaviour for the “rules-based” West.

@RiseGS

🤮 Ireland scraps controversial hate speech laws attacked by Elon Musk

The Irish govt has shelved contentious provisions in its hate crimes bill after accusations they would have a chilling effect on free speech and an Irish senate revolt over the definition of gender.

Critics had suggested legislation could have been used to jail opponents of transgender women using female changing rooms or toilets.

Helen McEntee, the Irish justice minister, had previously blamed “deliberate misinformation and distortion, including from fringe commentators and US-based social media personalities,” for the controversy.

@RiseGS

👨‍💻 BREAKING: Hacking Campaign - Linked to Beijing - Targets US Internet Providers in “Pursuit of Sensitive Data” - WSJ

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💲 US Manufacturing Slumps to 15-Month Low as Inflation Reaccelerates

America’s manufacturing sector saw its sharpest contraction in over a year in September, even as overall business activity growth remained robust, data showed.

The S&P Global US Manufacturing PMI slumped to 47.0 in September, down from August’s 47.9 and the lowest in 15 months.

Index readings below 50 represent a contraction in activity.

The US falls deeper into recession territory.

@RiseGS