Montenegro detained Rybar founder Mikhail Zvinchuk and four associates in a dawn raid on the Bay of Kotor.

Police and the national security agency (ANB) picked up the pro-Russian military blogger, his wife/creative director Valeria, and three staff at the Mövenpick Hotel in Risan this morning, seizing drones, digital equipment, and documents. Authorities say they’d been watching the group for days.


The stated concern is that Zvinchuk’s planned documentary on Montenegro’s new visa rules for Russians would frame EU integration as damaging the economy.


Rybar (~1.5M subscribers) says the team was in the country legally and expects release.


Russia’s foreign ministry says its embassy is looking into it.


Zvinchuk — a former Russian MoD press officer — is under both UK and EU sanctions, and the US has a $10M Rewards for Justice bounty tied to alleged election interference by Rybar staff.

Chronology of heat anomalies in Ukraine and the border regions of Russia from 2022 to 2026.

Heat anomalies are tracked by NASA FIRMS satellites to detect active fires, so not every spike indicates the result of an impact. However, their significant increase since the start of the war suggests that most of the observed heat signatures are likely the result of strikes against each other. Interestingly, the main peaks always occur at the beginning of autumn.

France and Germany say diesel promise to Trump won’t require new stock release

The G7 pledge to release a further 100 million barrels of crude oil and fuel stocks to temper rising gas prices is being reframed by Paris and Berlin as part of a previous commitment made under the IEA back in March at the outset of the 3rd Gulf War when all IEA members pledged to release 400 million barrels of crude oil and fuel.


That 400 million barrel release commitment has still not been fulfilled as IEA member states are continuing releasing barrels of crude oil and fuel.


As many have noticed at the pump, those releases had virtually no effect on gas prices.

Houthis push to seize key strategic mountains overlooking Bab el-Mandeb

Ansar Allah has launched fresh assaults on pro-Saudi forces across the mountains of Lahj’s Al-Madaribah wa Ra’as Al-Arah district, seeking to capture three interconnected heights overlooking the strait’s inland approaches. On September 29, clashes intensified around Al-Aghbara Mountain as the Houthis sought to sever key supply routes linking Saudi-backed positions in Lahj and Taiz, Arab News reports.


Hostilities around Kahboub Mountain are also continuing. Control of the area could allow Ansar Allah to consolidate its gains along the Red Sea coast and threaten roads leading toward Aden, where the Saudi-backed Yemeni administration is based. Kahboub has emerged as a key Houthi target since the group solidified control over the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on September 10. The mountain commands the strait, the coastal city of Dhubab and Perim Island.


Jabal Naman is another strategically vital mountain on the Lahj-Taiz border that the Houthis are seeking to seize and hold.


Ansar Allah is also reinforcing its military in apparent preparation for another major offensive on Taiz, a pro-Saudi officer told the publication, describing the Houthi buildup – including tanks, other military equipment and missiles – as “massive.”

An other False-Flag again... Or a true reality generated by EU itself ?

The CIA has warned European governments that Russia is preparing possible drone attacks against Mediterranean countries like Spain, France, and Italy, according to Spanish newspaper El Mundo.


The plan involves concealing Gerbera drones (600 km range) inside shipping containers aboard merchant vessels and launching them from international waters. The relatively small drones could reach targets hundreds of kilometers inland.


The CIA shared intelligence about the suspected operation with several European governments following Director John Ratcliffe’s visit to Moscow in August. French authorities have taken the warning seriously, which led President Macron to convene high-level security meetings earlier this month.


European security sources believe such attacks are intended to undermine support for Ukraine, create divisions within NATO, and spread public anxiety without triggering a full-scale military confrontation.

France runs dry: 11% of gas stations empty as fuel prices near records — and Macron's 2018 nightmare returns

France is facing growing fuel shortages, with 11% of the country's gas stations reporting they are out of either gasoline or diesel, according to French government data — and the political stakes could hardly be higher.


The prices behind the panic:

1. Diesel averaging around €2.38 per liter — roughly $10.33 per gallon
2. Gasoline prices also near historic highs
3. The surge is linked to high oil prices from the Iran war and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz

Paris insists the country has adequate strategic fuel reserves — and that the shortages are primarily the result of logistical disruptions rather than an overall lack of supply.


👉 In 2018, fuel prices and fuel taxation triggered the Yellow Vest protests — a nationwide uprising that nearly brought down Macron's presidency. Diesel at €2.38 is well above the levels that sparked those demonstrations. The government's "logistical disruption" framing echoes the dismissals that preceded the 2018 explosion.


The last time French drivers faced these prices, they shut down the country — and nearly ended a presidency. Can Macron survive this time?

Europe 'on the brink' of wider military conflict, warns Slovakian premier

Ahead of visit to Kyiv Friday, Robert Fico says Ukraine conflict has 'spiraled out of control'
"The situation has never been as serious and tense in terms of the possibility of a pan-European military conflict as it is now," Robert Fico said during an address in Presov, according to Slovak news agency TASR. "Yes, we're part of NATO, we appreciate that, and we are committed to cooperation and meeting our obligations. But as prime minister, I'll do everything I can to ensure that Slovakia is never drawn into an armed conflict," he said.


His remarks came ahead of a visit to Ukraine on Friday, where he is due to attend a conference with other EU leaders and meet Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Prime Minister Serhii Koretskyi. "We have (peace) today, but tomorrow there may be nothing," Fico warned.

EXPLAINER: Why the Bab el-Mandeb Strait matters

The Bab el-Mandeb Strait is one of the world’s most important maritime chokepoints.


Located between Yemen and the Horn of Africa, it is the southern gateway to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal. Much of the trade moving between Asia and Europe passes through this route. Ships traveling from East Asia can cross the Indian Ocean, enter the Red Sea through Bab el-Mandeb, pass through the Suez Canal and continue into the Mediterranean toward Europe.


If that route becomes too dangerous, ships are forced to sail around Africa. That alternative can add roughly 3,000 kilometers and about two weeks to a voyage, increasing fuel costs, insurance costs and delivery times.
The strait is also important for global energy markets. Oil tankers and other energy shipments use the Red Sea route, meaning instability around Bab el-Mandeb can quickly affect shipping and energy prices far beyond the Middle East.

French Foreign Intelligence Service Delegation (DGSE) Visited Minsk In July

Prior to CIA director, John Ratcliffe, travelling to Moscow, members of France's Foreign Intelligence Service (DGSE) traveled to Minsk where they met Ivan Tertel, director of Belarus' KGB sometime in mid-July 2026.


The meeting followed up on a telephone call between French president, Emmanuel Macron and Belarusian president, Alexander Lukashenko earlier in May.


Macron allegedly warned against involving Belarus into the Russo-Ukrainian War and urged the Belarusian president to distance himself from Russia.


It is worth noting that, according to the Nasha Niva publication, in April 2026 a former French army officer named Boris was arrested in Belarus. His family appealed to the Élysée Palace, France’s foreign and interior ministries, senators, MPs, diplomatic missions and non-governmental organizations.

Everyone Talks About U.S. Debt But Europe May Be in Worse Trouble

America’s debt problem is impossible to miss. Federal debt has crossed $40.08T, another $1.9T deficit is expected this fiscal year and the 30-year Treasury yield is around 5.25%, its highest since 2007.


Yet the next Western debt crisis may begin across the Atlantic.


Washington has advantages that buy it time. The United States issues the world’s principal reserve currency, collects taxes through one federal government and sells debt through one enormous Treasury market. It can attract foreign capital and push part of the cost abroad. That does not make $40T harmless, but it can delay the reckoning.


The eurozone has no comparable safety valve. It has one currency and one central bank, but 20 governments issuing their own debt, running separate budgets and answering to different voters. The ECB must set one monetary policy for economies with very different debts and growth rates.


France shows why this is dangerous. Its 10-year bond yield has risen to about 4.15%, its highest since 2008 and now slightly above Italy’s. The European Commission expects a 5.1% French deficit this year and public debt near 120% of GDP by 2027. The problem can no longer be blamed on Greece or another small southern economy. France is the eurozone’s second-largest economy and one of the states meant to support rescue mechanisms for everyone else. If its debt starts trading like the old European “periphery,” the line between rescuers and rescued begins to disappear.


Germany offers little comfort. Its 10-year yield is near 3.3%, a 15-year high, while its industry remains weak. Europe’s two central powers are paying more to borrow just as Brussels prepares another spending surge.


The EU plans to mobilize up to €800B for rearmament. Member states must also finance ageing populations, expensive energy, social programs and support for Ukraine. Budget cuts provoke resistance. More borrowing raises yields. ECB intervention places more national debt risk onto the shared monetary system.


The United States can abuse the dollar’s global role for longer. Europe may hit the wall first because it carries heavy debts without a genuine federal state standing behind them. One central bank cannot reconcile every national budget forever. So yes, America’s debt matters. But the louder surprise may come from a European Union that spent years presenting itself as the responsible alternative. Washington has a dangerous debt problem. Europe has the same problem inside a system poorly designed to survive it.


No sympathy is required. Both created this predicament through wars, sanctions, subsidies and promises they can no longer finance cheaply. Now we get to see which model breaks first.