Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria leading options for Abraham Accords expansion, CSA report assesses
The Council for a Secure America (CSA) has ranked Kuwait as the Middle Eastern country most likely to join the Abraham Accords, followed by Lebanon and Syria, as changing political and security conditions reshape prospects for normalization with Israel.
CSA released its “Abraham Accords Expansion Opportunities: Middle East Analysis” report on October 8, assessing nine Muslim-majority countries without formal diplomatic relations with Israel: Kuwait, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Yemen, and Iran.
More than 80% of Israelis surveyed by CSA in June 2026 support the Abraham Accords, which established relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan in 2020.
Kremlin rejects 60-day truce offer and refuses to comment on Trump’s ‘energy ceasefire’
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused the US of being unwilling to help Ukraine after a Russian bomb attack on Thursday killed at least 35 people in the east, sending the two-day death toll from Russian strikes to over 70.
Hours after the strike on the embattled city of Kramatorsk tore through two buses, Zelenskiy criticised Washington’s effort to pursue economic ties with Russia while also seeking to mediate the more than four-year war.
City authorities reported a new drone attack in the evening that killed two people. That brought to 35 the total death toll in the city.
Tensions mount after Houthis strike Saudi Arabia airport in Riyadh, killing 13, injuring hundreds
Yemen’s Houthis, the armed group also known as Ansar Allah (Arabic for Supporters of God), are hitting deep inside Saudi Arabia with waves of ballistic missiles, cruise missiles and drones.
Riyadh’s King Khalid International Airport has been targeted multiple times by the Houthis since their new military campaign against the kingdom began in September.
An attack on the airport on Saturday killed 12 people and wounded 309, the deadliest attack in the kingdom in more than a decade. Saudi Arabia’s civil aviation authority was forced to suspend operations and diverted all flights, while the United States and United Kingdom issued new travel warnings for citizens.
The Houthis claimed two other attacks on the air hub earlier this week and on Sunday warned people to avoid Saudi airports.
Parents’ Sunday worship falls as youth sports grow
A recent Axios analysis found that the share of parents of school-age children participating in religious activities on Sundays has dropped by more than a third since the mid-2000s, as youth sports fill the weekend calendar.
Among parents of children ages 5 to 17, that share fell from 26.8% in 2003-2007 to 16.7% in 2021-2024, according to the outlet’s review of the American Time Use Survey, a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey that measures how Americans spend their time.
UK Airports Begin Replacing Passport Checks With Facial Recognition
In the UK, the government is now selling a switch to contactless facial recognition at airports as a time-saving measure for travelers.
And a major time-saving it is not – five seconds shaved off the previous 20 to 25 seconds it took to use an eGate.
The process of scanning your face instead of your passport is now in place at East Midlands Airport, and will be expanded to 13 airports by early 2027, the Home Office has announced.
A Company Wants 4,000 ‘Sky Mirrors’ in Orbit to Light Earth After Dark. Astronomers Fear the Fallout
The satellite is called Eärendil-1, and it belongs to Reflect Orbital, a startup in Hawthorne, California. On July 9, 2026, the Federal Communications Commission approved its launch over the objections of astronomers, and the company expects to fly it on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare later this year.
“Sun is the most powerful resource in the solar system,” Ben Nowack, the company’s co-founder and CEO, told Aerospace America. “We currently have no control over where and when it shines, so we’re trying to do that.”
Super El Nino turns entire Earth map red as scientists forecast how long devastating effects will last
The intensifying Super El Niño has turned Earth maps red as scientists warn how long the devastating effects will last.
Analysts warn the climate phenomenon has entered unprecedented territory with many regions of Earth slated to bake in unseasonably warm temperatures. The balmy conditions are forecast to grip many parts of the planet as the Pacific Ocean releases massive amounts of stored heat.
World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) scientists now predict El Niño will build in strength ahead of a December peak. They claim it will then likely have a warming effect and influence rainfall across the globe in the next few months.
Hurricane Isaias leaves at least four dead, hundreds of thousands without power after Florida landfall
At least four people died after Hurricane Isaias made landfall near Destin, Florida, as a Category 2 hurricane at about 20:30 LT on October 9 (01:30 UTC on October 10). Approximately 408,000 customer accounts remained without power across Florida, Alabama, Georgia and Mississippi shortly before 13:00 UTC on October 11, while the post-tropical cyclone continued producing flooding and wind hazards farther northeast.
Panama suffers over 200 aftershocks after Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake
Panama has recorded more than 200 aftershocks following Friday’s 7.7-magnitude earthquake that damaged hundreds of homes and infrastructure across the country’s central provinces, prompting the government to declare a national state of emergency over the weekend.
No deaths have been reported, but at least 27 people were injured and nearly 900 homes have been damaged, according to emergency authorities, though the figure could rise as assessments continue in remote communities.