“Spanish intelligence services warned their Moroccan counterparts and Madrid of migrants’ plans to storm Ceuta a day before more than 70,000 people crossed into Spain’s North African enclave, according to documents released by the government on Wednesday. In a July 29 note to the Moroccan intelligence agencies DGST and DGED, Spain’s spy agency, the National Intelligence Centre (CNI), warned of plans on social media platforms for migrants to enter Ceuta by scaling the border fence or swimming around it, taking advantage of Morocco’s annual Throne Day celebrations. On the same day, the CNI also warned the Spanish government’s representative in Ceuta of the plans, according to declassified WhatsApp messages. … The release of the documents is likely to intensify scrutiny of the operational decisions taken in the hours before the crossing and whether sufficient measures were put in place to prevent it.” (09/10/26)
“Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment claims last week as jobless claims remain at historically low levels and layoffs are still relatively rare. Filings for benefits dipped to 206,000 last week from a revised 207,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, also fell modestly to 206,000. Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a week.” (09/10/260
“Mayors in England will be given the power to impose a new fee on visitors’ overnight stays, in a move the government says will mean more money can be invested into local areas. Under the plans, local leaders will be able to bring in an uncapped levy, dubbed a ‘tourist tax’, as a percentage of the cost of hotels, bed and breakfasts and other types of accommodation rather than a flat fee. Hospitality leaders have warned it will put jobs at risk and hit families in the pocket. But the government said it would protect budget holidays ‘by making sure low-cost accommodation always pays lowest levy’ and said the extra cash could be invested in high streets and local transport.” (09/10/26)
“Several leading British rabbis have backed the UK’s new sanctions on Israeli [squats], amid protests from prominent Jewish groups and leaders against the measures. A day after the sanctions were announced by Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband, senior Masorti rabbi Jonathan Wittenberg took to X to express his support for the sanctions. ‘What is taking place today in the West Bank is a Chillul HaShem, a violation of God’s name of the worst order. We cannot stay silent. This is terrible for Palestinian people who want to get on with their lives in peace. It is terrible for Israel,’ Wittenberg wrote on X. … Elsewhere, Rabbi Alexandra Wright of the Liberal Jewish Synagogue in London said that the ‘occupation and escalating violence are harming Palestinians and Israelis’. … Other rabbis who came out in support of the measures include Jeremy Gordon of the New London Synagogue, and Lev Taylor of Kingston Liberal Synagogue.” (09/10/26)
“Federal agents on Thursday captured an accused election fraud ringleader who allegedly paid Skid Row homeless a few bucks each to sign California ballot petitions using the stolen identities of real voters. The FBI apprehended alleged election crook James Brass, a.k.a. ‘Lord,’ in Victorville, San Bernardino County, just before dawn. He allegedly ran his scheme through a small company he owns called Pinnacle Brass …. Also charged in the two-count indictment against Brass are two petition circulators who allegedly worked for him: Courtney Price, 49, of Jacksonville, Florida, and Jateisha Herron, 33, of Boron, California. … All three defendants are charged with one count of conspiracy to commit identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony. Brass and Price are charged with an additional count of identity fraud in furtherance of a state felony.” (09/10/26)
“Vice-president JD Vance appeared to partially row back on Donald Trump’s outlandish claims that every adult citizen in the US would receive $5,000 if the Republicans retain the House and Senate in the midterm elections. … Vance, speaking after the president, suggested the so-called dividend payments would not go to the wealthy and that it could be paid for by US tariff revenues – though the suggested payment dwarfs what the US has taken in through the protectionist measures. Congress would need to approve or otherwise acquiesce to the payment. The sum would far exceed US tariff revenues even before the Supreme Court tossed much of the president’s tariff program last year.” (09/10/26)
“Travelers could soon be allowed to bring full water bottles through some airport security checkpoints — a major shift from longstanding airport security restrictions. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is weighing whether to allow TSA PreCheck passengers to bring water bottles through security checkpoints, according to reports. The change would apply to a select number of airports across the United States. … TSA PreCheck, which allows eligible travelers to use expedited security lanes and typically keep their shoes, belts and light jackets on during screening, generally costs less than $100 for a five-year membership, according to the agency.” (09/10/260
“China’s passenger car exports in the first eight months of this year already surpassed last year’s total, an industry association said Thursday, though domestic sales continued to decline. Passenger car exports in August jumped 67.1% from the year before to around 890,000 units, driven by plug-in hybrids and pure electric vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM). China exported more than 6.2 million passenger vehicles in January-August. Exports of all types of vehicles totaled 7.1 million last year, CAAM data show, including about 6 million passenger vehicles. The world’s largest car exporter is on track to achieve 50% to 70% growth in full-year passenger vehicle exports, according to S&P Global Ratings.” (09/10/26)
“Twenty-five people have been killed in a fire on a foreign-flagged cargo ship docked at a port in eastern China, according to Chinese state broadcaster CCTV. Of the 42 people on board, 17 were were evacuated of which five are in hospital in stable condition, CCTV reports. The vessel was undergoing maintenance at a shipyard in the city of Qingdao when the blaze erupted at around 11:15 local time (03:15 GMT). It was put out just over three hours later, according to CCTV. Photos released by state media showed the vessel to be the Ocean Melody, a 190m (623ft) long Liberia-flagged carrier which arrived in Qingdao on 31 August, according to tracking site MarineTraffic.” (09/10/26)
“The U.S. military has attacked another boat in the Caribbean, [murdering] three people, alleging the vessel was involved in narcotrafficking. The attack occurred Wednesday, the 69th publicly acknowledged strike in the Trump administration’s yearlong military campaign that has [murdered] at least 230 people whom the administration alleges were drug traffickers, though at least some of those [murdered] are believed to have been civilians. As is the case with such strikes, little information was made public by U.S. Southern Command, which conducted the strike, and described the boat as a ‘go-fast vessel operating along established narco-trafficking routes in the Caribbean.'” (09/10/26)
