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YOUR FROZEN PIZZA JUST GOT A CYBER FEVER! Cyber-attacks that slammed supermarket refrigeration systems across at least 10 European countries on Monday forced retailers to dump food after freezer temps soared as high as 50°C (122°F), the BBC reported.

Hit list includes Belgium, Estonia, Finland, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Germany, and Sweden. Nobody has claimed the attacks. They follow an October hit on as many as 700 French grocery stores with food losses estimated in the tens of millions of euros.

Belgium was among the hardest hit; federal prosecutors opened an investigation. Ireland’s Musgrave said 13 SuperValu stores were affected. In Italy, Meloni’s government met intelligence chiefs and said impact was “currently very limited,” blaming obsolete systems with internet-exposed interfaces — at least four Co-op stores in Sicily plus a Tuscany business.

EU food commissioner Christophe Hansen said the bloc is taking the incidents “very seriously.” UK NCSC chief Richard Horne told the BBC vulnerable tech was exploited “through the whole food supply chain,” not only supermarket aisles. No public attribution yet.

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.

Sources: BBC News

AID PIPELINE, MEET THE SHUTOFF VALVE! President Donald Trump told Fox News on Election Day that the US will stop about $4 billion a year in assistance to Israel by year’s end because “they don’t need it,” CNN and Fox News reported.

“We were giving them $4 billion — we are — but it gets cut off at the end of the year,” Trump said on “Fox & Friends.” He cast it as a deal with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and a way to kill a Democratic “talking point” about aid levels. Pressed on cash vs. military hardware, he said: “Any way you want to define it.”

The existing US–Israel memorandum of understanding provides about $3.8 billion a year through 2028. Trump did not explain how he would terminate funding early; Congress still appropriates the money. He stressed Israel “can buy whatever they want” from US suppliers.

Netanyahu’s office did not immediately detail the timing. Rival Gadi Eisenkot called learning of the change “through the media” a danger to the strategic relationship. Former negotiator Aaron David Miller told CNN the Israel issue has become “hugely polarizing” inside the GOP, and questioned whether Washington would really “turn off the spigot” with Iran risks still live.

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Sources: CNN, Fox News

THE CAPITOL JUST FLIPPED COLORS! Democrats won control of both the House and Senate in Tuesday’s midterms, AP and Ballotpedia reported — a sweeping rebuke to President Donald Trump and Republicans over prices, the Iran war, and corruption concerns.

Per Ballotpedia, Democrats will hold at least a 231–141 House majority and a 54–44 Senate majority as late ballots keep coming. They flipped at least seven Senate seats in states Trump carried in 2024: Kansas, Iowa, Texas, Ohio, Maine, North Carolina, and South Carolina — including Kansas’s first Democratic senator since 1932 and Texas’s first statewide Democratic win since 1994.

AP said Democrats also flipped more than two dozen House districts, some that voted for Trump by double digits two years ago, and held battleground Senate seats in Georgia and Michigan. Ballotpedia counted 14 Republican House incumbents beaten and zero Democratic incumbents lost.

Governors flipped too: Democrats gained at least four — Georgia, Iowa, Ohio, and Texas — for a majority of statehouses for the first time since 2010. When the new Congress convenes Jan. 3, Trump faces Democratic committee chairs with subpoena power for the first time in his second term.

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Sources: AP News, AP News, Ballotpedia

SEVEN PLANES. ZERO BOMBS. MAXIMUM CHAOS! Authorities across Europe searched seven passenger flights Tuesday after a wave of suspected bomb threats, the BBC reported — and found no explosives.

Two Ryanair jets landing in Rome (from Dublin and Lisbon) were searched after anonymous tips; the Dublin flight was escorted by the Italian Air Force. A Manchester–Murcia Ryanair flight was surrounded by fire engines and a bomb squad; passenger Sarah told BBC Radio 5 Live crews kept them on the runway about 30 minutes, then evacuated them without their bags. Two Warsaw-bound flights were hit, including a Heathrow flight diverted to Modlin, briefly closing that airport. Bulgaria checked Bergamo–Sofia and Dublin–Sofia flights after an email threat; nothing found.

The UK government called the incidents “malicious hoax threats” and said it has well-tested aviation-security processes. Aviation expert Paul Mason told BBC Radio 5 Live the spread across airlines looked “very deliberate” rather than coincidence. European airspace is on high alert while countries assess whether the threats were coordinated.

Tuesday’s wave came a day after a Wizz Air Luton–Sofia flight made an emergency landing in Budapest under Hungarian fighter escort after a mid-air threat — also a blank. Separately, Greek media said 1,537 people were evacuated from the Israel-bound cruise ship Crown Iris at Syros after a bomb alert; initial checks found nothing.

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Sources: BBC News

MEMORY ATE THE MARGIN! Apple stock slid about 3% Tuesday after new CEO John Ternus’s first earnings report warned that soaring memory-chip costs will squeeze holiday-quarter profits, CNBC reported.

Apple beat on revenue and earnings Monday — September-quarter revenue hit a record $114.5 billion — but CFO Kevan Parekh guided December-quarter gross margin to 45%–46%, below the 46.3% analyst average per LSEG. At the midpoint that would be Apple’s lowest gross margin since fiscal Q4 2023.

“What we’re seeing with memory pricing right now is unprecedented,” Ternus said, adding costs will keep rising beyond December. Parekh blamed higher memory prices plus some Siri AI ramp costs. September gross margin was 47.9%, helped by about 1 point of tariff refunds.

Apple raised iPhone prices $100 in September “reluctantly,” Ternus said, after earlier Mac and iPad hikes. COO Sabih Khan said manufacturing purchase commitments jumped $33 billion from June to September to lock supply, and Apple still expects holiday iPhone and Mac constraints driven by memory. AI servers are vacuuming up RAM; phone and PC makers are left fighting for scraps.

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Sources: CNBC, Reuters

A RESIGNATION AFTER THE WRECKAGE! Spain’s Transport Minister Óscar Puente has resigned — six days after the high-speed train collision near Urda that killed at least 69 people and injured dozens, the BBC reported.

He announced the decision in Congress on Tuesday evening after outlining new rail safety measures and facing opposition grilling. “A transport minister in a country like Spain cannot remain in office after two accidents of this seriousness in less than a year,” Puente said, also citing a deadly January crash in Andalusia.

The Urda disaster happened when a state-operated Renfe high-speed train smashed into the back of a stationary Iryo train. Leaked audio published in Spanish media appears to show Madrid’s control centre clearing one high-speed train to move even though another had stopped about 25km (15 miles) ahead.

Puente said he decided to go immediately after the 28 October crash. Opposition parties and some government allies had pressed him to step down. Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has vowed authorities will “get to the bottom of every last detail of this tragedy.”

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Sources: BBC News

BRUSSELS JUST BLEW A FUSE! Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever tendered his resignation to King Philippe on Monday after coalition talks deadlocked on a deficit-cutting budget, AFP reported.

De Wever’s five-party centre-right coalition has been chasing about €10 billion ($11.6 billion) in savings by 2029. The latest talks broke down hours before he went to the palace. A royal statement said the king is withholding his decision, will consult coalition party leaders, and will see De Wever again on Friday. Belgium “cannot afford a prolonged political crisis,” the palace warned.

The deficit exceeds five percent of GDP. Plans lean on public-spending cuts, including healthcare, plus a VAT hike that Francophone liberal partner MR strongly opposes as inflationary. Flemish socialists Vooruit, CD&V and Les Engagés have pushed for more taxes on the “strongest financial shoulders,” which MR and De Wever’s N-VA reject.

Per VRT NWS, the king meets Les Engagés and CD&V on Tuesday, Vooruit and MR on Wednesday, N-VA on Thursday, then De Wever Friday at 10:30am. De Wever did not immediately comment; the Instagram account of his cat Maximus posted that “there are days like that.”

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Sources: AFP, VRT NWS

BORDER PAPERWORK, MEET THE SHREDDER! The UK and EU have agreed a draft deal on removing post-Brexit checks from food and agriculture exports, ahead of a UK-EU summit later this month, the BBC reported.

The BBC understands a 200-page draft “SPS” (sanitary and phytosanitary) text has been circulated to EU nations for a Wednesday meeting in Brussels. Similar drafts cover emissions trading and a youth travel and work scheme, plus a 15-page joint statement for leaders.

The government claims the food deal alone could eventually deliver £5.1bn in annual economic benefits. Fresh sausages, burgers, shellfish from domestic waters and seed potatoes could resume EU exports. It should remove the need for £200 Export Health Certificates and £25 Phytosanitary certificates, cut inspector and port fees, and bring back passports for British pets entering the EU.

In return, the UK is expected to commit to “dynamic alignment” with EU plant, animal and food trade standards. Bio&Me’s Jon Walsh told BBC 5 Live his firm stopped exporting yoghurt because a vet inspection cost £140 per pallet. Tory leader Kemi Badenoch called dynamic alignment a red line; Reform UK’s Richard Tice said returning to EU alignment would “crush Britain’s competitiveness.”

A food deal would also radically reduce the post-Brexit Irish Sea border paperwork for Northern Ireland. Drafts go to EU ambassadors (Coreper) on Wednesday.

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Sources: BBC News

STRIKES ON THE STRAIT, BALLOTS ON THE WAY! The US has carried out strikes on Iran’s Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz, US officials told CBS, the BBC’s US partner, according to the BBC.

Officials described the strikes as limited and defensive, and said they were in response to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) firing on a US aircraft. Iranian state news agency Irna reported explosions on Qeshm on Monday. The IRGC did not comment on the strikes but said its forces had shot down two US MQM-170 drones south of the island and a US MQ-9 drone east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The US military has not commented. The strikes came as mediators stepped up efforts to prevent a return to all-out war after Tuesday’s US midterm elections. Earlier Monday, President Trump told Axios he was in “no rush” to ramp up strikes, saying Iran had been “crippled” financially. Asked if the US would resume significant strikes after the midterms, he said “no”.

Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said Tuesday “the ball is now in America’s court to prevent war.” Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “very intensive” talks were under way via Qatari and Pakistani mediators. Qatar’s Majed al-Ansari said both sides were “reviewing the ideas and proposals” and remained committed to negotiations.

Last week Iranian negotiators floated reopening Hormuz within two days if Washington met seven conditions, reportedly including lifting a naval blockade of Iranian ports and releasing frozen assets. A fifth of global oil and gas usually passes through the strait.

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Sources: BBC News

BAA-D DECISIONS ON THE M74! Police who stopped a Volkswagen Golf on the motorway in Glasgow in April 2023 found a lamb in the back seat happily eating a bag of chips, the BBC reported. Under the front passenger seat, a police dog named Billy found £4,640 of cocaine and £10,050 of heroin.

The lamb was called Pablo, after Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar. Asked where the animal came from, passenger John McNeil, 56, allegedly said the driver was a “trainee shepherdess.” Sgt Nick Twigg told jurors there was no evidence of that: “the lamb at the time was eating a bag of chips left on the back seat.”

McNeil and driver Lindsey Sangster were found guilty in September of possessing cocaine and heroin with intent to supply. They claimed they’d rescued Pablo from the middle of the road, and the farm owner said she hadn’t given them permission to take him. A charge over the lamb was dropped mid-trial.

McNeil avoided jail: Sheriff Tony Kelly gave him 300 hours of unpaid work and a six-month curfew tag. Sangster didn’t show up, and a warrant was granted for her arrest.

And Pablo? Returned home in fine health, his owner said, and happy with “his new pet lamb pals.”

Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.

Sources: BBC News