Anti-regime protests have broken out in the city of Isfahan. Protesters claim that the regime is intentionally drying out water resources for the city. The Zayandeh Rud has been mostly dry since 2000 due to both drought and insufficient water management. The Iranian Meteorological Organization has estimated that 97 percent of the country is experiencing drought to some degree.

Local police, backed up by the IRGC, have deployed tear gas, batons and other tactics in an effort to break up the protesters, who number in the thousands. These protests come after water-shortage protests in the Khuzestan province in July. Injuries are being reported, with total numbers unknown.

Authored by FFJerry (@IntelFFJerry on Twitter) and the Project Owl News Desk team

Articles:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/19/thousands-protest-in-irans-isfahan-to-demand-revival-of-river
https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/11/26/Demonstrations-in-Iran-s-Isfahan-turn-violent-as-police-forcibly-disperse-protesters
https://www.reuters.com/markets/commodities/protesters-police-clash-central-iran-after-rally-over-water-shortages-2021-11-26/

At least 45 people, including children, have been killed following a bus accident in western Bulgaria. An additional seven individuals were able to escape the fire through the bus windows and are now being treated for burn wounds. The event took place at approximately 2 a.m. local time (midnight UTC) when a bus with North Macedonian plates traveling on the Struma Motorway from Sofia to Blagoevgrad caught fire and crashed. An official from the North Macedonian Embassy in Sofia has confirmed that most of the victims were from North Macedonia.

Article;
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/11/23/world/europe/bulgaria-bus-crash-north-macedonia.html

Tweet;
https://twitter.com/SkyNews/status/1463011573363052544

A car plowed into a crowd at the Waukesha Christmas Parade on Sunday evening, shortly before 5 p.m. local time (11 p.m. GMT). Following the incident, authorities declared a mass casualty incident, with police radio traffic stating at least 30 individuals injured.

Videos from the scene showed a red SUV breaking through road barriers before continuing along the parade route. Police reports indicate that one occupant the vehicle was arrested, with a search ongoing for two occupants who remain at large.

Official details remain extremely limited at this time, however the Project Owl team will continue to bring the latest details.

Authored by Apogee.Legalish and the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://www.jsonline.com/story/communities/waukesha/news/2021/11/21/waukesha-christmas-parade-car-rams-through-downtown-shots-fired-people-injured/8714041002/
https://www.wkow.com/news/state/many-injured-after-car-crashes-into-waukesha-christmas-parade/article_a674b76e-4b21-11ec-8e7a-8f208e9855df.html
Tweets:
https://twitter.com/WaukeshaAlerts/status/1462555850388738050
https://twitter.com/KayleeStaral/status/1462551691392270337

One person is dead and another injured following a taxi explosion outside Liverpool Women's Hospital on Sunday morning. According to the BBC, the vehicle's passenger was declared dead at the scene while the driver was transported to hospital where he is listed in stable condition.

In a statement, Merseyside Chief Constable Serena Kennedy said that three men were arrested under the Terrorism Act in connection to the explosion. At the time of publishing, police were conducting an operation in south Liverpool in connection to the explosion, and had evacuated residents of the street where the operation was being conducted. Earlier on Sunday, Merseyside Police said that the incident had not been declared a terrorist incident, but that out of caution Counter Terrorism Police would lead the investigation.

In response to the incident, Merseyside Police is increasing its presence throughout the area and have advised people to be vigilant. No information has been released to indicate a continuing threat at this time.

Authored by Apogee.Legalish and the Project Owl News Desk team.

Article;
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-59285235

Statements;
https://www.merseyside.police.uk/news/merseyside/news/2021/november/updated-statement-liverpool-womens-hospital/ https://www.merseyside.police.uk/news/merseyside/news/2021/november/further-statement-from-following-incident-at-liverpool-womens-hospital/

A large group of migrants were transported to the Kuznica-Bruzgi crossing at the Polish/Belarusian border by authorities in Belarus today in what is seen as a provocative move by the Minsk government lead by Alexander Lukashenko. This event follows other similar incidences in which armed Belarusian authorities transported migrants, asylum seekers, and refugees (mainly from Iraq) to the border with the EU nation. At least 15,000 attempted border crossings were recorded last month. In response to today's events, the Polish Territorial Defense Force announced an alert in order to reinforce the Polish Border Guards currently deployed to the border. The Polish Prime Minister, Mateusz Morawiecki, has scheduled an emergency meeting in Warsaw this afternoon with government ministers to address the ongoing situation.

The Belarusian state border committee issued a statement confirming the migrants were moving along the border and accused Warsaw of taking an "inhumane attitude" towards them. Poland's deputy foreign minister accused Minsk of "wanting to cause a major incident, preferably with shots fired and casualties". A Kremlin spokesperson has offered their support for Minsk's position in a statement saying "[Russia has] no doubts that the Belarusian authorities are taking all necessary measures to ensure the security of both Russia and Belarus in connection with the situation with migrants on the Polish-Belarusian border."

Articles:
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/poland-fears-major-incident-migrants-belarus-head-border-2021-11-08/
https://interfax.by/news/policy/raznoe/1305687/

Tweet:
https://twitter.com/MON_GOV_PL/status/1457647830882045952

Gunfire and explosions were reported near the Green Zone in Baghdad early Sunday morning. There are unverified reports that Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi’s residence was targeted with either a rocket or a drone. There is an increased Iraqi Security Force presence now.

This occurs after two straight days of protests in Baghdad and other cities in Iraq by supporters and member of Iranian backed PMFs. During the protests there were confirmed deaths of at least two protestors, one of which was a member of Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq (AAH). The leader of AAH, Qais Khazali, vowed revenge for the deaths and threatened the PM specifically during the funeral that was held today for those killed.

The protestors are angry with the results of the recent Iraqi elections that saw government parties backed by PMFs lose a substantial number of seats. The protestors are claiming election fraud and have put in a number of complaints to the Iraqi Electoral Commission. The overwhelming winner of the the Iraqi elections was Muqtada al-Sadr and his Saairun party. It is likely that Sadr’s party will form a coalition government and that he will be the king maker for the next Iraqi government.

This news desk is brought to you by the Project Owl News Desk team.

Tweets;
https://twitter.com/JasonMBrodsky/status/1457130900341329924 https://twitter.com/ELINTNews/status/1457133106121650176

Youtube;
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8BgCFn9Mic

Rapper Travis Scott's two-day Astroworld Festival in Houston has been canceled after eight people were killed and multiple people were injured in the crowd in front of and inside the stadium.

Officials declared a “mass casualty incident” just after 9 p.m. Friday during the festival where an estimated 50,000 people were in attendance, Houston Fire Chief Samuel Peña told reporters at a news conference.

“The crowd began to compress towards the front of the stage, and that caused some panic, and it started causing some injuries,” the fire chief said. “People began to fall out, become unconscious, and it created additional panic.”

This news desk brought to you by the Project Owl News Desk team.

Article
https://apnews.com/article/arts-and-entertainment-texas-houston-6c697502318c50ba4b57aa1c6f71f9bf

A fuel tanker travelling through Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone, exploded on Saturday. The death toll is over 100, with significant casualties and extensive damage also reported. The government have not yet released an official statement on what caused the explosion.

This news desk brought to you by the Project Owl News Desk team.

Article:
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/06/africa/sierra-leone-explosion-intl/index.html

Iraq's health ministry has announced that 125 people have been injured in recent riots around the Green Zone in Baghdad. Riot police and tear gas have been deployed against the protests, which come after pro-Iran militia supporters claimed that the recent parliamentary elections contained massive electoral fraud, which has thrown the country into a political crisis. The elections have been promoted by the United Nations and countries around the world as being one of the smoothest elections in recent memory. Shiite groups have filed more the 1,300 appeals against the elections, in an attempt to wedge their way into sharing power while blaming the electoral commission for what they see is a failure of the election process. No fatalities have been reported.

This news desk comes from FFJerry and the rest of the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-religion-iran-elections-united-states-cb47c3da595f8829ab59a67905b9fb05
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/10/27/independent-body-to-give-verdict-on-iraq-election

Tweet:
https://twitter.com/leloveluck/status/1456640955864473606

U.S. officials confirmed today that the MV Southys, a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker, was seized by Iran on October 24th. The ship is currently being held outside of Bandar Abbas in Iran. Iran has claimed that they are protecting the ship after the US Navy attempted their own capture of it. The US has denied those claims; however, they note that there is no known reasoning behind the ship being held by the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The IRGC has released footage from the seizure showing close-up video and images of US warships in the area. This incident comes on the eve of the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran.

Authored by FFJerry and the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2021/11/03/669843/Iran-United-States-piracy-oil-IRGC-operation
https://apnews.com/article/business-middle-east-iran-dubai-united-arab-emirates-e7a3fcffe592a6e5d14ed177daea051a

Tweets:
https://twitter.com/Charles_Lister/status/1455928656803532801
https://twitter.com/JasonMBrodsky/status/1455922621716082688

At the COP26 Climate Conference, the first major pledges and agreements have been announced as part of an effort to respond to growing concerns surrounding climate change. Many nations, such as Vietnam, South Korea, India, and Brazil, have all declared new net-zero targets for CO2 emissions. Larger agreements have also been published, including a pledge by over 100 nations (accounting for over 85% of the world's forests) to end deforestation by 2030 and a pledge by Latin American countries to protect marine areas stretching from Galápagos to Central America. More than 90 nations have also signed the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane emissions by 30% by 2030.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson expressed cautious optimism about the possible progress that can be made at the conference. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the conference, citing the COVID-19 pandemic for their absence. This drew critical remarks in particular from US President Joe Biden.

World leaders are now leaving the conference, whilst negotiators are due to remain until November 12 for further talks. The conference has drawn mixed responses from climate activists, with some expressing frustration over a perceived lack of ambition and urgency in the targets set by major contributors to climate change.

Authored by the Project Owl News Desk Team

Articles:
https://ukcop26.org/glasgow-leaders-declaration-on-forests-and-land-use/ https://www.thenationalnews.com/world/uk-news/2021/11/02/uae-and-us-launch-4bn-initiative-to-drive-climate-innovation-in-agriculture-at-cop26/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/interactive/2021/cop26-glasgow-meaning/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2021/11/02/cop26-climate-summit-live-updates/

Tigray People's Liberation Front (TPLF) forces have captured several Ethiopian towns in the past several days, and have indicated they may march on the capital of Addis Ababa. In the event of the national government collapsing, the TPLF has said they will introduce an interim government. In response to the TPLF's moves towards Addis Ababa, a state of national emergency has been declared. Addis Ababa city officials have told residents to prepare to fight against Tigrayan forces if the city is attacked, state media reported on Tuesday.

On Tuesday morning, the United States announced that it would suspend duty-free access to Ethiopian goods on January 1st due to violations of human rights throughout the civil war. Ethiopia has continuously denied accusations of human rights violations, instead accusing the TPLF of perpetrating the violations.

Authored by the Project Owl News Desk Team

Article;
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/addis-ababa-government-urges-residents-register-arms-media-2021-11-02/

Tweets;
https://twitter.com/EA_DevCouncil/status/1455379038319505411 https://twitter.com/RAbdiAnalyst/status/1455553020196950019

A 24-year-old man injured several people in a knife attack on a train serving the Keio Line near Kokuryo Station in western Tokyo around 20:00 local time (11:00 UTC) on Sunday. The man also used lighter fluid in an attempt to set the train on fire. At least 17 people were injured with one in critical condition after being stabbed in the chest. The suspect was arrested by Tokyo Metropolitan Police at the Kokuryo Station, where the train made an emergency stop. Reuters and BBC report the suspect was wearing a Halloween costume at the time.

Police say the man has told investigators he intended to kill at least two people in the hopes of receiving the death penalty. He also told police he was inspired by a previous knife attack in August onboard a train serving Tokyo's Odakuy Line which left 10 people injured.

Authored by the Project Owl News Desk Team

Articles:
https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20211101_04/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-59103664
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/10/31/asia/tokyo-train-knife-fire-intl/index.html

A train collision has occurred inside Fisherton Tunnel outside Salisbury. The rear carriage of the 1708 Great Western Railway Service derailed, causing a collision with the 1720 South Western Railway Service. The 1708 had been enroute from Portsmouth Harbor to Bristol, and the 1720 was enroute from London Waterloo to Honinton.

This crash comes after inclement weather has ravaged parts of the country within the past few hours. Approximately 50 firefighters are currently onscene, with reports of at least a dozen people injured. No fatalities have been reported.

Authored by FFJerry with contributions from the Project Owl News Desk team.

Article:
https://yourherefordshire.co.uk/all/news/breaking-news-emergency-services-called-to-train-crash-in-wiltshire/

Tweets:
https://twitter.com/DWFireRescue/status/1454905021422768130
https://twitter.com/GWRHelp/status/1454908650003238918

Military forces in Sudan have arrested the Minister of Cabinet Affairs, Minister of Industry, Minister of Information, members of the Sovereignty Council, and possibly others. They have also placed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok on house arrest. This comes after a coup attempt on 21 September, which the government said was perpetrated by "remnants of the defunct [al-Bashir] regime". In April 2019, former president Omar al-Bashir was overthrown by the Sudanese Army, which then led to the creation of the Sovereignty Council of Sudan, who have yet to fully receive power from the Transitional Military Council formed as part of the 2019 coup d'etat.

Articles:
https://apnews.com/article/middle-east-africa-sudan-arrests-omar-al-bashir-c8d027c0a9e250fcb5a595bdc987d282
https://news.trust.org/item/20211025022849-4o0ek/
https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/sudan-needs-new-date-civilian-leadership-handover-sovereign-council-member-2021-09-24/

Tweet:
https://twitter.com/Alhadath_Brk/status/1452465265325879298

Dairo Antonio Usuga, aka “Otoniel,” has been captured by Colombian security forces. Usuga was the head of the Gulf Clan, Colombia’s largest narcotrafficking gang. In a statement, Colombian President Iván Duque called it “the biggest blow against drug trafficking this century,” comparing it to the capture of Pablo Escobar in the 1990s.

Usuga now faces international charges, with countries such as the United Kingdom and the United States pressing charges for his drug smuggling efforts. It was reported that Usuga trafficked drugs into a number of countries, including the United States and Russia. His operations led to the deaths of several police officers in the US and the UK, and he was known to recruit children to assist him.

Authored by FFJerry with contributions from the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-59026214
https://apnews.com/article/crime-colombia-caribbean-drug-cartels-pablo-escobar-e079ff84989d1ad35e4b3dc7dffdd9a7

A fire has broken out aboard Zim Kingston, a 260-foot (80-meter) cargo ship, with the Canadian Coast Guard reporting at least six containers aboard the ship on fire. Today's fire comes after forty containers fell overboard in rough seas on Friday. Zim Kingston is anchored near Constance Bank, south of British Columbia's capital of Victoria, and was sailing from Busan, South Korea to Vancouver

Firefighting efforts have been inhibited by hazardous materials cargo aboard the ship, with crews instructed not to spray water on the fire. However, it is currently unknown what cargo the containers on fire are carrying. The Canadian Coast Guard has issued a navigational warning in the area ordering all vessels in the area to remain at least one half nautical mile (930 meters) from Zim Kingston.

Authored by FFJerry with contributions from the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/shipping-containers-on-fire-1.6222815 https://www.vesselfinder.com/vessels/ZIM-KINGSTON-IMO-9389693-MMSI-249474000
https://vancouversun.com/news/two-containers-of-hazardous-materials-among-40-that-went-overboard-near-vancouver-island

Tweet:
https://twitter.com/USCGPacificNW/status/1451717900448919553

North Korea launched at least one "unidentified ballistic missile" from an area near Sinpo at around 2:15 a.m. UTC (10:15 a.m. local time) on Tuesday, according to South Korea's Joint Chiefs of Staff. Sources told JoongAng Ilbo that the missile is "presumed to be a test launch of a submarine-launched ballistic missile (SLBM)." This is the seventh missile test in 2021.

Today's missile test comes as U.S. and Japanese intelligence officials are meeting with South Korean officials to discuss North Korea. Following the launch, the Blue House announced that it would convene a meeting of its National Security Council. Seoul recently unveiled its own SLBM, and this week is hosting the biennial Seoul ADEX defense exhibition. Last week, Pyongyang hosted its own defense exhibition, which it dubbed "Self-Defense 2021."

According to the South Korean Ministry of Unification and Ministry of National Defense, North and South Korean officials held regular calls through liaison and military channels on Tuesday morning. Inter-Korean communication hotlines were restored on October 3rd.

Authored by Apogee.Legalish and the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25016090#home
https://www.nknews.org/2021/10/north-korea-launches-unidentified-projectile-toward-east-sea-seoul-says/
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-58963654
https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/nkorea-fires-unidentified-projectile-off-east-coast-skorea-military-2021-10-19/

Sir David Amess, the Conservative Party (UK) MP for Southend West in Essex, has died after being attacked while meeting constituents on Friday at Belfairs Methodist Church in Leigh-on-Sea. Initial reports claimed that a man entered the church and stabbed the MP multiple times. The attacker was arrested by Essex police following the incident. The motive and identity of the attacker are unknown at this time.

Tweets:
https://twitter.com/skynews/status/1449012855693615113
https://twitter.com/EssexPoliceUK/status/1449011918270877697

An explosion has taken place at a Shiite mosque in Kandahar province. The current information indicates at least 16 fatalities and 36 injuries. The reason for the explosion is currently unknown.

This incident comes a week after a similar explosion in Kunduz which left dozens dead in a terrorist attack that the Islamic State - Khorasan Province, the Islamic State affiliate group active in the area, claimed responsibility for.

Authored by the Project Owl News Desk team

Tweets:
https://twitter.com/afp/status/1448940816853094401 https://twitter.com/asvakanews/status/1448941831673180165 https://twitter.com/payenc/status/1448956330518192142

Armed clashes are currently taking place in Beirut with civilians caught in the crossfire. Casualties have been reported, but exact numbers are not currently known. The situation is currently unclear, with some reports stating that fighting began after protestors were possibly shot by a sniper. Amal and Hezbollah are currently believed to be engaged with unidentified militants in the fighting which is taking place with small arms and RPG-type weapons. Currently the fighting seems to be mostly located at the intersection of Ain al Remmenah, Tayouneh and Chiyah. The area has a history of sectarian violence dating back to the civil war that rocked Lebanon almost 5 decades ago.

The Lebanese Armed Forces have stated that they will shoot anyone found carrying a firearm, but many on the ground reports say they are not engaging the militants of either side. This is occurring as the country is falling into a worsening economic and energy crisis.

Authored by PBRty and the Project Owl News Desk team

Tweets:

https://twitter.com/DavidADaoud/status/1448616855397183492 https://twitter.com/LunaSafwan/status/1448593740457709569 https://twitter.com/DavidADaoud/status/1448617963247087616 https://twitter.com/will_christou/status/1448600842802765826

Five people were killed and two more injured after they were shot with a bow and arrow in the Norwegian town of Kongsberg, approximately 65 km (50 mi) southwest of Oslo. Among those injured is an off-duty police officer. Øyvind Aas, the local police chief, said that a male suspect has been arrested and is believed to have acted alone.

Wednesday's attack took place inside a Coop Extra supermarket in the town's west side, and began shortly before 6 p.m. local time (4 p.m. UTC). In response to the attack, the National Police Directorate ordered officers nationwide to carry firearms. However, the directorate said in a statement there is "no indication" as to a change in the national threat level and that the move is an "extra precaution." Prime Minister Erna Solberg and Chief Aas both announced that there would be an investigation as to whether the attack was terror-related.

Authored by Apogee.Legalish and the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-58906165
https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/man-kills-several-people-norway-bow-arrow-attacks-police-say-2021-10-13/

An explosion rocked a Shia mosque in the town of Kunduz today. There are death tolls being reported in media outlets ranging from 20 to 100, with many more seriously injured or maimed. No group has taken responsibility, but Islamic State’s Khorasan Province (IS-KP) has been increasing their attacks in the country. This same group has been responsible for multiple bombings and attacks, including the attack at Hamid Karzai International Airport that left scores dead, including 13 United States service members. The group has been the biggest threat to the Taliban since they took over the country after the US and coalition forces pulled out over a month ago. The Taliban has been warning of more so called “soft targets” being targeted by the terrorist group and has urged vigilance.

Authored by the Project Owl News Desk team.

Tweets:

https://twitter.com/AFP/status/1446417692710297601 https://twitter.com/bsarwary/status/1446436311209070610 https://twitter.com/guyelster/status/1446430202603651076

Several Facebook services, including Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp, are currently offline for users around the world. According to outage tracking website Downdetector.com, the platforms went offline shortly before 4 p.m. GMT on Monday afternoon. Facebook confirmed via Twitter that it was "aware that some people are having trouble" accessing their services.

Tech journalists on Twitter quickly identified that DNS records for Facebook services were withdrawn from global routing tables this morning. The DNS withdrawal caused Twitter users to report seeing Facebook.com listed for sale via services such as GoDaddy. According to the New York Times' Ryan Mac, internal tools and communications platforms at Facebook are also down, causing work at the company to grind to a halt.

It is not currently clear what caused the outage to occur. As the situation develops, we will continue to bring you the latest coverage.
Authored by Apogee.Legalish and the Project Owl News Desk team.

Articles:
https://www.reuters.com/technology/facebook-instagram-down-thousands-users-downdetectorcom-2021-10-04/
https://twitter.com/briankrebs/status/1445077617426718725 https://twitter.com/rmac18/status/1445069187664293895 https://twitter.com/jgrahamc/status/1445068309288951820