Pakistan, Turkey & Saudi Arabia Trigger Mecca Defense Pact

 In a historic first, the Mecca Defense Pact between Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and Turkey is now in force, according to the allies at an emergency meeting in Riyadh.

It was only signed in August, but soon after it was formalized an all-out war between the Houthis and Saudi coalition in Yemen erupted, with the Ansar Allah movement now increasingly targeting Saudi civilian infrastructure, including airports and energy infrastructure.

The Monday emergency meeting of foreign and defense ministers resulted in the top committee agreeing to deploy Pakistani and Turkish forces to Saudi territory. The pact is modeled on NATO's Article 5 and 'collective defense'. Saudi authorities have argued the kingdom is under direct attack from neighboring Yemen and its Houthi rebels, backed by Tehran.

via Anadolu Agency

It marks a quite a dramatic, though somewhat anticipated step, but it remains an open question the degree to which the external troops will directly support the ongoing anti-Houthi operation, which has focused on recapturing the Red Sea coast of late.

"The Committee decided to move immediately to the practical implementation of the collective defense commitments and to take the necessary measures to provide the agreed military forces and capabilities and ensure their rapid deployment in the Kingdom, in accordance with the approved arrangements and the national legislation of the Parties," said a joint statement made public by Pakistan's Foreign Office.

Pakistani Defense Minister Khawaja Asif sought to clarify in a statement to Geo News while speaking from Riyadh, "The forces of Turkiye and Pakistan are playing a supporting role. We are definitely involved in reconnaissance and such things, but the combat is practically being conducted by Saudi Arabia's own forces, and they are the ones retaking those areas."

Apparently the Mecca pact took on more urgency after claims that the Houthis targeted the Islamic holy site of Mecca last month - something which the Houthis vehemently denied. Pakistan has said when pressed by reporters for details: "The operational details of the actualization of the collective deterrence are a matter of operational confidentiality and may not be made subject of media speculation."

It should be noted that Pakistan has already long had a large and long-running contingent of troops inside the kingdom, and working with the Saudi armed forces. Pakistan's air force has also had fighter jets and support aircraft in the kingdom.

Turkey's role will be much less clear, and Turkish parliament must ultimately authorize sending troops abroad for any kind of large-scale deployment. Unlike Pakistan, the Turks do not have any level of an existent official military footprint in Saudi Arabia.

Emerging reports say the Turks preparing aircraft deployments along with troops...

A big question remains, with the Mecca pact having been formally triggered, will the situation spiral into Pakistani and Turkish troops actually joining the fighting in Yemen? If so it would have serious implications for the broader region as the conflict spills over borders and into strategic waterways like the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

https://www.zerohedge.com/geopolitical/pakistan-turkey-saudi-arabia-trigger-mecca-defense-pact-houthi-missiles-inbound

'Musk: Grok Bot to use best outcome API for any task'

 SpaceX CEO and the world's richest man, Elon Musk, said on Wednesday that the company's artificial agent Grok Bot will start using "the best back-end model for any given task," including Claude Opus 5.5, MidJourney, Suno and other leading APIs.

Musk added that the usage will depend on "whatever is most likely to give you the best outcome." SpaceXAI, a subsidiary of SpaceX, announced Grok Bot in August as individual agents with their own computer, capable of completing multiple tasks in parallel.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Musk:-Grok-Bot-to-use-best-outcome-API-for-any-task/67248925

Russia says no request to mediate Houthi-Saudi conflict

 Kremlin Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday that Russia had not been asked to mediate between Yemen's Houthis and Saudi Arabia.

"No, no one has approached the Russian Federation for mediation in this conflict," Peskov replied.

Earlier today, Yemen's Houthi forces claimed to have launched attacks on two Saudi Arabian airports. Meanwhile, the Houthi Foreign Ministry announced in July that "the Saudi regime has declared war and must bear full responsibility for it" following strikes on Sanaa International Airport.

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Russia-says-no-request-to-mediate-Houthi-Saudi-conflict/67250464

Putin, Pezeshkian discuss bilateral ties

 Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian discussed strengthening bilateral cooperation under the Treaty of Comprehensive Strategic Partnership, signed between the two countries last year.

In a statement carried by Iranian media on Wednesday, during a telephone conversation between the two leaders on the occasion of Putin's birthday, the Russian president also reassured Pezeshkian that cooperation under the treaty continues to progress despite regional developments.

Moreover, Putin also shared that Russia supports ongoing mediation efforts, adding that "Iranian friends can be confident that Moscow is also ready to play a role and help in this regard."

https://breakingthenews.net/Article/Putin-Pezeshkian-discuss-bilateral-ties/67250770

Halozyme wins Dutch patent ruling that Merck’s Keytruda SC infringes MDASE patent

 Halozyme wins Dutch patent ruling that Merck’s Keytruda SC infringes MDASE patent EP 2,797,622

• Injunction halts manufacture and sale of Keytruda SC in multiple European markets.
• Halozyme and argenx expand global ENHANZE collaboration and license agreement.
• Expanded ENHANZE deal adds two exclusive targets for argenx.
• Agreement extends milestones and royalty stream under the ENHANZE collaboration.

https://finviz.com/stock?t=HALO&p=d

CIA Officer Arrested With Gold Bars Admits Exposing Top-Secret Source To Foreign Government

 by Zachary Stieber via The Epoch Times,

A CIA officer arrested with gold bars and cash in his home has admitted to stealing from the government and exposing a top-secret source, according to court filings made public on Oct. 6.

During their search of David Rush's home, investigators seized about 300 gold bars, federal officials said, along with about $2 million in U.S. currency.Department of Justice

David Rush, who is no longer with the CIA, pleaded guilty during a hearing in federal court in Virginia on Tuesday to a count of wire fraud and faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain of his crime.

Rush admitted as part of a plea agreement to disclosing sensitive information while he was a CIA officer.

Rush in 2025 "revealed to a foreign government official the existence and certain descriptive information of a U.S. government clandestine human source," said one court filing, outlining facts Rush acknowledged were true.

The nature of the source's work and the government for whom the official works was not detailed.

Rush admitted during an April 28 interview that he disclosed information about the source.

Scheme Involving Real Estate

Rush also said he made up a highly classified program to justify spending tens of millions on luxury real estate, including nearly $49 million on homes in Palm Beach, and luxury vehicles, including a BMW that cost about $172,000, according to court documents.

Rush represented to several individuals, including a CIA official, two companies, and an independent subcontractor with whom he had worked for years, that the program was legitimate.

Rush fabricated funding requirements for the program, which caused CIA personnel to approve funding and an unidentified company to provide him $45 million to satisfy one of the requirements, even though the CIA had not yet authorized the company to disburse funds for that requirement, he acknowledged.

A senior executive with the company "approved the advance funding because he trusted Rush and believed Rush's representations that the expenditure reflected a legitimate government requirement for which Company 1 ultimately would be reimbursed," said the statement of facts that Rush admitted were true.

Rush ultimately caused the company to transfer about $145 million to a holding company between November 2025 and March 2026 and used that money to buy luxury real estate properties, including the residences in Palm Beach and parcels of land in Palm Beach and Hobe Sound.

Rush planned to renovate the properties and sell them for profit.

More Fabrications

Rush also fabricated a government activity that enabled the acquisition of 298 gold bars, the court documents say.

Rush represented that there was a highly sensitive government assignment that required buying valuable assets. He told a senior executive of another company that the activity permitted buying gold, diamonds, or cryptocurrency. He eventually directed the individual to buy gold.

The company, which was not named, bought the gold bars at the cost of about $46.7 million, which came from the government.

The bars were delivered to Rush's office in Loudoun County, Virginia, between late 2025 and early 2026.

Rush later told the executive that the gold had been delivered to purported recipients.

The FBI obtained a warrant and searched Rush's home in May. Agents found all of the bars along with $2.1 million in U.S. currency, approximately $139,000 in foreign currency, and more than 30 watches.

Rush used the purported nature of the programs to hide them from others, including a CIA contracting official who questioned money Rush approved in connection with the real estate scheme.

Rush also falsely represented his background, including a false claim that he was a military pilot. He was in the U.S. Navy, but was honorably discharged.

Officials React

"David Rush abused his position and betrayed the public trust and should be held fully accountable for his actions," CIA Director John Ratcliffe said in a statement. "We appreciate our law enforcement partners in the FBI and Department of Justice for securing this outcome."

Attorney General Todd Blanche said: "Federal employees are entrusted with serving the American people, not themselves. The Trump Administration is committed to rooting out waste, fraud, and abuse in the federal government, including by prosecuting those who foolishly defraud American taxpayers."

Assistant Attorney General for National Security John A. Eisenberg said in a statement that Rush betrayed the trust of the American people.

Rush's lawyer declined to comment in an email to The Epoch Times.

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/cia-officer-arrested-gold-bars-admits-exposing-top-secret-source-foreign-government

Blanche Says DOJ Is Using Fraud Laws To Combat Birth Tourism

 by Tom Gantert via The Epoch Times,

Despite a Supreme Court setback in June, the Justice Department (DOJ) is working with federal immigration agencies to combat birth tourism by using existing laws, U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

Attorney General Todd Blanche speaks during an interview in Washington on Oct. 5, 2026.Madalina Kilroy/The Epoch Times

Birth tourism remains a problem, but officials are taking steps to prevent people coming to this country just to have a baby for American citizenship, Blanche told Epoch Times senior editor Jan Jekielek in an interview airing at 9 p.m. ET on Oct. 6.

DOJ is also working with the Department of Homeland Security to strengthen questions asked of travelers about their reasons for entering the country, Blanche said in the interview.

On June 30, the Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump's broad birthright citizenship order issued in January 2025, which excluded children of illegal immigrants and legal temporary visitors from automatic U.S. citizenship.

Blanche said the ruling still left room for the administration to act. He said he would use existing enforcement tools rather than wait for Congress to pass laws.

"Those cases can be difficult to prove, but it's not slowing us down," Blanche said.

Federal prosecutors have been told to prioritize investigations into birth tourism schemes.

Colin McDonald, the Justice Department's assistant attorney general for fraud, wrote a June 30 memo stating the U.S. immigration system is being exploited by foreign nationals who travel to the United States "under false pretenses" to give birth and secure U.S. citizenship for their children.

On Aug. 6, Trump signed two executive orders, one identifying categories of children the administration considers ineligible for birthright citizenship and another directing the State Department and Department of Homeland Security to halt birth tourism.

One of the measures banned birth tourism. Another barred citizenship for children whose parents fell under several categories, including being a foreign government employee and member of a designated foreign terrorist organization.

A federal judge blocked that order in September and suggested it conflicted with the Supreme Court's decision. "The 2026 Executive Order is almost certainly unconstitutional as applied to the certified class for the simple reason that the Supreme Court in Barbara already decided that the children in the class are citizens at birth," U.S. District Judge Deborah Boardman said in an opinion on Sept. 2.

The Justice Department has asked Boardman to dissolve the injunction, stating that the plaintiffs involved lacked standing or a legal basis to sue. More specifically, it said that the executive branch clarified Trump's order was prospective and therefore only applied to babies born after the order was signed. The babies of the plaintiff mothers were born before the order.

In September, the United States said it would deny visas to people who are involved in the practice.

The new policy targeted commercial network operators, visa "fixers" who coach applicants to commit fraud, and foreign medical providers who help arrange such travel and fraudulent Medicaid use, according to a State Department statement.

"The Trump Administration is using every tool at our disposal to defend the integrity of U.S. citizenship, protect American public benefits and U.S. taxpayers from exploitation, and safeguard our national security," Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in a Sept. 23 statement. "By restricting visa issuance of those who both engage in and profit from this fraud, we are sending a clear message: The United States will not allow foreigners to exploit our immigration system and violate the sanctity of U.S. citizenship."

The ACLU has fought Trump on restricting birthright citizenship.

"The 14th Amendment ensures that no politician can ever decide who among those born in our country is worthy of citizenship," the ACLU stated in a 2025 post. "In the face of the Trump administration's threats, the 14th Amendment's protections continue to safeguard the rights of every person born in this country."

https://www.zerohedge.com/political/blanche-says-doj-using-fraud-laws-combat-birth-tourism