The hour's clearest throughline is cost-of-living anger on both sides of the Atlantic. Hundreds of thousands protested across France for a third straight weekend over rising living costs and school conditions, with riot police using tear gas in Paris ¹. Youth protests inspired by France have spread to Portugal, Italy and Germany ². In Germany, tens of thousands rallied in the largest cities ³, and largely peaceful demonstrations turned violent after nightfall ⁴. There are also reports that social media posts about the French demonstrations are being suppressed ⁵. In the US, two days before the midterms, affordability dominates. One NGO says around 40% of Michigan residents struggle to afford basics ⁶, and many voters link Trump's policies directly to inflation ⁷. Affordability is also central to the Los Angeles mayoral race, where Karen Bass faces a strong challenge from Nithya Raman ^8,9. National polls forecast a sweeping Republican loss ¹⁰, and healthcare investors are betting such a shift would reverse Trump's Medicaid cuts and help hospital operators, though that may prove harder to deliver than markets expect ^11,12. Gulf shipping is the second story not to miss. Pakistan reportedly negotiated with Iran for safe passage of the LNG carrier Al Mayeda, which was attacked near the Strait of Hormuz on Friday ¹³. Separately, a Qatar LNG carrier was struck by 'unidentified objects' in the Gulf ¹⁴. Iran designated the British Royal Navy and Air Force as 'terrorist' organisations and MI6 as a 'hostile group' ¹⁵. A G20 foreign ministers' meeting in Atlanta ended without a communique amid the Ukraine crisis and US-Iran conflict ¹⁶. In crypto, Binance is restoring withdrawals in phases, starting with bitcoin, after a record $6.3 billion hack ¹⁷. It has drawn on its insurance fund to replace stolen assets ¹⁸. Trump said the US would contact North Korea if it is tied to the hack ¹⁹. On Ukraine, Zelenskyy said overnight Russian strikes on energy infrastructure in four oblasts left hundreds of thousands of households without power, after a week of 1,940 attack drones and 44 missiles ²⁰. He plans to seek emergency loans of 10 to 30 air defense missiles, repaid from a newly approved US purchase of 500 Patriot interceptors ²¹. Meanwhile, Russia extended its diesel export ban to January 2027 with exemptions under an arrangement with Trump ²². In Israel, President Herzog begins coalition consultations Wednesday ²³, after Netanyahu lost ground in the election ²⁴. Uncovered elsewhere, the mandate for the UN peacekeeping mission in Western Sahara expired after the Security Council concluded without an extension agreement .