Main Contenders Facing Off In Israeli Election

The election could reshape the country’s political landscape, but neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s allies nor the opposition has a clear path to a governing majority, most polls suggest.

Israelis vote in parliamentary elections on Oct 27, the first since Hamas’s Oct 7, 2023 attack and the subsequent wars in the Gaza Strip and Iran.

Many consider it the most significant election in Israel’s history, with consequences well beyond its borders.

Polls show Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing a fierce challenge from Gadi Eisenkot, the former chief of the Israel Defense Forces. Neither side appears able to secure a clear majority, which could leave Arab parties holding a critical balance of power.

Lockheed Martin Agrees $78bn F-35 Deal

Lockheed Martin outlines a 10-year framework with the United States covering at least 850 F-35 fighters, potentially worth more than $78 billion, alongside self-funded initiatives to support the program.

Lockheed Martin has agreed a 10-year framework with the U.S. Department of Defense covering at least 850 F-35 Lightning II fighter jets, potentially worth more than $78 billion. The agreement, which requires congressional approval and is not yet a formal sales order, covers U.S. and international requirements as demand for military aircraft continues to grow.

Lockheed will also self-fund at least $7 billion to support F-35 production, supply chains and repair capacity, while targeting global production of 156 aircraft a year. The program includes three variants – the conventional F-35A, short-takeoff and vertical-landing F-35B, and carrier-based F-35C – currently costing between $92 million and $121 million each.

Van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” May Show Real Sky

Researchers combining astronomical simulations and star-position data suggest the sky in Van Gogh’s The Starry Night was based on real observation, rather than pure imagination.

Researchers led by Elijah Jeong-hyun Kim and Ho Jin combined astronomical simulations, star-position data, historical weather records and Van Gogh’s letters. They found that a crescent Moon, Venus, and the Hyades star cluster in Taurus would have been visible together at dawn on July 22, 1889, in an arrangement broadly similar to that in the painting.

The 1889 work is widely thought to have been inspired by the view from Van Gogh’s window at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum in Saint-Rémy, where he sought treatment for mental illness.

The findings, published in Nature, suggest the usual June dating of the painting may need to be reconsidered. The authors caution, however, that the evidence cannot pin down a single completion date, and that Van Gogh may have combined observations from several nights.