Today In Issues:
FDD Research & Analysis
The Must-Reads
Hamas marks 38 years since its founding, cites October 7 massacre as milestone JPost Editorial: If Iran was behind Bondi Beach terror attack, Israel’s response must be decisive Iran hosts regional talks on Afghanistan but Kabul stays away Former White House national security advisor John Bolton: Iran and its terrorist proxies plot a comeback U.S. offers Ukraine security guarantee in bid to break peace-talks deadlock Netanyahu, US envoy Barrack meet in Israel for talks on Syria security deal Rising tensions with Israel have Lebanon fearing return to all-out war Western and Arab diplomats tour Lebanon-Israel border to observe Hezbollah disarmament efforts Taiwan says its military can respond rapidly to any sudden Chinese attack Sudan once again tops International Rescue Committee crises watchlist Bondi beach shooters motivated by Islamic State, Australia says Intelligence warned Australia of Iranian-linked terror activity months before Bondi attack, officials sayIn The News
Israel
Appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday rejected one in a series of legal challenges brought by Israel against the court’s probe into its conduct of the Gaza war. – Reuters
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned Jews around the world “additional” attacks against Jews will take place following a deadly terror attack in Sydney that left 15 people killed. Lighting the first Chanukah candle at Israel’s National Police Academy, Mr. Netanyahu spoke about the terror attack on Bondi Beach, saying: “We know there will be additional attacks.” – New York Sun
Hamas called the October 7 massacre a “towering milestone” in a statement commemorating the 38th anniversary of its founding. – Jerusalem Post
In response to the terror attack in Bondi Beach, Australia, where 15 people, including one Israeli, lost their lives, the IDF issued a series of new recommendations to soldiers and personnel who are currently abroad, Army Radio reported on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
The IDF operated to dismantle terrorist infrastructure along Gaza’s Yellow Line in eastern Rafah over the course of the last week, during which troops killed terrorists who posed threats, and located weapons, missiles, and filming equipment used by Hamas operatives, the military stated on Monday. – Jerusalem Post
US President Donald Trump on Monday said Washington was “looking into” whether Israel violated the Gaza ceasefire with its strike that killed senior Hamas commander Raed Saad over the weekend. – Times of Israel
Israel is increasingly concerned over renewed US discussions with Qatar regarding the possible sale of F-35 fighter jets, Channel 12 news reported Monday, as Washington weighs major arms deals across the Middle East that could affect Israel’s qualitative military edge. – Times of Israel
Israel lambasted a decision by appeals judges at the International Criminal Court on Monday to reject one in a series of legal challenges brought by Jerusalem against the court’s probe into its conduct of the Gaza war. – Algemeiner
Editorial: However, it must be ironclad proof, not circumstantial convenience. Israel has to rely on irrefutable evidence so that there is no doubt of Iranian involvement. But Iran should not misread the situation; if that evidence exists, Israel will act strongly and quickly, and likely much more powerfully than June’s brief conflict. It is a reckoning the Islamic Republic, with all its internal dilemmas, could do without. – Jerusalem Post
Neville Teller writes: Hamas, after two years of intense war, has suffered severe military attrition. Although it remains operational and still dominates security and administrative structures in part of the Gaza Strip, its damaged and weakened situation means its negotiating position is fragile. Phase two of the ceasefire deal requires the disarmament of Hamas as a prerequisite for establishing appropriate security and governance mechanisms in Gaza. Allowing Hamas to spread the decommissioning process over two years gives it the chance to retain some sort of involvement in Gaza’s future. The idea should be vigorously resisted. – Jerusalem Post
Yoni Michanie writes: Israel must demonstrate it facilitates rather than impedes these objectives. The alternative is watching Israel transform from regional partner to regional problem in American eyes. Trump’s National Security Strategy offers a choice: align with American interests in Middle Eastern stability and normalization or watch as Washington concludes that Israeli obstinance serves only narrow political interests in Jerusalem. – Jerusalem Post
Rinat Harash writes: Media outlets have committed a journalistic sin — a manipulation of reality. Meshaal’s speech was a rare glimpse into Hamas’ true intentions: unfiltered, unambiguous, and damning. It contradicted diplomatic assumptions, exposed the fragility of the ceasefire, and signaled preparations for future violence. But Western audiences, including policymakers, never heard a word about it. – Algemeiner
Iran
Afghanistan’s neighbors met in Iran and agreed to deepen regional coordination to address political, economic and security challenges, as well as calling for sanctions on Afghanistan to be lifted. The only absent party? Afghanistan itself. – Associated Press
The son of Iran’s former ambassador to Australia posted an antisemitic message on X/Twitter just hours before the attack on the Jewish gathering in Sydney on Sunday. – Jerusalem Post
The government identified the Islamist regime in Tehran as the mastermind behind at least two major antisemitic arson attacks in Australia, saying it was likely responsible for additional incidents. In November, Australia officially designated Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a state-sponsored terrorist organization. – Algemeiner
John Bolton writes: The “axis of resistance” isn’t yet a well-oiled machine again, but it could be soon if the U.S. is inattentive. Washington’s frequent distractions must not prevent it from developing an effective long-term strategy. Now is the time not to negotiate with the ayatollahs but to resume serious enforcement of economic sanctions while adding new ones. When Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei dies, the leadership vacuum will provide Iran’s resistance a critical opportunity for regime change, and the opposition deserves U.S. assistance. Ignoring Iran until it fully regains its strength will only make matters worse. – Wall Street Journal
Menahem Merhavy writes: This sudden embrace of traditional Achaemenid and Sassanian motifs, long cherished by the public but historically sidelined by the state, functions as a tacit admission of ideological exhaustion. It signals that the regime recognizes the diminishing resonance of its revolutionary symbolism and now seeks legitimacy by borrowing from a shared cultural reservoir. In effect, the turn to pre-Islamic heritage is a symbolic concession: an acknowledgment that the Islamic republic no longer possesses a sacred vocabulary capable of unifying the nation on its own terms. – Foreign Policy
Russia and Ukraine
The U.S. pledged to protect Ukraine from any future Russian attack, U.S. officials said, offering to support European security guarantees and seek Senate backing for Washington’s promised role, which it hasn’t yet publicly detailed. – Wall Street Journal
Ukraine said it had used underwater drones to strike and critically damage a Russian submarine, claiming a first in maritime warfare and mounting a display of Ukraine’s ability to find innovative ways to wound its giant neighbor after nearly four years of war. – Wall Street Journal
European security officials now regularly broadcast a message nearly unimaginable a decade ago: get ready for conflict with Russia. Rarely a week goes by now without a European government, military or security chief making a grim speech warning the public that they are headed toward a potential war with Russia. – Wall Street Journal
The European Union sanctioned two oil traders it accused of playing a major role in facilitating Russian energy exports, a big swing at a clandestine market that has bankrolled Moscow’s war against Ukraine. – Wall Street Journal
A wave of massive Russian attacks is pushing Ukraine’s energy grid to the brink of collapse, according to officials and analysts familiar with the situation, as Moscow aims to demoralize the country, and the White House pressures Kyiv to sign a peace deal. – Washington Post
The new spymaster of Britain’s Secret Intelligence Service warned on Monday that Russia posed an “acute threat” to the West, plotting arson and sabotage operations, assassinations, and cyber and drone attacks across Europe. – New York Times
The founder of Russia’s opposition Yabloko party, which wants a ceasefire in Ukraine, has said his party will keep campaigning despite the arrest of two senior figures, a move he said was meant to derail it before next year’s parliamentary election. – Reuters
Ukrainian long-range drones struck a Russian oil production platform in the Caspian Sea for the third time in a week, a security source told Reuters on Monday. – Reuters
Ukraine could receive security guarantees modeled on NATO’s Article 5 mutual defense pledge under a proposed peace deal with Russia, U.S. officials said on Monday — an unprecedented offer aimed at ending the war sparked by Moscow’s 2022 invasion. – Reuters
European leaders said they had agreed on Monday any decisions on potential Ukrainian territorial concessions to Russia could only be made once robust security guarantees were in place which should include a European-led multinational force. – Reuters
European leaders including Ukraine’s Volodymyr Zelenskiy meet in The Hague on Tuesday to launch an International Claims Commission to compensate Kyiv for hundreds of billions of dollars in damage from Russian attacks and alleged war crimes. – Reuters
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Germany and other European countries of reviving Nazism, claiming the continent is being unified and mobilized against Russia in a way he likened to the eras of Adolf Hitler and Napoleon Bonaparte. – Newsweek
Editorial: Absent such cooperation, key EU members will need to boost bilateral transfers dramatically. While those nations face their own budget constraints — not to mention voters reluctant to underwrite security for free-riding EU members — the bill would ultimately be cheaper than the investments required to fend off a revanchist Russia. None of the EU’s options are easy. All require political will, rapid legal work, burden-sharing and leadership from Berlin, Paris and Warsaw. But Europe’s security, prosperity, decision-making credibility and ability to defend its interests against a domineering administration in Washington are all at stake. What’s truly unaffordable is inaction. – Bloomberg
James Durso writes: The West needs to get serious about offensive countermeasures — targeted sanctions that actually hurt the specific Russian intelligence units, cut-out companies, and oligarchs who finance and execute these operations. Russia long ago updated its doctrine for 21st-century warfare. Europe is still fighting with 20th-century tools and reflexes as it pretends this is just “hybrid mischief” rather than an economic war it is now losing piece by piece. – The Hill
Benjamin Jensen and Jose M. Macias III write: Until Moscow sees a significant reduction in export revenue, it will have little incentive to end the war. Major states beyond China and North Korea still benefit from Russian oil. India accounts for 45 percent of Russian seaborne oil exports and Turkey imports, on average, 425,000 barrels per day. The United States cannot support Ukraine attacking ships off the Indian or Turkish coast. It can support collecting the type of data required to expand sanctions and pressure companies involved in trafficking illicit oil that supports Russia. And Washington can support broad-based diplomatic efforts, like the G7 Shadow Fleet Task Force, while combining legal, environmental, and economic instruments of power to restrict the ghost fleet’s freedom of action. – Center for Strategic and International Studies
Syria
Israeli troops had raided the village — not for the first time — seeking to capture, as they said, members of a militant group planning attacks into Israel. Israel said militants opened fire at the troops, wounding six, and that troops returned fire and brought in air support. – Associated Press
Over a year since he fled to Moscow after his regime was toppled by rebel forces, former Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad is taking ophthalmology lessons and enjoying a luxurious lifestyle with his family in Russia, according to a Monday report by The Guardian, citing sources familiar with his situation. – Times of Israel
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu concluded a several-hour meeting on Monday with US Special Envoy for Syria Tom Barrack, regarding Israel’s security actions in Syria amid ongoing negotiations for a broader security agreement with Damascus. – Jerusalem Post
Turkey
Turkey shot down an uncontrolled drone that approached its airspace from the Black Sea, the defence ministry said. – Reuters
The World Bank is partnering with Turkey’s Vakifbank, to mobilise up to 1.5 billion euros ($1.76 billion) to expand access to finance for the country’s micro, small and medium enterprises, the multilateral lender said on Tuesday. – Reuters
Turkish officials are considering new measures to sharply raise the bar for retail investors seeking to pile cash into hedge funds after market upheaval last month, according to people familiar with the discussions. – Bloomberg
Lebanon
Thirteen months after a ceasefire was supposed to end hostilities between Israel and Hezbollah, Lebanon is bracing for another Israeli military escalation that could imperil its fragile recovery and fling the country back into war. – Washington Post
Western and Arab diplomats toured an area along Lebanon’s border with Israel Monday where Lebanese troops and U.N. peacekeepers have been working for months to end the armed presence of the militant Hezbollah group. – Associated Press
The IDF says the Lebanese Army struggles to target Hezbollah’s weapons stockpiles and operations in Shiite areas, while the group lacks the capability to carry out large-scale attacks on Israel. – Haaretz
Middle East & North Africa
Yemen’s main separatist group, the Southern Transitional Council, said they have launched a military operation in southern Abyan province. – Reuters
During a Friday sermon at the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, Sheikh Saleh Bin Abdullak Bin Humaid – one of the nine imams of the mosque – urged Muslims to view Palestinian children as role models in the face of what he described as an ‘oppressive and brutal Zionist enemy”. – Jewish Insider
Javier Blas writes: Transportation costs aren’t the only price measure likely to affected by an easing of shipping friction. Oil prices could come under pressure too, as the boost voyaging around Africa gave to fuel-oil consumption fades. Other commodities could also come under pressure, as the potential disruption to supply chains that prompted companies to hold higher stockpiles as a precaution against shocks fades. After five chaotic years, few shipping executives want to tempt fate by talking up the chances of the reopening of the Red Sea route. But finally there’s light at the end of the, ahem, canal. – Bloomberg
Korean Peninsula
Korea Zinc, the world’s largest zinc smelter, plans to build a $7.43 billion U.S. plant to produce key metals and minerals, under a joint venture aimed at strengthening supply-chain ties between Seoul and Washington. – Wall Street Journal
The nominee to head South Korea’s broadcast and media commission told parliament on Tuesday he would pursue imposing restrictions on social media use for teenagers, saying it was a priority as a means to protect young people. – Reuters
A South Korean court plans to hand down a ruling on January 16 on ousted President Yoon Suk Yeol’s insurrection charges linked to his martial law order, YTN reported on Tuesday. – Reuters
China
When a California family court handling surrogacy petitions realized a Chinese billionaire was seeking parental rights to at least four unborn children, and learned he had already fathered or was in the process of fathering at least eight more through surrogates, it raised alarm. – Wall Street Journal
In 2020, a Chinese citizen had heard reports about China’s mass detention and surveillance of Uyghurs. But he wanted to see if they were true for himself. So the citizen, Heng Guan, 38, said that he made a hugely risky decision, driving across the country from eastern China to Xinjiang, where he tracked down and secretly shot video of hulking re-education and detention centers mostly holding Uyghurs, a Muslim ethnic group. – New York Times
Investment in China slowed drastically in November, propelling the country closer toward its first annual decline in more than three decades. Investment for housing, public infrastructure and manufacturing fell 2.6 percent from January through November, marking another month of sharp decline in so-called fixed-asset investment, China’s National Bureau of Statistics announced on Monday. – New York Times
Several former colleagues of Hong Kong media mogul Jimmy Lai at the Apple Daily newspaper reacted with dismay at his national security conviction, fearing Lai and other former staffers may be given a heavy sentence but saying he remains an inspiration. – Reuters
In well-connected circles within China, the yuan’s persistent weakness is increasingly being seen as an obstacle to the country’s growth. A rising number of Chinese economists and former central bank officials are arguing a stronger currency is needed if the country is to rebalance the economy away from exports, boost tepid consumer demand and reduce trade conflicts. – Bloomberg
South Asia
India’s anti-terrorism agency on Monday charged militant Islamist groups based in Pakistan and six individuals over an April attack on tourists in Indian Kashmir that killed 26 men, and triggered intense fighting between the two countries. – Reuters
The Asian Development Bank and India signed agreements on five loans worth over $2.2 billion for development projects in the country, the federal government said in a statement on Monday. – Reuters
India’s equity benchmarks ended little changed on Monday, in line with the muted moves over the last two weeks, as foreign outflows and ongoing uncertainty surrounding a potential trade deal with the U.S. dampened sentiment. – Reuters
A Pakistani anti-terrorism court sentenced a senior leader of a banned Islamist party to 35 years in prison for inciting violence, more than a year after the cleric publicly called for the killing of the country’s then-chief justice, court officials and a defense lawyer said Tuesday. – Associated Press
Zalmai Nishat writes: International responses must move beyond symbolic campaigns and the reduction of the issue to girls’ or women’s rights and instead recognize the deeper ideological crisis at hand. We must ask the harder question: What education will any child receive under Taliban rule? Without addressing the ideological engineering underway, we risk normalizing a system designed to fuel extremism for generations. Only by confronting the Taliban’s totalitarian project head-on can the international community safeguard Afghanistan’s future and protect regional peace and global stability. – Reuters
Asia
Taiwan’s military can respond rapidly to any sudden Chinese attack with all units able to operate under a decentralised mode of command without awaiting orders from above, Taipei’s defence ministry said in a report to lawmakers. – Reuters
Taiwan’s global credibility is on the line and parliament should withdraw a series of laws the government opposes, President Lai Ching-te said amid a deepening dispute with the opposition, which has slammed him for ignoring the will of the people. – Reuters
Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro on Tuesday denounced what he described as “dangerous” and “inhumane” actions by Chinese maritime forces against Filipino fishermen in a contested South China Sea shoal last week. – Reuters
Government authorities have not done enough to stamp out hatred of Jews in Australia, which has allowed it to fester in the aftermath of October 7, said the daughter of a Holocaust survivor who was wounded at the Bondi shootings on Sunday. – Reuters
Heavy combat between Thailand and Cambodia entered a second week on Monday, with Phnom Penh claiming that Thai bombing is hitting deeper into its territory, coming close to shelters for people who had already fled dangerous areas along the border. – Associated Press
Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s assertion that his government’s recognition of Palestinian statehood earlier this year “pours fuel” on an “antisemitic fire.” – Times of Israel
The Sydney Opera House was illuminated by a large menorah Monday night, a solemn tribute to the 15 lives lost the previous day in an antisemitic terror attack that rocked Australia’s Jewish community. – Times of Israel
Japan-based Marines held the first Marine Corps Attack Drone Competition, certifying troops as operators in preparation for bringing the new technology to the battlefield. – USNI News
Daniel Moss writes: With luck, the slowdown won’t be deep. Vietnam needs the factories to keep humming. Its development still lags many peers that got into the low-cost manufacturing game far earlier, such as Thailand, Malaysia and Singapore. Hanoi wants upper-middle-income status by the end of this decade. It’s hard to square that with a cratering of trade. Consumers around the world need the stuff Vietnam churns out, ranging from sneakers to furniture and computers. To gauge the health of world commerce in 2026, look at how the Southeast Asian export powerhouse is traveling. Their destinies are bound. – Bloomberg
Kareem Rifai writes: The Trump administration has little excuse not to act: removing tariffs on Japan would be the bare-minimum to respond to China’s economic campaign without directly antagonizing Beijing and potentially jeopardizing the U.S.-China trade deal. Trump has an opportunity to tangibly reaffirm the strength of the U.S.-Japan alliance at a time where Tokyo needs a show of support more than ever. If he doesn’t take it, he’ll be handing China yet another win. – The Hill
Shayna Faul writes: Yet the real challenge facing Kinmen isn’t military—it’s a matter of political economy. Administratively tied to Taiwan, Kinmen illustrates the complex dynamics of geopolitical influence and economic integration. The maritime network incorporating Kinmen illustrates how a system of grassroots cultural and economic interactions can combine into a regionalization fueled by local communities and merchants, rather than one imposed by a centralized political authority. – National Interest
Ayaan Hirsi Ali writes: Hanukkah is a story about survival against forces that sought to erase a people. Australia can choose to honor that meaning. The terror at Bondi Beach has issued the challenge. Australia’s leaders’ response will be the verdict. “Never again” isn’t a ritual phrase reserved for memorials, but a standard by which nations are judged. Whether Australia meets it will be determined not by speeches or ceremonies, but by what it does next. – The Free Press
Europe
Jared Kushner pulled out of a planned Trump-branded development in Belgrade after the project sparked protests and the indictment of a senior Serbian politician. – Wall Street Journal
The French government said it has strong concerns over the European Union’s long-awaited trade deal with Latin American countries in its current form, saying the agreement could still leave the bloc’s farmers vulnerable. – Wall Street Journal
Belarusian President Alexander Lukashenko said in an interview with U.S. media organization Newsmax on Monday that Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was welcome to come to Belarus should he leave office, but that no such discussions had been held with Maduro. – Reuters
Romania’s broad coalition government survived a no-confidence vote on Monday over its economic policies and reform plans but its biggest party voted with the hard-right opposition in a separate motion against a cabinet minister. – Reuters
The United States has suspended a technology deal it struck with Britain earlier this year, which was intended to boost ties in artificial intelligence, quantum computing and civil nuclear energy, the Financial Times reported on Monday. – Reuters
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and French President Emmanuel Macron have agreed on the need to delay a final European Union vote on the Mercosur trade deal, two sources familiar with the discussion told Reuters on Monday. – Reuters
Greek police have arrested five suspected members of an international crime ring trafficking an estimated seven tonnes of cocaine from Venezuela to Europe on a Greek-operated fishing vessel, two police officials said on Monday. – Reuters
New Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis’ government took power on Monday following an October election victory, in a shift likely to weaken the country’s support for Ukraine and bolster the European Union’s populist right-wing flank. – Reuters
EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte will be among leaders in Berlin on Monday evening for talks on a possible peace agreement for Ukraine. – Reuters
Anduril has a novel pitch for Britain’s military: If it wins a £100 million ($133.5 million) contract for a new uncrewed combat aircraft, the company will foot half the bill for development. The California defense startup made the same proposal in Australia, and in September landed a A$1.7 billion ($1.1 billion) contract there to build an autonomous submarine. In Europe, which is embarking on a historic rearming effort, even more money is at stake. – Bloomberg
Maciej Bukowski writes: But this moment should not be seen merely as a crisis. It is also an opportunity for European self-invention. To adapt to the world as it is, not as it would like it to be. Doing so will require the management of Russian irredentism, US retrenchment, migration flows, and rising tensions with China, while confronting internal fractures over the European Union’s future structure and slowness of decision-making. There is no refuge from these issues for Europe’s political class. The US has made its choice and Europe must now adapt. Quickly, because time is running out. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Daniel Kochis writes: There is little more that the US military could remove from Europe without seriously undermining NATO deterrence. To some planners, reducing or eliminating rotational forces may appear to be an easy way to reduce the number of US forces in Europe without needing to build new basing stateside or in another theater. Yet these rotational forces constitute a major part of the US presence in Eastern Europe and constitute America’s entire persistent presence in the Baltics. Rather than looking for quick ways to reduce its headcount in Europe, the DoW should seek to increase the deterrent value of the forces it has already committed to Eastern Europe by making their deployments permanent rather than rotational. – Hudson Institute
Emilian Kavalski and Maximilian Mayer write: This is not primarily a budget problem. European defense spending is rising rapidly. It is a production problem. Without long-term contracts, predictable energy access, secure supply chains, and trained workforces, more money often translates into debt rather than output. A war economy means something very specific: a permanent industrial posture designed for sustained military production under crisis conditions, with surge capacity built in before, and not after, the shooting intensifies. – National Interest
Africa
More than 110 tons of humanitarian supplies from the European Union and aid organizations reached war-torn Darfur by air on Friday, the first of eight such flights to Sudan planned in the coming weeks to address the severe humanitarian crisis there, the European Commission said on Monday. – New York Times
Sudan has once again topped a watchlist of global humanitarian crises released by the International Rescue Committee (IRC) aid organization, as warring sides press on with a conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people. – Reuters
The Rwanda-backed M23 group has captured hundreds of Burundian soldiers during its latest offensive in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, a rebel official said, as clashes continued despite a warning from the Trump administration. – Reuters
Rwanda-backed M23 rebels have said they would withdraw from the eastern Congo town of Uvira at the request of the U.S. administration, which had criticised seizure of the town last week as a threat to mediation efforts. – Reuters
Congolese ex-rebel leader Roger Lumbala was found guilty by a Paris court on Monday of complicity in crimes against humanity committed during the Second Congo War and was sentenced to 30 years in prison, an official said. – Reuters
Uganda plans to borrow $608 million from lenders such as the Korea Export-Import Bank and South Africa’s Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) to finance infrastructure development, a parliament document showed on Tuesday. – Reuters
South African miners are boosting thermal coal exports to Israel after top supplier Colombia in August ordered a total ban on shipments of the power-generation fuel to Israel, data from Kpler, LSEG and DBX Commodities showed. – Reuters
Kenya on Monday signed an agreement for the investment of $311 million in the construction of two high-voltage electricity transmission lines with a pan-African infrastructure fund and PowerGrid Corporation of India, the finance ministry said. – Reuters
South Sudan’s government has grounded four aircraft registered under the United Nations mission there, alleging that they were used for illegal surveillance and smuggling, which the U.N. denied. – Associated Press
The Americas
Argentina’s central bank said Monday it would allow the peso to move more freely, responding to investors who have demanded President Javier Milei’s government correct an overvalued currency. – Wall Street Journal
Trinidad and Tobago granted approval on Monday for United States military aircraft to transit its airports in the coming weeks, amid rising tensions between the U.S. and Venezuela. – Reuters
Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado fractured a vertebra while fleeing Venezuela on a small boat last week to receive the award in Oslo, a spokesperson for the opposition leader said on Monday, confirming a Norwegian media report. – Reuters
The head of Honduras’ National Electoral Council, Ana Paola Hall, said on Monday that protests in the capital Tegucigalpa have delayed the start of a special recount of some of the ballots from the contested November 30 presidential election. – Reuters
The United States and Mexico signed a new agreement aimed at addressing the ongoing Tijuana River sewage crisis, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said Monday in a statement. – Reuters
The Colombian government’s delegation in peace talks with the National Liberation Army on Monday condemned an “armed strike” — which confines civilians to their homes and restricts commercial activity — that the rebel group is conducting this week in response to the U.S. military’s naval buildup in the Caribbean. – Associated Press
Guatemalan President Bernardo Arévalo on Sunday said he had declared a state of emergency in two municipalities in western Guatemala a day after armed men attacked a military post and a police station, cut off roads and hijacked buses, killing at least five people. – Associated Press
Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López said the United States is consolidating its power in the Caribbean at the expense of regional sovereignty, amid rising tensions and fears of military escalation against President Nicolás Maduro’s regime. – Newsweek
United States
President Donald Trump signed an executive order on Monday declaring fentanyl a weapon of mass destruction, a move that dramatically expands the U.S. government’s authority to fight the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of American overdose deaths each year. – Reuters
President Donald Trump sued the BBC on Monday for defamation over edited clips of a speech that made it appear he directed supporters to storm the U.S. Capitol, opening an international front in his fight against media coverage he deems untrue or unfair. – Reuters
Leading Jewish groups in the United States are urging all Jewish organizations to ratchet up security measures at public events — including restrictions on access — following the deadly mass shooting that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on a popular Australian beach. – Associated Press
New York City Democratic Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani is facing renewed scrutiny over his past refusal to condemn the controversial phrase “globalize the intifada” following a deadly attack that targeted a Hanukkah celebration on Bondi Beach in Sydney. – Newsweek
Catherine Cortez Masto writes: If we want to stem the influence of the Chinese Communist Party in the critical mineral supply chain, we must be smart and strategic about it. We can’t dive headfirst into trade wars, alienate key allies, or take away incentives that strengthen domestic production. We must instead take swift action to protect our own national security, invest in American innovation and jobs, and boost domestic critical mineral production. Passing my legislation will aid in that effort, and now is the time to act. China can afford for us to wait; we can’t. – The Hill
Cybersecurity
Venezuela’s state-run oil company PDVSA has been subject to a cyberattack, it said on Monday, adding its operations were unaffected, even though four sources said systems remained down and oil cargo deliveries were suspended. – Reuters
Chinese AI chip startup Biren Technology aims to launch a Hong Kong initial public offering in the coming weeks, four sources with knowledge of the matter said. – Reuters
Germany’s lower house of parliament suffered a major email outage on Monday in what officials suspect was a cyberattack during high-stakes U.S.-Ukraine talks hosted by Chancellor Friedrich Merz, the Financial Times reported on Monday. – Reuters
Appetite for Israeli technology innovation has remained undiminished this year, with a surge in acquisitions and IPOs led by Alphabet’s (GOOGL.O), $32 billion purchase of Israeli cybersecurity company Wiz, PwC Israel said on Monday. – Reuters
Rajeev Kohli writes: The companies that benefit most from these systems need to integrate creative workers into their workforce. Regulators need to help level the playing field so that creative professionals, whose work trains these systems, can get a stake in the wealth they produce. Critics worry that spending hundreds of billions on AI is a gamble on superintelligence that may never arrive. But Google, Meta, and Amazon aren’t making only this bet. They are methodically consolidating the trillion-dollar advertising industry—and displacing the creative workers who once powered it. – Wall Street Journal
Parmy Olson writes: The UK researchers warn that anyone who wants to push an ideological idea, create political unrest or destabilize political systems could use a closed or (even cheaper) open-source model to start persuading people. And they’ve demonstrated the disarming power of AI to do so. But note that they had to pay people to join their persuasion study. Let’s hope deploying such bots via websites and text messages, outside the main gateways controlled by the likes of OpenAI and Alphabet Inc.’s Google, won’t get the bad actors very far in distorting the political discourse. – Bloomberg
Christopher Cytera writes: Both the US and Europe should see Japan as an essential and trusted ally for securing the future of global semiconductor supply chains. Japan’s unmatched capabilities across the value chain, deep-rooted collaborations with American and European technology leaders, and proven reliability stand in direct opposition to the competitive and geopolitical risks posed by China. – Center for European Policy Analysis
Mohammed Soliman writes: The transition from crude to compute is underway. The Gulf’s choice is whether to lead this transformation or watch from the sidelines as others shape the AI architecture of the coming decades. For the United States, the choice is whether to embrace strategic partners who can help meet exponential compute demand or impose artificial constraints that cede ground to competitors. The path forward requires both sides to move beyond incremental steps toward a comprehensive partnership that matches the scale of the opportunity and the urgency of the moment. – Middle East Institute
Defense
Senior Pentagon officials are preparing a plan to downgrade several of the U.S. military’s major headquarters and shift the balance of power among its top generals, in a major consolidation sought by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, people familiar with the matter said. – Washington Post
U.S. forces killed eight alleged drug smugglers in three separate boat strikes in the eastern Pacific Ocean on Monday, raising the death toll in the Trump administration’s counternarcotics campaign to at least 95. – Washington Post
A JetBlue, passenger jet bound for New York took evasive action on Friday to avoid a mid-air collision with a U.S. Air Force tanker plane near Venezuela, a pilot said in an air traffic control recording. – Reuters
Lawmakers are allowing the Navy flexibility in how it purchases the next two aircraft carriers and five ballistic missile submarines, according to the text of the defense policy bill. – USNI News
French and American military satellites have successfully practiced joint maneuvers as part of US Space Command’s multinational space warplan, France’s Space Command announced Sunday. – Breaking Defense
The first B-52H Stratofortress to receive a major radar upgrade last week flew to Edwards Air Force Base in California for testing, marking a significant milestone in the Air Force’s work to modernize its oldest bomber fleet. – Military Times
Long War
The shooters who attacked a Hanukkah event at Sydney’s Bondi Beach on Sunday appear to have been inspired by Islamic State, Australia’s prime minister said Tuesday, as investigators looked into the events that led to the country’s worst mass shooting in nearly 30 years. – Wall Street Journal
The black flag of the Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is no longer associated with the sprawling territorial “caliphate” the group once controlled in the Syrian desert. It no longer serves as a banner beckoning Islamist militant recruits from across the globe or as the symbol of an organization with tight operational control over its terrorist plots and media profile. – Washington Post
Four people are facing criminal charges in connection with what Attorney General Pam Bondi described on Monday as a foiled bomb plot that contemplated multiple targets, including U.S. immigration agents and their vehicles. – Reuters
As the rest of the world rushes to harness the power of artificial intelligence, militant groups also are experimenting with the technology, even if they aren’t sure exactly what to do with it. – Associated Press
Senior Israeli intelligence officials say Australia was warned months in advance about the establishment of foreign-linked terror infrastructure on its soil, including activity aimed at Jewish communities, amid growing concerns about both Iranian-directed operations and a potential resurgence of ISIS in Syria. – Fox News