🌍 Geopolitical

• Russia and Ukraine: Lt. Gen. Fanil Sarvarov, head of the Russian General Staff’s Directorate for Operational Training, was killed in Moscow on December 22 following a car bomb explosion. Russian investigators are considering that Ukrainian special services organized the assassination, although Ukraine has not claimed responsibility. Sarvarov oversaw combat training for Russian forces in Ukraine and is the third senior Russian general killed within a year.

  High-Ranking Russian General Assassinated in Moscow [2025-12-22] – link

• Iran and Israel: Israel warned the United States that a missile exercise conducted by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) could be a cover for preparing a possible missile strike against the country.

  Israel warns US that missile exercises by IRGC might be cover-up for surprise attack [2025-12-20] – link

• Iran’s ballistic missile threat is re-emerging six months after Operation Rising Lion, with reports suggesting Iran is rebuilding its missile production capability quickly, potentially manufacturing up to 3,000 ballistic missiles annually. Iran reportedly held several ballistic missile drills in various cities on December 22, though state media later denied the tests.

  A Half-Year After Operation Rising Lion, Iran’s Ballistic Missile Threat Re-Emerges [2025-12-22] – link

  Iran Reportedly Conducts Ballistic Missile Drills [2025-12-22] – link

• Americas: The U.S. Coast Guard is pursuing an oil tanker involved in transporting oil from Venezuela as part of the Trump administration’s efforts to blockade the country’s crude, which the Venezuelan government rejected as a “serious act of international piracy”. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva warned that an “armed intervention in Venezuela would be a humanitarian catastrophe”.

  U.S. Blockades Sanctioned Oil Tankers in Venezuela. Iran Deserves the Same Treatment. [2025-12-19] – link

  Venezuelan government rejects seizure of new vessel transporting oil [2025-12-20] – link

  Brazil’s Lula warns US intervention in Venezuela could be catastrophic [2025-12-20] – link

• Southeast Asia: Southeast Asian foreign ministers met in Malaysia to try to restore a ceasefire between Thailand and Cambodia following two weeks of fighting that resulted in at least 60 deaths and displaced more than half a million people.

  ASEAN to seek resolution to Thailand-Cambodia conflict with Malaysia meeting [2025-12-21] – link

💻 Cyber

• The FBI reported that unknown actors are continuing to use AI voice cloning tools in an ongoing effort, dating back to 2023, to impersonate U.S. government officials to extract sensitive or classified information or conduct scams.

  FBI says ongoing deepfake impersonation of US officials dates back to 2023 [2025-12-20] – link

• British trade department minister Chris Bryant confirmed that the government was hacked in October, partly confirming a report that a Chinese group breached systems to access Foreign Office data.

  UK government was hacked in October, minister confirms [2025-12-19] – link

• Russian technology companies working on air defense and sensitive electronics were targeted in recent weeks by a cyber espionage group utilizing AI-generated decoy documents.

  Russian defense firms targeted by hackers using AI, other tactics [2025-12-19] – link

🔫 Activism Terrorism

• A Toronto man has been charged with working with the Islamic State to support and commit terrorist acts, following his arrest with two others over incidents directed at the Jewish community.

  Toronto Man Charged With Working With ISIS to Support Terrorist Acts [2025-12-19] – link

• Court documents revealed that homemade pipe and tennis ball bombs were thrown at a crowd at Bondi Beach prior to the mass shooting but failed to detonate.

  Australian police say pipe bombs failed to detonate in deadly Bondi Beach attack [2025-12-22] – link

• The father and son accused of the Bondi Beach shooting reportedly met with local Muslim religious leaders during their trip to the Philippines last month.

  Bondi attack suspects met with Muslim clerics during Philippines trip, intelligence authorities say [2025-12-21] – link

⚙️ Critical Infrastructure

• The U.S. Interior Department announced the suspension of leases for five offshore wind farms on the East Coast, costing $25 billion, due to national security concerns that the turbines could create radar interference, making it difficult to identify legitimate targets.

  Offshore Goes Offline [2025-12-23] – link

• Japanese authorities approved the restarting of the Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant, the world’s largest, for the first time since the 2011 Fukushima disaster, in an effort to reduce dependence on imported fossil fuels.

  Japan’s Nuclear Comeback [2025-12-23] – link

👪 Crime or Organized Crime

• Gunmen killed nine people at a bar near Johannesburg, South Africa, in an incident the police linked to organized crime.

  Gunmen kill nine in South Africa bar shooting linked to organized crime [2025-12-21] – link

• A Pakistani court sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife to 17 years in prison each in a corruption case related to the under-priced purchase of luxury state gifts.

  Pakistan court hands Imran Khan, wife 17-year jail terms in another graft case [2025-12-20] – link

• Leaders of armed factions in Iraq have agreed to cooperate on the issue of the state’s monopoly on weapons.

  Iraq’s top judge says pro-Iran militias will coordinate with state on arms control [2025-12-21] – link

🗳 DVE (Domestic Violent Extremists) / EVE (Environmental Violent Extremist)

• A reported draft Pentagon memo argues that continued support for Scouting America should be cut, accusing the co-ed program of being designed to “attack boy-friendly spaces” and fostering “gender confusion”. This position is facing resistance from officials who believe ending support would be detrimental to military recruitment, as military academies show a significant overlap of officers and cadets with a scouting background.

  Scouting America Is Vital to the Pentagon’s Warfighting Potential [2025-12-22] – link