USA - Last year, the Defense Intelligence Agency concluded that Russia and China increasingly lean on nuclear weapons to pursue their national interests. Together, they could surpass the US strategic nuclear force in numbers, creating a multiple-challenger problem and raising the risk of coordination between adversaries. Put plainly: The nuclear balance is moving against the United States.

JAPAN - Japanese Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae, fresh off an astounding victory in snap elections for the lower house of parliament last week, said on Monday she would like to reopen discussions about amending the Japanese Constitution through a national referendum. The Japanese Self-Defense Forces (JSDF), which was established in 1954, is not mentioned in the current constitution, which was written in 1946. This leaves the Japanese military with an uncertain legal status, especially since Article 9 of the constitution “renounces war” and forbids Japan from maintaining land, sea, or air forces. The JSDF only exists because the Japanese government interpreted Article 9 to mean there could be no standing army, navy, or air force geared toward offensive military operations, but the nation could maintain some purely defensive units as a deterrence to potential attackers. It became difficult to argue that Japan could effectively defend itself with the small, purely defensive, and legally all-but-nonexistent JSDF.

USA - In the unfolding tapestry of our times, disruption is no longer a distant rumor but a palpable reality. Our world is on the cusp of profound transformations that promise to reshape every aspect of life as we know it. The challenges ahead are multifaceted, encompassing economic instability, social unrest, technological control, moral collapse, geopolitical tension, and spiritual deception. Each of these areas presents unique threats, but they are interconnected, amplifying the impact of one another. The convergence of these forces signals a new normal, one that demands our unwavering preparedness and resolute faith. The economic landscape is undergoing seismic shifts. Centralized financial systems, long propped up by fiat currencies, are showing signs of strain. The unprecedented money printing and inflation have eroded the purchasing power of currencies...

GERMANY - California Governor Gavin Newsom called on world leaders attending the Munich Security Conference in Germany to think about a future without President Donald Trump. "I hope if there is nothing else I communicate today: Donald Trump is temporary. He'll be gone in three years," Newsom said. Of Trump, Newsom encouraged leaders to "call this guy out" and stand up to the administration's actions on the climate and beyond. The California governor and potential 2028 presidential candidate was one of several potential White House hopefuls in Munich for the annual summit. At last year's gathering, Vice President JD Vance criticized European allies, accusing them of censoring right-wing political parties and not doing more to stop illegal migration. Since then, Trump's on-again, off-again tariffs, repeated threats to seize Greenland and calls for NATO allies to spend more on security have forced longtime US allies to question American commitments.

IRAN - As the diplomatic channel between the United States and Iran continues, Israel is preparing for war. Jerusalem’s red lines are nowhere near Tehran’s, which refuses even to consider limits on its missile program — the same missiles that caused destruction in Israel during the 12-day war. For Iran, its ballistic missile program is not merely a weapons system but a supreme strategic asset, possibly even more important than its nuclear project, given its proven ability to paralyze Israel’s home front and inflict significant damage despite advanced defense systems. Lessons from the war — in which Israel was forced to manage a “munitions economy” in the face of hundreds of launches, intercepting most of them yet still sustaining heavy damage — reinforced in Tehran the view that Israel is vulnerable to attrition attacks that could deplete its interceptor stockpiles. Because Iran views its missile array as a primary tool of deterrence and decisive force, intelligence assessments conclude it will not relinquish it even under US pressure in negotiations.

ISRAEL - For Jews, it is the site of both the First and Second Temples (destroyed in 586 BCE and 70 CE, respectively), and the holiest site in Judaism. For Muslims, it is the site where Mohammed ascended to heaven on a miraculous trip called Isra’ and Mi’raj (“the night journey and ascension”) and is the third-holiest site after Mecca and Medina. In the past few years, the number of Jews ascending to the Temple Mount has increased dramatically to more than 68,000 in the Hebrew year that ended in September 2025, an increase of 22% over the previous year, according to the Beyadenu activist group.

GERMANY - A majority of Germans support direct talks between German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Russian President Vladimir Putin on ending the Ukraine conflict, the DPA news agency reported on Thursday, citing a recent YouGov poll. Some 58% of respondents said they would somewhat or strongly support such negotiations, according to the survey. Just over a quarter of respondents opposed the idea. The political opposition in Germany has already made calls for Merz to restart direct dialogue with Moscow. “Take a step forward and finally call Moscow and negotiate peace and prosperity” for Europe, Alternative for Germany MP Tino Chrupalla said in parliament last month, warning of looming “deindustrialization.” Germany’s economy has faced stagnation and soaring energy prices since 2022 in what has been widely attributed to the refusal to purchase relatively cheap Russian gas.

USA - The US will send the largest aircraft carrier in the world to the Persian Gulf to bolster its forces in the Middle East, The New York Times reported on Thursday. The USS Gerald R Ford and its escort ships had previously been deployed in the Caribbean and, according to four anonymous US officials, were informed of their new destination on Thursday. Concurrently, the Ford had originally been meant to be deployed in European waters, but was redirected to the Caribbean in order to participate in the abduction of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. The USS Lincoln aircraft carrier and several other vessels are stationed in the Middle East. US President Donald Trump told N12 on Tuesday that the United States is ready to attack Iran in case the negotiations with the Islamic Republic fail...

MIDDLE EAST - Trump is gambling that the Iranians will conclude that they are better off making a deal than testing American resolve, and Israel, naturally, has reason to watch all of this with concern. The message is unmistakable. Diplomacy is the preference – but force is not off the table. This is leverage, pure and simple. The armada sitting within striking distance of Iran is a sword held right up across Khameinei’s throat. Trump has made it clear that he prefers a deal to another war. But he is also signaling that if Tehran miscalculates – if it drags out negotiations or rejects the proposed terms outright – there will be consequences. At the same time, such a military posture is not indefinitely sustainable. Aircraft carriers and strike groups are enormously expensive instruments of power, and there are other areas of operations for the US Navy. The longer the vessels sit idle, the more the leverage erodes. Tehran understands that as well.

CHINA - A new, compact, high-power microwave weapon, the TPG1000Cs, has been developed at a Shanghai Nuclear Technology Institute, which could become one of the most serious threats to the Starlink satellite network. The device can deliver 20 gigawatts of energy for up to a full minute, the South China Morning Post reported, cited by Portfolio. At just four meters long and weighing just five tons, the device is small enough to be mounted on trucks, warships, airplanes, or even satellites. Some Chinese experts estimate that a ground-based microwave weapon with a power of over 1 gigawatt could be capable of seriously disrupting or even damaging satellites in low Earth orbit, such as Starlink, being used in the Russian-Ukrainian war. China has repeatedly signaled that Starlink poses a serious threat to its national security. Chinese military researchers are currently developing new “Starlink killer” weapons, including high-powered microwave systems and lasers, that could be used to relatively cheaply combat large constellations of low-orbit satellites if necessary.

MIDDLE EAST - US pulls out of Syria’s al-Tanf base after 15-day equipment removal, relocating to Jordan. The al-Tanf base is strategically located in the tri-border area of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq. It was established as a key hub for operations by the global coalition against Islamic State terrorists. US personnel have also been posted in Jordan for decades, and the forces departing al-Tanf are likely to join an existing US military base in the kingdom. An Iranian MP has threatened US bases, urging Jordanians to seize control of air bases amid rising tensions.

USA - Federal authorities unveil sweeping charges against more than 300 pharmaceutical executives in what officials are calling the largest Medicaid fraud takedown in US history, exposing an alleged nationwide scheme involving billions in taxpayer dollars.

USA - Whether we like it or not, AI is radically transforming virtually every aspect of our society. We have already reached a point where AI can do most things better than humans can, and AI technology continues to advance at an exponential rate. The frightening thing is that it is advancing so fast that we may soon lose control over it. The latest model that OpenAI just released “was instrumental in creating itself”, and it is light years ahead of the AI models that were being released just a couple of years ago.

USA - Mrinank Sharma, an Oxford graduate who led the Claude chatbot maker’s Safeguards Research Team, posted his resignation letter on X Monday, describing a growing personal reckoning with “our situation.” “The world is in peril. And not just from AI, or bioweapons, but from a whole series of interconnected crises unfolding in this very moment,” Sharma wrote to colleagues. The departure comes amid mounting tensions surrounding the San Francisco-based AI lab, which is simultaneously racing to develop ever more powerful systems while its own executives warn that those same technologies could harm humanity. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by the very technology his company is commercializing. In a near-20,000-word essay last month, he cautioned that AI systems of “almost unimaginable power” are “imminent” and will “test who we are as a species.”

UK - Electric vehicles (EVs) deliver 'no proven carbon savings' in the UK, scientists have warned. In a new study, described as a 'sanity check' for Britain's Net Zero ambitions, researchers from Queen Mary University say that the push towards EVs is fundamentally misguided. Because the UK's electricity grid hasn't switched to renewable energy sources, EVs 'run almost entirely on fossil fuel burnt at power stations', according to the team. As a result, the experts claim the most eco–friendly option is actually a hybrid or efficient diesel car.