USA - The AI revolution is here, and it’s changing the world as we know it. Specifically, the world of war. It recently emerged that Israel Defense Forces (IDF) are actively using an AI system named 'Habsora' to identify targets in their conflict with Hamas in Gaza. Commenting on the situation in Gaza and the broader realm of warfare, political sociologist Bianca Baggiarini warned that military forces already employ remote and autonomous systems as "force multipliers" to amplify the effectiveness of their troops and safeguard their soldiers. AI systems, she added, have the potential to enhance soldiers' efficiency and accelerate the pace and lethality of warfare. Although human presence on the battlefield will diminish as AI’s shadow grows, she fears that the technology will contribute to the dehumanization of adversaries and further disconnect wars from the societies on whose behalf they are fought.

JAPAN - Tokyo has sent Patriot missiles to the US in another step toward full remilitarization. Japan has agreed to supply Patriot missiles to the US after ending a ban on military exports imposed under the country’s pacifist constitution in 1947. The move will help shore up Washington’s stockpiles eroded by the ongoing Ukraine conflict. The arms sale to the US, confirmed on Friday in Tokyo, marks Japan’s first export of lethal weaponry since World War II. Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries manufactures Patriot missiles under license from US defense contractors Lockheed Martin and RTX. Although the Japanese-made interceptor missiles won’t go directly to Kiev, they may enable Washington to send more US-made Patriots to Ukraine. The overturning of Japan’s export ban could pave the way for F-15 fighter jets and other weaponry produced by Japanese companies under US licenses to be sold to Washington, the UK, and other Western allies.

USA - The US has a new diplomatic objective in the Gaza War - to convince Israel to scale back its military operations in coming weeks. This is a crucial test of the Biden administration, and whether it succeeds could help determine the next phase of the war - as well as the president's own political fortunes back home. In public, the American effort to shape and restrain Israel's war has taken the form of advice rather than pressure.

UK - 'We swapped embryos and now we're expecting each other's sons!' Lesbian couple used the same sperm donor to fertilise their eggs but wanted to be biologically connected to both babies... this is how they did it. As nativity stories go, it could hardly be more modern, more brave or more touching. Devoted couple Emily Patrick and Kerry Osborn are pregnant with each other’s babies, and will give birth within weeks of each other. In a pioneering case, the first of its kind known in Britain, the women swapped embryos – both fertilised by the same sperm donor – during IVF treatment. Now Emily, 38, a creative producer, will give birth to a son who is biologically Kerry’s at New Year. School teacher Kerry, 35, will follow in February, giving birth to a little boy grown from Emily’s egg.

IRAN - The US has accused Iran of being behind a drone attack on a chemical tanker in the Indian Ocean. The attack on the Chem Pluto on Saturday resulted in a fire, though no casualties were reported. Though Iran has not commented on the attack, the US military said the 'one-way attack' was delivered by a 'drone fired from Iran.' It is understood to be the first time the US has accused Iran of targeting a ship directly. It is also believed to be the furthest attack undertaken by Iran from its own soil. Yesterday, it accused Iran of backing Houthi rebels in Yemen who have targeted commercial ships in the Red Sea.

ISRAEL - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken asked Wednesday why the world was pressuring the victim of terror, Israel, instead of pressuring the terrorist “aggressor,” Hamas, whose surrender would end the war in Gaza and save the lives of many Palestinian civilians. Blinken was answering questions from reporters in a year-end press conference when he delivered this response on the Gaza war:

EUROPE - Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, and since then only one thing has been certain: the rest of Europe is desperate to build military muscle as soon as possible to help counter any further predatory moves by Moscow. Europe must race to ensure it can better defend itself as new military threats could emerge by the end of the decade even as the focus of security ally the US shifts towards the Indo-Pacific, Germany’s defense minister has already warned. Russia was hiking its weapons production considerably to sustain its invasion of Ukraine, while also threatening the Baltic states, Georgia and Moldova, Boris Pistorius was quoted as saying in an interview with Welt am Sonntag last week. “We Europeans must engage more to ensure security on our own continent,” said Pistorius.

USA - Tom Leonard reveals how terrifyingly powerful AI will soon be able to sway voters by exploiting their most private thoughts and fears... as if 2024 wasn't already chaotic enough! His mouth agape with fear and fury, Donald Trump is surrounded and arrested in the street by New York police officers and dragged, kicking and screaming, off to jail. Explosions rock Taiwan as the Chinese invade, financial markets go into freefall and illegal immigrants surge over the US border, plunging the world into crisis – all of it the terrible consequences of Joe Biden winning a second term.

VATICAN - Pope Francis faces growing worldwide pushback against his ‘same-sex blessing’ doctrine. If you think that fierce opposition to the latest initiative by Globalist Pope Francis – namely, the blessing of same-sex unions – is limited to the Conservative American bishops led by Joseph Strickland, think again. All over the world, prelates and faithful alike have vigorously opposed the new directives from Francis, as a growing number of Catholic bishops in Africa and Europe are publicly voicing their rejection of the new document by the Vatican. The issue is yet another polarizing initiative in Francis’s quest to remake the Catholic Church according to his ‘very peculiar’ vision of the institution. The document entitled ‘Fiducia Supplicans’ states that blessings can be offered to people in same-sex relationships if they are not confused with the ritual of marriage. In a report from Associated Press, the extraordinary scope of the pushback against the pontiff becomes clear.

UK - A professional Santa stand in says he’s in demand in the midst of a Santa shortage in the UK. Mark Roberts, a garden manufacturer from Gelligaer in Caerphilly borough, steps in for the big man in the red coat with white trim at events across the UK every Christmas. Mark has a sleigh, reindeer, a Santa suit and a proper fake beard made from yak wool. He advertises his services on social media and has gathered thousands of followers. This Christmas he’s been to Birmingham, Hampshire and Glasgow among other places where children lap up his antics. In one Christmas season in 2023 he’s had more than one thousand bookings.

GERMANY - Pistorius has been sparking discussions for weeks already with this choice of words, especially in Berlin. How can civil society, industry, and politics contribute to making Germany capable of defence and, indeed, warfare? One way is through extensive collaboration. In 2010, the 1st German-Netherland Corps established the Common Effort Community — a platform for civil-military cooperation, fostering mutual trust and encouraging joint efforts towards a common goal: fortifying resilience and ensuring comprehensive security... It also means that civilian infrastructure can be used for military purposes without immediately causing societal uproar, as seen in Air Defender 2023: In June 2023, the largest deployment exercise of air forces since NATO's inception took place with 250 aircraft from 25 nations and over 10,000 soldiers, led by Germany.

IRAN - Iran has threatened to close the Strait of Gibraltar and the Mediterranean Sea unless Israel stops bombing Gaza, as the US warned Tehran was “deeply involved” in attacks on shipping. “They shall soon await the closure of the Mediterranean Sea, [the Strait of] Gibraltar and other waterways,” Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Naqdi, a senior member of the country’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said today. The general did not explain how Iran, which does not border the Mediterranean, intended to make good on its threat. Iran’s proxy militias in southern Lebanon and Syria do have access to the sea, through which about a fifth of global maritime trade passes. The Houthis in Yemen, which are backed by Iran, have already forced several major shipping companies to reroute their vessels to avoid the Red Sea by targeting merchant craft with drones and missiles.

MIDDLE EAST - Yemen’s ability to launch $2000 drones against ships that fire $2 million dollar missiles.

Yemen’s ability to launch a swarm attack of more than 30 drones/anti-ship missiles at one time is likely to overwhelm the Sea Sparrow capability to rapidly reload and take out inbound threats.
• The limited supply of the Sea Sparrow missiles on board the US destroyers can be quickly exhausted if Yemen launches more than 100 drones against each destroyer.
• Lack of adequate stockpiles of Sea Sparrow missiles in the US inventory.

MIDDLE EAST - In yet another case of blowback, reflecting the failure of Western military interventionism in West Asia, Yemen’s Ansarallah (Houthi) movement has inserted itself as an active participant in the ongoing war between Israel and Gaza. First launching batches of loitering munitions, ballistic and cruise missiles towards Israel, Ansarallah then moved on to prevent the passage of Israeli-owned or operated ships through the Red Sea, before announcing a complete closure of the shipping route for any vessels destined to dock at the port of Eilat.

UK - Millions of Britons and Americans are likely to celebrate a white Christmas regardless of the weather — as figures show the UK has the second highest rate of cocaine use in the world, with the US in fifth. One in 40 adults (2.7 percent) in the UK take the class A drug, which is more than any other country in Europe and behind only Australia globally. Meanwhile 2.4 percent of Americans over 18 consume the drug in powder form, behind Austria and Spain. Experts say high use of cocaine in the UK is fuelled by the UK's binge drinking culture, with many taking the stimulant to counteract the sedative effects of alcohol. Once the preserve of high society, it is now widely used across all social classes, as its price has fallen in real terms over the past decade and it can be delivered 'as quickly as a pizza'.