Taiwan vows to defend its sovereignty after Chinese military drills

In a live New Year’s address, Taiwan President Lai Ching-te said the island is determined to defend its sovereignty and bolster its defence in the face of China’s growing assertiveness.

He urged opposition parties to support his proposal to increase Taiwan’s defence spending by C$55 billion (US$40 billion), a plan currently stalled amid a political deadlock in the opposition-controlled parliament.

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Cargo ship ‘Fitburg’ en route from Russia sabotaged an undersea cable in the Gulf of Finland

A cargo vessel severed an undersea telecommunications cable in the Gulf of Finland on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, around 4:53 a.m. local time. Finnish police said they suspected this was an act of sabotage.

The cargo ship ‘Fitburg’ was en route from Saint Petersburg, Russia to the port in Haifa, Israel when it damaged an undersea cable connecting the capitals of Helsinki, Finland and Tallinn, Estonia. The vessel was sailing under the flag of St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the time of the incident.

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Without Europe, the US ceases to be a leader

Geo-politically, marginalizing Europe will also come at a cost. The small peninsula is well sited for American needs. Forward-based radar makes it easier to counteract missiles lobbed by Russia or Iran. Military bases allow the world’s mightiest armed forces to operate in the Middle East and Africa. Having Europe onside helps project power in other ways. Sanctions work best when both sides of the Atlantic join in. By accepting the global supremacy of the dollar, Europeans leave themselves little choice but to enforce America’s boycotts, even when they disagree. Push too hard and they may try to free themselves from that, too.

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The CIA carried out a drone strike on a port facility in Venezuela in December 2025

CNN is reporting the US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) carried out a drone strike on a remote dock on the Venezuelan coast. The US Government is claiming, without producing evidence, the facility was being used by the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua to store drugs and move them onto boats for shipping.

Sources told CNN no one was at the facility at the time of the drone strike, and there were no casualties.

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