- Zelensky Proposes Troop Pullback for Peace: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has expressed openness to pulling back troops in eastern Ukraine to facilitate a peace deal with Russia, following discussions with U.S. envoys regarding a new 20-point peace blueprint.
- Pope Leo XIV’s First Christmas Address: In his inaugural Christmas message at the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV called for an end to global conflicts, specifically urging “courage” to resolve the war in Ukraine and lamenting the conditions of Palestinians in Gaza.
- Tarique Rahman Returns to Bangladesh: After 17 years of exile in London, opposition leader Tarique Rahman returned to Dhaka to a welcome from over a million supporters, positioning himself for the country’s upcoming pivotal elections.
- LastPass Breach Linked to Ongoing Crypto Theft: Findings from TRM Labs reveal that encrypted vault backups stolen during the 2022 LastPass breach are still being exploited by Russian cybercriminals to drain cryptocurrency assets as recently as late 2025.
- Trump Appoints Special Envoy to Greenland: President Trump has tapped the governor of Louisiana as a special envoy to Greenland, a move that has drawn significant condemnation and outrage from officials in Denmark and the semiautonomous territory.
- Kimwolf Botnet Hijacks 1.8 Million Devices: Cybersecurity researchers have identified a massive new DDoS botnet named “Kimwolf” that has infected at least 1.8 million Android-based TVs, tablets, and set-top boxes to launch large-scale attacks.
- INTERPOL Arrests 574 in Cybercrime Crackdown: A coordinated effort named Operation Sentinel led to the arrest of 574 suspects across 19 countries and the recovery of $3 million, targeting business email compromise and digital extortion networks in Africa.
- Controversial Election Victory in Honduras: The Trump-backed candidate Nasry Asfura has been declared the winner of the Honduran presidential election, prompting his rival, Salvador Nasralla, to dispute the results and claim fraud.
- Bashar al-Assad Living in Luxury in Russia: Following the swift collapse of his regime in Syria, investigations reveal that former ruler Bashar al-Assad and his inner circle have secured a “soft landing” and are living in luxury within Russia.
- Google to Discontinue Dark Web Monitoring: Google announced it will shut down its dark web report tool in February 2026, with all new breach scans set to cease by mid-January.