Ukrainian Commander-in-Chief Oleksandr Syrskyi said Sunday that his troops were struggling to hold back “one of the most powerful Russian offensives” in the Donbas region. Meanwhile, North Korean troops are expected to go into combat near Kursk within days. President Volodymyr Zelensky has been strongly pressing allies to allow him to launch long-range missile strikes on the camps in Russia where Pyongyang’s troops are training, but Western governments have not budged.
The timing is no accident, given the US election on Tuesday, where both Moscow and Pyongyang have a lot on the line. Former President Donald Trump has said he will end the war “in one day” and halt support for Kyiv’s war effort, essentially forcing Ukraine to concede to Russia. Vice President Kamala Harris has promised to keep backing Kyiv, but it is not clear she would allow long range strikes into Russia.
A Trump presidency has similar upsides for North Korean Supreme Leader Kim Jong Un, given the two leaders’ bizarre affinity. After a brief rapprochement during Trump’s first term, Kim’s unwillingness to give up his nuclear weapons caused relations to break down between the US and the Hermit Kingdom. But Ri Il Gyu, a North Korean diplomat who defected in July, said in August that Pyongyang is aiming to restart talks with Trump. They’re reportedly aiming at sanctions relief and the repeal of the designation of North Korea as a state sponsor of terrorism — without giving up their nukes — in exchange for minor concessions they think Trump could sell to his base.
Two weeks ago, President Donald Trump launched a war of choice to topple Iran's regime expecting a quick, clean win.
Last week, Microsoft, Europol, and industry partners took coordinated action to disrupt Tycoon 2FA, a major phishing‑as‑a‑service operation designed to bypass multifactor authentication. Active since 2023, the service fueled large‑scale online impersonation, enabling fraud, data theft, and disruptions across sectors, including healthcare and education. Acting under a US court order, the coalition seized hundreds of domains that powered Tycoon 2FA’s infrastructure — underscoring the need for global, public‑private cooperation to counter industrialized cybercrime and protect digital trust. Read the full blog here.
Australian mining giant Lynas will sell rare earths to Japan for 12 years in a major pact meant to chip away at China’s dominance of the global market.