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Closer Military, Nuclear, Maritime Ties With India: US Defence Law
President Trump’s mammoth $901 billion defence bill that he signed late on Friday calls for expanded U.S. military engagement with India and deeper cooperation through the Quad as part of Washington’s Indo-Pacific strategy.
It calls for increased participation in joint military exercises, greater defence trade, and closer cooperation on humanitarian assistance and disaster response. It also identifies maritime security as a priority area for deeper U.S.-India collaboration.
It requires the secretaries of state and defence to establish and maintain a secuinitiative to strengthen cooperation among the defence industrial bases among allied and partner countries in the Indo-Pacific.
The two officials will determine which among six countries (Australia, Japan, Korea, India, the Philippines and New Zealand) will be invited to participate in this initiative
The new law authorises the creation of an Ambassador-at-Large for the Indian Ocean who will coordinate diplomatic efforts across the region to counter the “malign” influence of China.
The law mandates a joint U.S.-India assessment of nuclear liability rules under the United States-India Strategic Security Dialogue.
It directs the Secretary of State to establish a recurring consultative mechanism with India to review implementation of the 2008 civil nuclear agreement, explore opportunities for aligning India’s domestic nuclear liability framework with international norms, and develop joint diplomatic strategies on civil nuclear cooperation.
It embeds expanded military, nuclear and regional engagement with India into US defence legislation.
The new law also sets aside $1 billion for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative and includes a provision aimed at preventing Chinese military firms from evading US restrictions through third party countries.
It requires the Trump administration to maintain at least 76,000 troops in Europe and sets aside $800 mn for Ukraine to be spent half this year and half the next. Another $400 million was set aside to fund manufacture of weapons for Ukraine.
Israel too has benefited with $600 million that would fund joint missile defence programmes such as the Iron Dome.
Pakistan Ex-PM Imran Khan, Wife Receive 17-Year Jail Sentence For Corruption
A Pakistani court on Saturday sentenced former Prime Minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi to 17 years in prison each in a corruption case involving the under-priced purchase of luxury state gifts, the court and Khan’s lawyers said.
The latest conviction adds to a series of legal troubles for Khan, who has been behind bars since August 2023 and faces dozens of cases filed since he was ousted from office in 2022, ranging from graft to anti-terrorism and state secrets charges.
Khan has denied wrongdoing in all the cases, which his party says are politically motivated.
“The court announced the sentence without hearing the defence and sentenced 17 years imprisonment to Imran Khan and Bushra Bibi with heavy fines,” Khan’s family lawyer Rana Mudassar Uemr Umer?, told Reuters.
They were handed 10 years’ rigorous imprisonment under Pakistan’s penal code for criminal breach of trust and a further seven years under anti-corruption laws, along with fines of 16.4 million rupees each, the court said.
The case relates to luxury watches gifted to Khan by Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during official visits, which prosecutors said Khan and his wife then purchased from the state at a heavily discounted price in violation of Pakistan’s gift rules.
The case is separate from an earlier state gifts prosecution linked to Khan’s August 2023 arrest. Earlier sentences of 14 years for Khan and seven years for Bushra Bibi were later
suspended on appeal. The couple denies wrongdoing.
The cases are commonly known in Pakistan as the Toshakhana cases, referring to the state repository where gifts received by public officials are deposited.
Khan, a former cricket star turned politician, remains one of Pakistan’s most polarising figures, with his legal battles unfolding as his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party remains
sidelined from power.
With Reuters inputs
Iran Executes Student Who Spied For Israeli Intelligence
Iran executed a man on Saturday who it said was convicted of spying for Israel and having ties to Iranian opposition groups, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency
reported.
Entangled in a decades-long shadow war with Israel, Iran has executed many people it accused of having links with Israel’s intelligence service and facilitating its operations in the country.
The Oslo-based Iran Human Rights group said on X that the man, whom it identified as 27-year-old architecture student Aghil Keshavarz, was sentenced to death on charges related to espionage for Israel “based on confessions extracted under torture”.
The Iran-Israel conflict escalated into a war in June, when Israel struck various targets inside Iran, including through operations that relied on Mossad commandos being deployed deep inside the country.
Executions of Iranians convicted of spying for Israel have significantly increased this year, with multiple death sentences carried out in recent months.
In September 2025, Iran executed a man accused of killing a security officer during unrest sparked by the 2022 death of Mahsa Amini. She died in the custody of Iran’s morality police for allegedly violating the hijab law. The death Amini underscores a broader attack on women’s rights in Iran.
According to a DW report quoting women’s rights activist Mahdieh Golrou, “We are dealing with a system that is deeply misogynistic in its ideology.”
She has been living abroad since 2019, has been arrested several times in Iran for her campaigning in favor of women’s rights and democracy. Women who refuse to wear the mandatory headscarf in public have had a major impact on the image of women in Iranian society.
“Their struggle and civil resistance are far from over, because this system is always finding new ways to undermine women’s rights, such as through the reform of the dowry law,” said Golrou.
The Iranian parliament has adopted changes to the dowry law, with members of parliament describing them as “urgently necessary.”
It lowers the amount of money, usually in the form of gold coins, that a man pays to his bride before the wedding. From 110 gold coins its now down to just 14, undermining the woman’s only source of financial independence in the event of divorce.
With Reuters inputs
Attack On Australia’s Bondi Beach ‘Was The Work Of Islamist Terrorists’
“It’s a terrorist attack. It’s an Islamist terrorist attack. And we need to call it out for what it is,” says Mahadevan Shankar, Indian origin entrepreneur based in Brisbane, Australia.
He was a guest on The Gist, offering a perspective on the Bondi Beach killings and believes that this attack has been coming for a while and there have been warnings.
“For the past 12 to 24 months, anti-Semitic attacks have been happening, the synagogues have been attacked. A lot of Jewish leaders have been targeted. Some of their houses have come under attack with graffiti, and death threats have been made. In fact, the Israeli government has been sending out quite a bit of Intel inputs, also warning that things are going to happen.”
But for whatever reason, the government of Prime Minister Albanese ignored or looked the other way, even as pro-Palestine protests swept the country, those protests turned into hate, then hate crimes and terrorism began showing its true colours.
Over a decade ago, “When George Brandis, the former attorney general of Australia, was in Washington, DC, he had mentioned that conservatively, more than 200 Australian citizens had volunteered to go and fight with ISIS in Syria.”
Others close to him had even given the figure of 1000.
But Shankar’s point is, if even 200 Australian citizens fought for ISIS, it means an ecosystem exists in the country where people are likely being radicalised or even indoctrinated.
Important to note that Australian intelligence agencies had Sajid Akram and his son Navid on their radar but somewhere they fell off, despite warnings that the son was being brainwashed at a particular mosque in Sydney.
“The people who were preaching hate and pretty much preaching killing infidels, slit their throats, and that kind of rhetoric was being used there. You can imagine he’s one of many who have attended that place. So yeah, it’s it’s pretty ghastly.”
A 10-year-old girl Matilda who was among those killed, was the child of Ukrainian parents who, ironically, had fled their native land to escape the Russian invasion. They had moved to Australia for a better life, or so they thought.
Tune in for more in this conversation with Mahadevan Shankar, Indian origin entrepreneur from Brisbane.
Bangladesh: Media Offices Attacked, Burnt As Mob Goes Berserk
The offices of two independent newspapers in Bangladesh were attacked last night and burnt as news spread over the death of activist Sharif Osman Hadi in a Singapore hospital.
Hadi was shot at by motorcycle borne individuals on Dec 12, and after initial treatment in Dhaka, was rushed to Singapore where he succumbed.
What is the connection between Hadi’s death and the targeting of the two newspaper offices, Prothom Alo and Daily Star, is not clear, but activists in Dhaka said the attacks appeared premeditated and intended to destabilise the country.
In an online statement, Prothom Alo described the attack as “deliberate and organised. In the face of this terrorist attack, Prothom Alo employees were left completely unprotected and their lives were put at serious risk. The attackers extensively vandalised the office building and then set it on fire. Due to the prolonged blaze, the building was gutted and the assets and valuable documents stored there were reduced to ashes.”
The Daily Star headlined the attack on its office as “A Dark Day for Independent Journalism.”
“Our colleagues, trapped on the roof, feared for their lives as a mob vandalised one floor after another and set fire to the lower floors. Although at one point it became difficult for them to breathe because of the smoke, no one has been hurt and everyone has returned home safe thanks to the efforts of the fire service, police and army.”
But as the paper underscored “They can burn our office but not our resolve.”
Who carried out the attack on both media is not clear at this point but prominent citizens called for the resignation of the adviser to the Home Ministry.
Supreme Court advocate Sara Hussein said the attacks on the newspapers were not merely assaults on buildings but represented an attempt to suppress independent journalism and stifle democratic voices in the country.
She described the incident as an extreme manifestation of mob violence or taking the law into one’s own hands.
More violence is expected when Osman Hadi’s body is brought back.
Israel Charges Russian Citizen With Spying For Iranian Intelligence
Israel has charged a Russian citizen with spying for Iran, including photographing
Israeli ports and infrastructure under the direction of Iranian intelligence agencies, Israel’s police and its internal security agency said on Friday.
The Russian individual identified as Vitaly Zvyagintsev, who had been living in Israel on a work permit, was then paid in digital currency, the police and agency said in a joint statement. The two were in contact from early October until December 4, when the Russian citizen was arrested at an air force base.
According to The Times of Israel, Zvyagintsev allegedly photographed the ports of Eilat, Haifa and Ashdod, as well as the Herzliya Marina, and sent the documentation to his handler. He also traveled to Nesher Park, a high spot overlooking parts of Haifa, in order to film oil refineries in the city.
He photographed military vessels, including an armed merchant cruiser belonging to the US Navy and a Dolphin-class submarine belonging to the Israeli Navy.
He was paid hundreds of dollars in cryptocurrency for each task, prosecutors say
A decades-long shadow war between Israel and Iran escalated into a direct war in June when Israel struck various targets inside Iran, including through operations that relied on Mossad commandos being deployed deep inside the country.
Israel has arrested dozens of citizens who allegedly spied for Iran, in what sources told Reuters has been Tehran’s biggest effort in decades to infiltrate its arch foe.
The arrests followed repeated efforts by Iranian intelligence operatives over the years to recruit ordinary Israelis to gather intelligence and carry out attacks in exchange for money.
In a statement sent to media in 2024 following a wave of arrests by Israel of Jewish citizens suspected of spying for Iran, Iran’s U.N. mission did not confirm or deny seeking to recruit Israelis and said that “from a logical standpoint” any such efforts by Iranian intelligence services would focus on non-Iranian and non-Muslim individuals to lessen suspicion.
Iran has executed many individuals it accuses of having links with Israel’s Mossad intelligence service and facilitating its operations in the country.
China and U.S. Step Up Diplomatic Push for Thailand–Cambodia Ceasefire
China and the United States have launched renewed diplomatic efforts to end the escalating border conflict between Thailand and Cambodia, days before a special Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meeting aimed at restoring peace. The clashes, described as the worst between the two neighbours in recent history, have already claimed around 60 lives and displaced more than half a million people.
Hostilities resumed last week, shattering the fragile truce that former U.S. President Donald Trump helped broker in late July. The renewed fighting, stretching from inland forested regions near Laos to coastal provinces, has deepened regional concern over stability in mainland Southeast Asia.
Parallel Peace Efforts by Washington and Beijing
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow on Friday, urging Thailand to de-escalate and recommit to the ceasefire agreement. The U.S. State Department said Rubio reiterated Washington’s support for a peaceful resolution and warned that further violence could undermine ASEAN unity.
China has also intensified its mediation. Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke separately with his Thai and Cambodian counterparts on Thursday. According to Beijing’s Foreign Ministry, both sides “expressed their desire to ease tensions and achieve a ceasefire.” The ministry added that a Chinese special envoy had already visited both countries to press for calm, warning that “if the clashes continue, they will benefit neither side.”
The Thai Foreign Ministry confirmed Sihasak’s conversations with both Rubio and Wang, noting that Bangkok was committed to joining Monday’s ASEAN ministerial meeting in Kuala Lumpur. Cambodia has not yet commented publicly on the diplomatic outreach.
ASEAN Meeting Offers a Fragile Hope
The upcoming Kuala Lumpur meeting will bring together Thai and Cambodian foreign ministers for their first direct talks since hostilities resumed on 8 December. Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, who chairs ASEAN and helped broker the earlier ceasefire, said he was “cautiously optimistic” that the talks could pave the way for a lasting settlement.
“The commitment shown by both prime ministers gives us hope that this meeting will produce tangible progress,” Anwar said earlier this week.
The July ceasefire, later expanded in October into a broader peace framework, has repeatedly faltered amid border skirmishes and mutual accusations of violations. The two neighbours continue to contest several sections of their 817-kilometre (508-mile) frontier.
Continuing Clashes and Deepening Distrust
Despite diplomatic overtures, fighting continued on Friday. The Thai Defence Ministry reported that Cambodian forces fired heavy weapons across the border, prompting retaliatory strikes. Bangkok accuses Phnom Penh of reigniting hostilities by laying new landmines, one of which maimed a Thai soldier last month. Cambodia has denied the allegation, insisting its actions are defensive.
Thailand argues that any peace process must begin with an immediate halt to Cambodian offensives and a clear framework for a verifiable ceasefire. Phnom Penh maintains that it is merely responding to Thai military aggression.
As both sides trade blame, the human toll continues to rise, and regional mediators face mounting pressure to prevent the conflict from spiralling further. The ASEAN meeting on Monday is now seen as a critical test of the bloc’s ability to manage its own security crises and preserve regional stability.
(with inputs from Reuters)
Suicide By Portuguese Suspect In Brown University Mass Shooting
The suspect in last weekend’s mass shooting at Brown University is dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, with investigators certain he also killed a Massachusetts Institute of Technology professor two days later, officials said on Thursday.
The gunman, identified as Portuguese national Claudio Neves Valente, 48, was found dead Thursday night in a storage rental facility in Salem, New Hampshire, where he had rented a unit last month, officials said.
Valente attended Brown University more than two decades ago as a Ph.D. student in physics and was a former classmate in Portugal of slain MIT professor Nuno Loureiro, 47. Despite those links, authorities said that his motive in the killings remains a mystery.
“I don’t think we have any idea why now, or why Brown, or why these students, why this classroom,” said Rhode Island Attorney General Peter Neronha, at a Thursday night press conference in Providence, where the university is located.
Valente entered a building used for Brown’s engineering and physics programs on December 13 and fired at least 44 rounds from his 9 mm pistol, killing two students and injuring another nine, according to the Providence police affidavit for his arrest.
Then, officials say, he fatally shot Loureiro inside his home before disappearing and leading investigators on a manhunt that stretched over five days. Authorities said two guns — including the 9 mm pistol they believe was used in the killings — were found by his corpse.
In Boston, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said at a press conference that investigators had evidence that made them certain that Valente, who was living in Miami and was a lawful permanent resident of the United States, murdered Loureiro in his home in Brookline, Massachusetts.
The Trump administration quickly pointed to Valente’s permanent residency status as a reason to halt the Diversity Immigrant Visa program’s lottery system that awards green cards to people from countries with relatively low numbers of immigrants to the United States.
“This heinous individual should never have been allowed in our country,” Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem posted on X late Thursday.
Noem said she would “immediately” implement a directive by President Donald Trump to pause the green-card lottery “to ensure no more Americans are harmed by this disastrous program.”
Foley said Valente and Loureiro had attended the same academic program at a university in Portugal from 1995 to 2000.
Japan Reaffirms Non-Nuclear Policy Amid Renewed Debate on Deterrence
Japan on Friday reiterated its longstanding commitment never to possess nuclear weapons after reports emerged that a senior government official had suggested the country should consider acquiring them to strengthen deterrence against potential threats.
According to local media, including NHK, the unnamed official reportedly attached to Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s office argued that Japan’s deteriorating security environment warranted a nuclear deterrent, though such a move would be politically difficult.
Government Reaffirms Commitment to Non-Nuclear Principles
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told reporters in Tokyo that Japan’s nuclear stance “remains unchanged,” reaffirming adherence to the nation’s three non-nuclear principles: not possessing, producing or permitting nuclear weapons on its territory. He declined, however, to comment on the reported remarks or on whether the official involved would remain in post, as opposition leaders demanded their removal.
Japan’s position on nuclear policy has come under increased scrutiny as regional security tensions intensify. A Reuters investigation in August found growing political and public openness to re-evaluating Japan’s non-nuclear framework. While the idea remains controversial in the only nation ever to suffer atomic bombings, concerns over U.S. reliability under former President Donald Trump and the advancing nuclear capabilities of China, Russia and North Korea have fuelled debate.
Domestic Debate Over Nuclear Deterrence
Some members of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) have argued that Japan should allow the United States to deploy nuclear weapons on its submarines or other platforms within Japanese territory as a deterrent measure. The discussion, while sensitive, reflects a shifting national mood over how best to ensure Japan’s security.
Prime Minister Takaichi herself prompted speculation last month when she declined to clarify whether her government would uphold the three non-nuclear principles in a new defence strategy expected next year. Analysts say such remarks may be part of a deliberate effort to test public and political sentiment.
“Putting these trial balloons out creates an opportunity to start building consensus around changes in security policy,” said Stephen Nagy, a professor of politics at the International Christian University in Tokyo. He added that China’s assertive behaviour, along with closer military cooperation between Russia and North Korea, is “creating momentum to rethink Japan’s security approach.”
Historical Sensitivities and Regional Reactions
Taro Kono, a senior LDP lawmaker and former defence and foreign minister, said on Friday that Japan should not avoid a “broad and open debate” on whether it should possess or host nuclear weapons. Yet such discussions remain deeply sensitive, shaped by the legacy of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and the constraints of Japan’s pacifist constitution.
Any reconsideration of Japan’s non-nuclear principles would likely provoke strong reactions from its neighbours, particularly China. Relations between Tokyo and Beijing have already soured after Takaichi said last month that a Chinese attack on Taiwan threatening Japan could trigger a Japanese military response. Beijing, which claims Taiwan as its own, sharply criticised the remark.
For now, Tokyo continues to walk a careful line reaffirming its non-nuclear stance while navigating an increasingly unstable regional security environment.
(with inputs from Reuters)
Chinese Cyber Group Storm 1849 Behind UK Government Hack?
British trade department minister Chris Bryant said the government had been hacked in
October, partly confirming a report in the Sun newspaper, which said a Chinese group had breached systems to access Foreign Office data.
“There certainly has been a hack,” Bryant told Times Radio on Friday. “I’m not able to say whether it is directly related to Chinese operatives, or indeed, the Chinese state,” he added.
The Sun named Storm 1849 as the Chinese cyber gang responsible for the breach, which it said was understood to possibly include tens of thousands of visa details.
Bryant said that the reporting around the incident was “speculation” and that the government was continuing to investigate, but at this stage it was “fairly confident” that
there was a low risk any individual would be affected.
“We managed to close the hole, as it were, very quickly,” Bryant told Sky News, describing the breach. “It was a technical issue in one of our sites.”
The Sun newspaper said the group, Storm 1849, was a China-linked gang which was part of a state-aligned hacking apparatus, and which has been accused of targeting politicians
and groups critical of the Chinese government.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said earlier in December that China posed “national security threats” to Britain, but defended his government’s decision to step up
engagement with the country.
He is due to visit Beijing in late January, according to sources. The incident at the Foreign Office follows two major cyber attacks on big British companies this year.
Hacks forced the country’s largest car maker, Jaguar Land Rover, to shut down production for five weeks, while retailer Marks & Spencer suspended online orders for six weeks.
Asked for details of the incident, the foreign office said that it had been working to investigate a cyber incident.
“We take the security of our systems and data extremely seriously,” a government spokesperson said.