What you need to know

White House moves to protect military pay amid funding impasse

The Trump administration plans to issue military salaries on Friday by combining legislative appropriations with internal Pentagon reserves, according to an official from the White House Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The decision comes during a protracted budget deadlock in Congress that has stalled approval of wider government spending measures.

By drawing from both congressional and Department of War accounts, the administration seeks to ensure that service members are paid on time, even as other branches of government risk disruption. The OMB official described the step as a temporary measure intended to “protect operational readiness and morale” while legislators continue negotiations over the federal budget.

This type of fiscal maneuver reflects the administration’s resolve to maintain military obligations in the face of political paralysis.

The White House has not specified how long these interim arrangements might last, but the decision highlights both political resolve and mounting urgency as the payment deadline nears.

Birthplace of civilization

Netanyahu holds emergency talks on Lebanon

Israeli media report that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defense Minister Israel Katz held late-night security consultations to assess “next moves” on the Lebanese front, amid rising cross-border tension with Hezbollah.

The meeting follows reports that Israel informed Washington of plans to intensify airstrikes in Lebanon, extending a campaign that has already targeted Hezbollah’s arsenal and commanders in the south and the Beqaa Valley.

Analysts suggest that escalation could unfold in three phases. The most probable, at least through the end of the year, is a continuation of precision strikes on Hezbollah’s infrastructure and personnel, tactics that allow Israel to erode the group’s capabilities without triggering a full-scale war. A second, more severe phase could see bombings expand into residential districts, particularly Beirut’s Dahiyeh suburb, where Hezbollah is believed to hide strategic weapons. A third, less likely but increasingly discussed scenario involves limited incursions by the Israel Defense Forces into Lebanon to hit key sites or individuals directly.

Washington is said to have given the Lebanese Armed Forces until the end of the year to extend their control north of the Litani River, a step intended to constrain Hezbollah’s dominance.

Should that effort falter, Israel may seek U.S. approval for deeper military action early next year.

Timing is also likely to shape decision-making: a papal visit to Lebanon in November and the holiday season may delay any major escalation until January.

The trajectory points to a gradual intensification of Israel’s campaign, with steady airstrikes for now and a possible expansion if diplomatic or military pressure fails, setting the stage for a volatile start to 2026.

Israeli defense contractor hacked in alleged Iranian cyber-espionage operation

A hacking group aligned with Iran, calling itself Cyber Toufan, has released what it claims to be hours of internal surveillance footage from the Israeli defense contractor Maya. The leaked material appears to show engineers working on prototypes of drones, missiles, and tracking systems, including a mock-up resembling the David’s Sling interceptor. Some footage includes audio from a meeting room, capturing what seem to be sensitive technical discussions.

In statements posted online, the hackers boasted that they maintained full access to Maya’s systems for more than a year and a half, infiltrating a QNAP archive and allegedly extending their reach to other major contractors such as Elbit and Rafael. They also claimed to have compromised phones, printers, routers, and security cameras across the network.

Although the authenticity of the footage remains unverified, the account is consistent with past Iranian cyber-espionage operations that exploited unpatched network-attached storage systems and unsecured Internet-of-Things devices. If authentic, the leak could provide Iran and its allies with valuable insights into Israel’s air-defense technology, including supply-chain details and potential system weaknesses.

Beyond the intelligence risk, the breach threatens to strain partnerships with U.S. defense firms, provoke regulatory scrutiny, and tarnish Israel’s defense-industrial reputation. The hackers may have exaggerated the scope of their access for propaganda purposes, since Tehran-linked groups often mix genuine material with staged or edited content to magnify political and psychological effects.

Instability from Sahel to Horn of Africa amid state fragility, Russian interference, & Islamist insurgencies

RSF fighter boasts of mass killings in El-Fasher

A harrowing video circulating online shows a Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighter identified as Abu Lulu boasting during a TikTok livestream that his goal had been to “kill 2,000 civilians,” but that he had “lost count” after exceeding that number.

The footage, reportedly filmed in or near El-Fasher (which fell to the RSF this week), matches other videos and eyewitness accounts that document mass executions by RSF units following their capture of the city.

Another clip appears to show a senior RSF commander, described as the militia’s second-in-command, instructing his men not to take prisoners but to kill everyone they encounter.

Independent satellite imagery and humanitarian monitors, including the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, have detected signs of mass graves and widespread destruction in the area.

Taken together, the material suggests large-scale atrocities consistent with the RSF’s previous record of ethnically targeted violence in Darfur. Although precise casualty figures remain uncertain (estimates range from 1,500 to more than 2,000) the available evidence indicates organized, systematic killing.

Move fast and break things

Trump weighs strikes on Venezuela’s drug-linked military sites

U.S. officials say the Trump administration has drawn up a list of potential strike targets in Venezuela, including military installations allegedly used to traffic narcotics. Intelligence for the list reportedly comes from surveillance of maritime routes and airfields believed to channel cocaine and other drugs from Venezuela into the Caribbean and the U.S.

Officials suggest that if President Donald Trump authorizes airstrikes, the targets would be selected not only to disrupt trafficking networks but also to deliver a pointed warning to President Nicolás Maduro that his time in power is nearing an end.

The planning follows a series of U.S. naval and aerial operations in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific, during which vessels suspected of smuggling were destroyed. These moves indicate a shift from maritime interdiction to the potential for direct action on land. Washington has long accused the Venezuelan government and elements of its armed forces of running a “narco-state,” and some in the administration now see limited precision strikes as a means of weakening the regime’s military infrastructure without embarking on a full-scale campaign.

Such action would represent a serious escalation, carrying the risk of potential involvement by Russia (which has been airlifting supplies to Venezuela in the past few weeks), and greater instability across the region.

The legal and strategic implications are substantial: striking Venezuelan territory without congressional approval could amount to an undeclared act of war, while the political signal, to compel Maduro to relinquish power, would blur the distinction between counternarcotics operations and regime change.

The planet will be fine, it’s the humans who should be concerned

Rising seas pose an existential challenge

The latest report from the World Maritime Organization offers a sobering assessment of the planet’s rising seas.

Global sea levels are climbing at an average rate of 4.7 millimeters (0.19 inches) per year, nearly twice the pace recorded in the 1990s, and the acceleration shows no sign of abating.

Even if all nations meet the Paris Agreement’s emission-reduction targets, at least half a meter (1.6 feet) of sea-level rise by 2100 is effectively inevitable, driven by the thermal expansion of oceans and the delayed response of melting glaciers and ice sheets. Under high-emission scenarios, a two-meter (6.6-foot) rise by the end of the century cannot be ruled out. This would be a calamitous prospect that would redraw coastlines, inundate major cities, and displace vast populations.

The report warns that roughly one billion people could be exposed to worsening coastal hazards such as flooding, erosion, saltwater intrusion, and storm surges, particularly across the low-lying regions of Asia, Africa, and the Pacific.

Sea-level rise is accelerating worldwide and will continue under all emissions pathways, since the climate system reacts slowly to falling greenhouse-gas levels.

The difference between scenarios is not whether the seas will rise, but how fast and how far. Decisions taken today will determine the scale and timing of future impacts: strong mitigation can slow the pace and limit the extremes, buying crucial time for adaptation and resilience.

The message is unmistakable: coastal societies must prepare for inevitable change, while global action will decide whether that change remains manageable or becomes catastrophic.

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