President Trump: Airspace Above Venezuela Considered To Be Closed In Its Entirety + President Zelensky's Chief of Staff Resigns From Corruption Scandal + US Navy Cancels Constellation Frigate Program; Will Keep 2 Vessels Currently Under Construction
For review:1. President Trump: Airspace Above Venezuela Considered To Be Closed In Its Entirety. “To all Airlines, Pilots, Drug Dealers, and Human Traffickers, please consider THE AIRSPACE ABOVE AND SURROUNDING VENEZUELA TO BE CLOSED IN ITS ENTIRETY,” President Trump said in a post on Truth Social.2. President Zelensky's Chief of Staff Resigns From Corruption Scandal.Andriy Yermak resigned as chief of staff on Friday after an anti-corruption raid at his home. 3. Ukraine is sending a high-level delegation to the U.S. on Saturday for more talks on the Trump administration's Peace Plan- ahead of White House envoy Steve Witkoff's visit to Moscow expected early next week.The Ukrainian delegation will now be led by the head of Ukraine's National Security and Defense Council, Rustem Umerov, after Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's chief of staff was forced to resign on Friday amid a corruption scandal.4. German Chancellor Merz said Friday he is pressing the Belgian government to come to an agreement with the EU to use frozen Russian assets to fund Ukraine.Belgium, which hosts international deposit organization Euroclear, fears such a move could expose it to crippling legal and financial reprisals from Moscow.5. Hezbollah’s leader (Naim Qassem) on Friday said the terror group had the right to respond to Israel’s killing of its top military chief in a strike on Beirut’s southern suburbs.6. The Lebanese army took dozens of journalists from local and and international media outlets Friday on a tour of the rugged border area between Israel and Lebanon. Parts of the zone south of the Litani River and north of the border with Israel were formerly a Hezbollah stronghold, off limits to the Lebanese national army and UN peacekeepers deployed in the area.7. The IDF is considering an expanded operation in southern Syria if it finds that Syrian government forces were involved in gunfire at IDF soldiers during an arrest operation in Syria’s south early Friday morning. The IDF could transition to conducting fewer arrest operations against terror operatives active near the border and instead increase airstrikes to eliminate targets.8. The US Navy is cancelling its Constellation frigate program following months of cost overruns and delays but plans to keep two vessels that are already being built in Wisconsin.
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US Sec of State: Security Guarantees to Ukraine After Ceasefire + Report: Iran Continuing to Fund Hezbollah in Lebanon + Poland to Procure Saab A26 Submarines + US Army Developing New 155mm Cluster Munition + More
For review:1. US Sec of State: Security Guarantees to Ukraine After Ceasefire.2. The body of Mr. Dror Or was returned to Israel from Gaza by Palestinian terror groups on Tuesday evening, Israeli authorities announced Wednesday morning.The bodies of two slain hostages now remain held in Gaza.3. Israel reportedly conveyed a proposal to Hamas last week that would allow the release of dozens of Hamas fighters believed to be trapped in tunnels in an IDF-controlled area of eastern Rafah, as long as they surrender.4. Report: Iran Continuing to Fund Hezbollah in Lebanon. In November, the US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, John Hurley, stated that Iran had managed to funnel about $1 billion to Hezbollah in 2025.5. The IDF confirmed launching a wave of strikes on southern Lebanon Thursday — the first anniversary of the ceasefire largely ending the cross-border fighting last year — saying it hit rocket-launching sites, weapon depots and military posts belonging to Hezbollah.6. Poland to Procure Saab A26 Submarines.7. BAE Systems has received a $390-million contract to produce additional Bradley A4 Infantry Fighting Vehicles.The vehicle has been a core component of the military’s Armored Brigade Combat Teams since the early 1980s, with more than 6,500 currently in service.8. US Army Developing New 155mm Cluster Munition.
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US Official: Ukraine Agrees with Revised 19-Point Peace Deal; President Trump Dispatches Steve Witkoff to Meet With Russian President + IDF Military Drill Evaluates Readiness After Strike on Senior Hezbollah Official + More
For review:1. US Official: Ukraine Agrees with Revised 19-Point Peace Deal; President Trump Dispatches Steve Witkoff to Meet With Russian President.2. European Union lawmakers voted on Tuesday to deepen integration of the bloc’s defense industry with Ukraine. European Parliament legislators voted 457-148, with 33 abstentions, to approve a 1.5-billion euro ($1.7 billion) program, with 300 million euros ($345 million) slated for the Ukraine Support Instrument.3. IDF Military Drill Evaluates Readiness After Strike on Senior Hezbollah Official.4. Gazan terror groups handed over what they said was the body of one of the three remaining deceased hostages on Tuesday evening, with Israel saying the remains were brought to a forensic institute for identification.5. Dozens of Hamas operatives remain trapped in an area of the southern Gaza Strip that is under Israeli control, military commanders told reporters on Sunday, vowing that they would hunt them all down.
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Europe Preparing Counterproposal to President Trump's 28 Point Russia - Ukraine Peace Plan; Talks Occurring in Switzerland & Angola + Israel Eliminates Hezbollah's Second-in-Command in Beirut Missile Strike + More
For review:1. Europe Preparing Counterproposal to President Trump's 28 Point Russia - Ukraine Peace Plan; Talks Occurring in Switzerland & Angola.2. Estonia still wants to buy six additional M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems (HIMARS) from the US, and possibly more, according to Minister of Defence Hanno Pevkur.Estonia Minister of Defense statement: “This is why we are looking for additional systems for the deep strikes. It’s not only HIMARS and it’s not only Chunmoo,” he later added. “It’s also the cruise missiles. It’s loitering munitions. So different types of systems. What will give us more reach, because we don’t have the strategic depth.”3. Israel Eliminates Hezbollah's Second-in-Command in Beirut Missile Strike.Israel said on Sunday it had killed Hezbollah’s military chief of staff, Haytham Ali Tabatabai, in a targeted airstrike in the southern suburbs of Lebanon’s capital, Beirut. Mr. Tabatabai was considered second only to Secretary-General Naim Qassem, in the Iran-backed terror group’s command structure.4. A Hamas delegation was in Cairo on Sunday to meet with Gaza mediators on the recent escalation of hostilities in the Strip, as both Israel and the Palestinian terror group continued to trade accusations of ceasefire violations.
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President Trump 28 Point Peace Plan for Russia & Ukraine Released + Initial Reaction
For review:1. President Trump 28 Point Peace Plan for Russia & Ukraine Released.2. Initial Reaction
France