In this episode: Kazakh President Tokayev authorized lethal force to restore order amid ongoing violent protests; A new report looks at possible signs of tension among the Biden cyber team; Cyberspace Solarium Commission to reboot as a non-profit; US and Russia to meet on Monday for Ukraine crisis talks; South Korea says North Korea missile launch was not hypersonic; Chinese researchers claim breakthrough in laser technology.  

In this episode: Russian paratroopers deploy to Kazakhstan to restore order following violent protests; Germany and US issue warning to Russia over Ukraine while Britain says it is working on 'high-impact' sanctions if Moscow invades; Chinese space station conducts successful test of robotic arm and Beijing announces a new diplomatic post for the Horn of Africa.  

US Justice Department announce first criminal charges in death of former Haitian President Jovenel Moise; China, France, Russia, UK and the US release rare joint statement on nuclear weapons; NATO calls 'extraordinary' meeting to discuss Ukraine and China says it has developed heat-seeking hypersonic missiles. 

As we head into the Christmas weekend we are watching two big issues closely.  The first is the crisis in Ukraine and we've got some new stories and developments to talk about today.  The second is the Iranian nuclear talks which are expected to resume on Monday, Dec 27.  Let's get to today's report broken down by region of the world.  

There's a lot to report today with some big statements coming from both the US and Russia related to the Ukrainian crisis; CISA issues an advisory on the Log4j vulnerability; Terrorism threats emanating from Brazil draws US Treasury into action; US policy changes announced for Taliban and a lot more.  Here's your open source report broken down by region of the world. 

Harvard University Professor found guilty of lying about connection with China; US Army researchers working on a single vaccine to protect against all variants; Russian President Vladimir Putin says he has no where to retreat to over Ukraine while talks between the US and Russia are expected to begin in January; Chinese President Xi Jingping and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz discuss deepening economic cooperation in their first call.  

The remaining 12 hostages in Haiti have been released, few details have yet emerged as to the specifics of their release; Two Army battalion commanders among the latest to be discharged over COVID vaccine refusals; DJI Technologies among the companies now blacklisted by US Treasury; Details emerge of Russia's demands for de-escalation in Ukraine crisis.