At night, Kyiv's skies are lit by fire and boom with explosions, but by morning the streets thrum in a style familiar to any European capital, its Gen Z teens on ride-share scooters speeding past impeccably dressed executives en route to work. One quote that captures the mood and has become popular on social media platforms in Ukraine says Kyiv looks like the famously glitzy Mediterranean city state Monaco by day, "and at night, like Afghanistan" during its war-torn years. The city of 3 million people has endured several consecutive weeks of escalating deadly Russian drone and missile attacks. But, determined to hold on to some normality, many of its residents are living their daily routines with verve.

On Inauguration Day, fans of the All-In Podcast gathered in a billiards room in Washington DC to watch Donald Trump's swearing-in – and a few miles away, the podcast co-host and PayPal Mafia alum David Sacks prepared to ascend to his role as Trump's AI and crypto czar. Very popular in Silicon Valley, All-In is fiercely pro-capitalism and enthusiastic about the world of tech start-ups and investments. Last summer, its co-hosts, Sacks and Jason Calacanis in particular, became vocal in their support for Trump and attempted to rally other tech leaders, including their listeners, behind the candidate. Now, Sacks has a seat at the table in the White House, as do many others in tech, including a former Uber executive, a senior adviser at Palantir, and a PayPal co-founder, who was picked to be ambassador to Denmark (Greenland, a territory Trump wants to seize, is part of Denmark). It's a watershed moment for relationships between Silicon Valley and Washington and, more broadly, what's often described as the tech right.

Video captures the moment and aftermath of what appears to be a drone, allegedly of Ukrainian origin, striking Russian drone production facility. Russian officials claimed that only a worker's dormitory was hit. Russia has started to make steady progress against Ukraine as Kyiv's forces face dwindling ammunition supplies, much to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's frustration. "There can be no question, Ukraine could be quickly overwhelmed by both men and arms by odds as great as 10 to 1 within weeks without additional U.S. assistance," Kenneth Braithwaite, a former ambassador and former Navy secretary during the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital. "This is a critical juncture in the war and time is of the essence for Congress to act on a comprehensive package," Braithwaite said.

Russia fired cruise and ballistic missiles and Shahed-type drones at targets across Ukraine, killing at least three civilians and injuring more than 10 people, Ukrainian authorities said. Russia targeted at least three big cities, according to the Ukrainian military, which said it intercepted 44 drones and missiles of the 64 that were launched. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said two people were killed in the capital, Kyiv, and one person in Mykolaiv in the south of the country. Six regions were under the enemy's strike. All our services are now working to cope with the consequences of this terror," he posted on X. Six regions came under enemy fire.

Japan's Slim (Smart Lander for Investigating Moon) mission is now only hours away from attempting its perilous landing on the lunar surface. If successful, Japan will become only the fifth country to land on the moon. But after America's first landing attempt in 50 years failed before even reaching the Moon, the risk of failure is clear. Japan's space agency, JAXA, is hoping to stack the odds in its favour by using precision navigation equipment, earning the mission the nickname'Moon Sniper'. Unlike previous missions, which have aimed for areas more than a mile across, Japan's lander will attempt to land no more than 330ft (100m) from its target.

It is easy to get distracted by US officials pledging to rally support for a "humanitarian pause" and reducing the number of civilian casualties in Israel's bombardment of Gaza. But what matters is the actions of the Biden administration, not empty platitudes. In early November, the US State Department approved a $320m sale of guided bomb kits, reportedly assisting Israel to more precisely hit targets in Gaza. According to The New York Times, "Modern militaries generally add the guidance systems on their bombs with the goal of minimizing civilian casualties, although the damage can still be devastating, especially in urban areas." The United Nations and every major human rights group in the world have routinely condemned Israeli actions in Gaza, along with the Hamas barbarism on October 7, and accused the Israeli army of potentially committing war crimes. Human Rights Watch has rightly called for a suspension of all weapons transfers to Israel and Hamas.

Alan Wake II is a fantastic game. It tells a twisted, serpentine story of paranormal murder, shifting realities and demonic possession, with two brooding investigators at its core. Developers at Remedy Entertainment are masters of mood and Alan Wake II is their latest showpiece, highlighting the studio's eye for psychedelic terror and complex mysteries. This game is packed with monsters, ghosts, cults, Old Gods, rock operas and mind-bending perspective swaps. And on top of all that, its character models and set pieces are absolutely gorgeous.

Welcome to the brave new world of securo-feminism*. In the long tradition of systems of patriarchal violence representing themselves as the solution to patriarchal violence, the ongoing expansion of draconian "war on terror" measures is being advertised as an advance for women's rights. For instance, countries like the United Kingdom have extended anti-terrorism provisions to now not only strip citizenship from "terrorists", but also from (some of) those convicted of sexual abuse: a "double punishment" reserved exclusively for dual nationals and suspected dual nationals, predominantly Muslims and other racialised targets from former colonies in the Global South. Simultaneously, the British government itself is threatening the rights and safety of abuse survivors and others fleeing violence, with its proposed new bill to "secure the borders" by penalising asylum seekers for arriving by unauthorised routes (never mind that such penalties flagrantly violate international refugee law). In the United States, President Joe Biden's "feminist" credentials include the introduction of new justice mechanisms to address sexual assault within the military: packaged in the same piece of legislation escalating American "defence" spending to unprecedented heights, surpassing even the previous record set by his predecessor Donald Trump.

When U.S. President Joe Biden told an exhausted nation on Aug. 31 that the last C-17 cargo plane had left Taliban-controlled Kabul, ending two decades of American military misadventure in Afghanistan, he defended the frantic, bloodstained exit with a simple statement: "I was not going to extend this forever war." And yet the war grinds on. As Biden drew the curtain on Afghanistan, the CIA was quietly expanding a secret base deep in the Sahara, from which it runs drone flights to monitor al-Qaida and Islamic State group militants in Libya, as well as extremists in Niger, Chad and Mali. The military's Africa Command resumed drone strikes against the Shabab, an al-Qaida-linked group in Somalia. The Pentagon is weighing whether to send dozens of Special Forces trainers back to Somalia to help local troops fight militants.

When the idea to make a Minecraft spinoff was first batted around at Mojang Studios, a dungeon crawler game must have been one of the first suggestions. From Gauntlet to Diablo, this genre has always featured dank subterranean lairs, treasure chests and warrior skeletons – all beloved Minecraft components. The signature blocky visuals also work well, ensuring that Minecraft Dungeons will look familiar to fans as they hurtle through dioramas of hack-and-slash fun that rearrange themselves each time you play. The plot is paper thin: a vengeful loner discovers a treasure that turns him into a powerful mage and duly begins a reign of terror over the Minecraft kingdom. The game can be played alone, but it is most enjoyable to play its co-op mode, which can be enjoyed on a console or online.