Hi Global Recap readers,
We had a technical issue with our email provider yesterday and missed the usual send window. Today’s lead was originally going to run yesterday, but it’s too good not to keep on top.
Also in today’s edition:
Trump giving the middle finger to a heckler (I initially assumed it was AI)
Trump’s shifting “red line” on Iran—and what it could mean going forward.
But first, here’s how yesterday’s newsletter was going to open:
I usually try to be careful about projecting my opinions onto countries I’m not a citizen of, but to our U.K. readers: are you okay with this? 👇🏼
Or since such cables are everywhere, does it not matter?
🇬🇧 UNITED KINGDOM
New Chinese Embassy
Beside Sensitive Cables
China’s planned new London "super-embassy" reportedly includes a concealed basement room positioned right next to fiber-optic cables carrying sensitive City of London financial data.
Critics see a potential wiretap, but Prime Minister Starmer is expected to approve the embassy before traveling to China later this month to meet Xi Jinping.
Redacted
Unredacted
Blueprints. On January 12, 2026, The Telegraph reported it had obtained unredacted planning documents for China’s proposed diplomatic complex on the former Royal Mint site in central London.
These crucial details were blacked out in public versions.
The paper says the underground design includes 208 concealed rooms, including a chamber placed alongside high-value communications infrastructure.
The gap is only about 1 m (3.3 ft.)
Proximity. The standout feature is a hidden room beneath the Seamen’s Registry building on the site’s northwest corner, bordering Mansell Street near the Tower Hill interchange.
The plans show it running directly beside fiber-optic cables that transmit City financial data, plus everyday email and messaging traffic.
Drawings also indicate the outer basement wall facing the street would be demolished and rebuilt, putting construction activity extremely close to those lines.
Heat. The same room is fitted with hot-air extraction systems, which is consistent with heat-producing equipment like dense computing gear.
📌 Context: China has sought planning permission for a large new embassy complex in Tower Hamlets, and many submitted documents were heavily redacted on "security" grounds.
🇺🇸 UNITED STATES
Trump's Flip-Off
President Trump just gave a heckler the middle finger during a tour of a Ford plant in Michigan on Jan. 13.
The White House called it an "appropriate and unambiguous response."
Scene. Trump was walking an elevated route through Ford's F-150 assembly facility in Dearborn when someone on the plant floor yelled what sounded like "pedophile protector." Trump turned, appeared to mouth "fuck you," then raised his middle finger as he moved on.
Fallout. The autoworker was suspended pending an investigation, and the worker said he was referencing the Jeffrey Epstein probe. Meanwhile, other Ford employees were cheering and welcoming Trump, snapping photos and shaking hands as he toured the line.
Response. Ford's Executive Director of Corporate Communications David Tovar said that the company does not condone inappropriate remarks inside its facilities and has a process for handling incidents.
💭 Thoughts
As with most things these days, reactions are split:
some people cheer President Trump for being “real,”
while others call him a fascist dictator.
I’m personally not a fan of any national leader publicly giving the finger to a citizen, but if your definition of a fascist dictator is a leader flipping someone off, then the term has lost any serious meaning.
Here’s an anecdote. If Trump were a “fascist dictator,” that heckler wouldn’t just be trending on the internet—he’d be gone. If you think I’m exaggerating, try pulling that stunt in China, or even Hong Kong.
A few years ago, I “lost contact” with a friend of mine in China for a few days after posting a Winnie-the-Pooh meme about Xi Jinping. He was eventually released, but all his social media accounts were blocked, and he’s now living overseas.
This is what real fascism looks like—not getting one’s feelings hurt after heckling someone and getting flipped off.
Let’s be honest. Say you’re a business owner, or a senior manager who needs to stay on the government’s good side for permits, funding, regulations, whatever. And one of your employees decides to heckle and stir trouble during work hours (and on company property) right when you’re trying to keep things smooth. Would you keep that person around?
🇮🇷 IRAN
Americans Told To Leave
U.S. President Trump (left) and the Supreme Leader of Iran Khamenei (right)
The Trump administration is urging U.S. citizens to leave Iran immediately as unrest spreads, the government cuts off internet access, and reports emerge of a massacre.
Alert. A security alert posted by the virtual U.S. Embassy for Iran told American citizens to "leave Iran now" and to "have a plan for departing Iran that does not rely on U.S. government help."
Ground. The alert warns that protests across Iran are escalating and could turn violent, with arrests and injuries already part of the picture. But if you think this signals the U.S. is preparing for an attack on Iran, it’s more complicated than that.
As of now, activists estimate at least 2,571 people have died in connection with the protests, and 18,100 have been detained.
Red Line. In the clip above, President Trump says the U.S. will take “very strong action” if Iran starts hanging people. But even some of his supporters are saying this makes him (and the U.S.) look weak, because the “red line” keeps shifting.
At first, the warning was that Iran would have “hell to pay” if it started shooting protesters. Now we’re seeing images of body bags and reports of a brutal crackdown.
Now, the red line is… if the regime starts hanging people.
Vance. With Vice President JD Vance reportedly urging Trump (and senior aides) to try diplomacy first, the U.S. is in an awkward spot.
Option 1: Do nothing, and hope Iranians topple the Islamic Republic themselves. But that kind of inaction could backfire—especially if protesters feel the U.S. “egged them on” with rhetoric that implied help was coming.
Option 2: Do something, and risk the operation failing—undoing whatever deterrence/credibility the U.S. thinks it just rebuilt after Venezuela.
Betting odds of Khamenei being ousted by Jan. 31 (Polymarket)
And that’s the key difference: the Venezuela operation was months in the making. Reporting around Maduro’s capture describes extensive planning since at least August 2025. Iran is a totally different logistical and timing problem.
If you’re looking for a “middle ground,” the most realistic version is an Israel-led operation with U.S. backing—so it reads as coordinated without putting U.S. troops front-and-center.
But as of now, Israel’s willingness (and the feasibility) is still speculative.
🇷🇺 RUSSIA
Kadyrov Hospitalized,
Kremlin Watches
Head of the Chechen Republic Kadyrov (left) and Russian President Putin (right)
Ukrainian intelligence says Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov has been hospitalized with kidney failure and is on dialysis in Chechnya.
The report claims Moscow is already gaming out who replaces him.
Report. The claim comes via Ukrinform, citing an anonymous source in Ukraine’s military intelligence directorate. The source says Kadyrov is being treated at a private hospital in Chechnya.
Signs. Kadyrov reportedly has not been seen in public for more than a week, and when he last appeared he was using a walking stick. The account also says members of his clan, including relatives traveling from abroad, have gathered at his bedside.
Akhmat Kadyrov (left) and Putin (right)
Succession. The Kremlin has reportedly intensified its search for a replacement, with Magomed Daudov, Apti Alaudinov, and Kadyrov’s eldest son Akhmat Kadyrov floated as contenders.
It's still Putin’s call, but the local movement is already visible.
Last week, Kadyrov appointed 20-year-old Akhmat as Acting Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, adding to a stack of roles that already includes Minister of Sports and head of the Regional Youth Affairs Department.
📌 Context: Ramzan Kadyrov is the Kremlin-backed head of Russia’s Chechen Republic and has built a tightly controlled, family-heavy power structure since taking over in 2007.
He is accused by human rights groups of abuses including forced disappearances, torture, and persecution of homosexuals.
