Five Things That Mattered This Week | Iran, Gold, European Tech, Crypto, Donetsk and more

Destroyers surround Iran, France ditches U.S. tech, Salesforce joins the Army, DHS funding standoff, Devil’s Metal, drones & missiles, crypto warnings, art, books — so much to get into.

Our last Friday of January 2026.
Let’s make it a good one.

Because sometimes the world’s headlines feel like splinters from the near future, this week’s roundup reads like an illustrated cautionary tale. Military destroyers circle Iran as nuclear tensions and regional disorder rise; France moves to shed U.S. tech in a bid for digital sovereignty; the Wh…