Weekly Update by Mark Armstrong – December 12, 2025
Greetings from Tyler, We’ve seized a Venezuelan ship full of oil. This is not unusual but it is inflammatory. You can watch on released video, it was rehearsed. Apparently we took control of this tanker and it was an armed … Read More
Gold gains after Fed rate cut, silver hits all-time peak
Gold prices reversed course to rise on Wednesday after the Federal Reserve’s rate cut, though uncertainty over next year’s policy outlook persisted, while silver hit an all-time peak. Spot gold rose 0.7% at $4,236.57 per ounce. U.S. gold futures for … Read More
Bondi shares heart-pounding footage of US seizing Venezuelan oil tanker in rare action last seen in 2014
US forces rappelled from helicopter onto sanctioned vessel off Venezuelan coast Attorney General Pam Bondi released video footage Wednesday of U.S. forces seizing a Venezuelan crude oil tanker, a bold move last ordered more than a decade ago. Video footage … Read More
Russian oil rig in Caspian Sea halts production after Ukrainian drone strike, SBU source says
Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) struck Russia’s Vladimir Filanovsky field in the Caspian Sea for the first time with long-range drones, halting oil and gas production from more than 20 wells, a source in the SBU said on Dec. 11. Four … Read More
WINTER CRISIS Patients treated in CUPBOARDS in NHS ‘superflu’ chaos as docs warn ‘last chance’ to get vaccine before H3N2 peak
PATIENTS are being treated in “cupboards” as the NHS buckles under the “relentless strain” of winter bugs, top doctors say. Brits are being warned today is their “last chance to get protected” against the H3N2 superflu surge, which shows no … Read More
Bulgarian government resigns after mass anti-corruption protests
Tens of thousands gathered across Bulgaria on Wednesday to demand Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov’s resignation, with protesters accusing the government of widespread corruption. The demonstrations come weeks before Bulgaria joins the eurozone on 1 January. Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov resigned … Read More
French lawmakers narrowly back social security budget in victory for PM Lecornu
France’s social security budget cleared a key hurdle in France’s National Assembly on Tuesday as lawmakers narrowly approved a draft bill aimed at staving off a huge gap in funding for welfare, pensions and healthcare, handing a victory to embattled Prime … Read More
Australia is trying to enforce the first teen social media ban. Governments worldwide are watching.
Australia on Wednesday became the first country to formally bar users under the age of 16 from accessing major social media platforms, a move expected to be closely monitored by global tech companies and policymakers around the world. Canberra’s ban, … Read More
Zelensky says ready to hold Ukraine elections
President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Tuesday he was ready to hold new elections in Ukraine, and that he expected to send Washington within a day revised proposals on ending the nearly four-year war with Russia. US President Donald Trump is … Read More
Magnitude-7.6 earthquake in Japan prompts tsunami warning and evacuation order for 90,000 people
A magnitude-7.6 earthquake struck off northern Japan late Monday, injuring more than 20 people and triggering a tsunami of up to 70 centimetres in Pacific coast communities, according to the Japanese Meteorological Agency (JMA). Reuters reported that about 90,000 people … Read More
Lithuania declares national emergency over security risks posed by balloons from Belarus
VILNIUS, Lithuania (AP) — Lithuania’s government on Tuesday declared a national emergency over security risks posed by meteorological balloons sent from Russia-allied Belarus that have violated its airspace in recent weeks, while the Belarusian leader called for negotiations on border … Read More
Feedback 100 Nigerian students rescued, more still with kidnappers
MINNA/MAIDUGURI, Nigeria, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Nigeria’s government on Monday rescued 100 schoolchildren abducted last month from a Catholic school in Niger state, in one of the country’s biggest mass kidnappings in recent years. The students arrived at the government … Read More
EU’s crackdown on X shows desperation not strength
The recent rabid, full-on attack on Elon Musk’s X by the European Commission represents a new chapter in Brussels’ attempts to purge the public square of inconvenient ideas. The Berlaymont has imposed a €120 million fine on X for, essentially, … Read More
Sudan’s bloody civil war is worsening a major humanitarian crisis
Aid delivery remains extremely difficult in violence-ridden areas, where clashes continue between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Sudan is facing what the World Food Program has called “the humanitarian crisis of our time,” as tens of … Read More
Thai Airstrikes Hit Cambodia as Border Conflict Reignites
Thailand launched airstrikes against Cambodian forces on their disputed border on Monday, throwing into question a ceasefire that President Donald Trump helped to broker earlier in the year. The Southeast Asian neighbors blamed each other for starting the latest fighting … Read More