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US Refuses to Include Israel in 'Visa Waiver Program'

Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)
Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)
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US Refuses to Include Israel in 'Visa Waiver Program'

Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)
Travelers Ben Gurion International Airport (Reuters)

The US Department of Homeland Security informed Israel that it has failed to meet the requirements to enter the visa waiver program.

Earlier, the Israeli government informed its citizens that it had reached the final arrangements to obtain an official US decision to cancel the entry visa.

On Wednesday, Haaretz reported that the matter remained confidential until the Assistant Secretary of Homeland Land Security, Alice Lugo, announced it in a letter sent last month to the Democratic Representative, Don Beyer.

In the letter to Beyer, Lugo stressed that "Israel does not currently meet all [visa waiver program] designation requirements, including extending reciprocal visa-free travel privileges to all US citizens and nationals."

In response, Beyer sent a letter to members of the US House of Representatives, calling on them to support pressuring Israel to withdraw the new "discriminatory restrictions" imposed by the Israeli military for entry into the West Bank to assure reciprocity for all US citizens.

Beyer prepared a petition for which he collects signatures from other US representatives, which will be directed to the several US and Israeli agencies.

In the petition, the representatives put forward a request to open a hotline to publish monthly reports for future visa waiver program evaluations.

He sent a letter to the US Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, saying that it is clear that "Israel cannot and should not be admitted into the visa waiver program under the status quo."

"It is incumbent upon Israel as a key US ally and beneficiary of significant aid to treat US citizens with dignity and respect regardless of race, religion, and ethnicity, and it is especially pertinent at this time because Israel is currently being evaluated for entry into the United States Visa Waiver Program," said Beyer.

He highlighted the "onerous and discriminatory" new restrictions issued by the Israeli army's Coordinating Office for Government Affairs in the Territories.

The Representative added that Israel "consistently refused to extend fair treatment to US visitors attempting to travel through Israeli controlled entry points," despite the visa waiver program's prerequisite of reciprocity.

"The State Department itself acknowledges in its travel advisory that US citizens traveling to Israel have been unfairly denied entry."

It is known that Israel has been in deliberations with the US authorities for several years to include it in the visa waiver program, which would allow Israelis to stay in the United States for 90 days for tourism or business, and would be a catalyst for economic cooperation.

Diplomatic sources in Tel Aviv noted that the only clause restricting the exemption is the "reciprocity" clause that obligates Israel to treat all US citizens equally upon their entry to Israel.

They indicated that travelers who are not white and Jewish have long complained about racial profiling at Ben Gurion Airport. Palestinians with US citizenship, meanwhile, travel via the Allenby Bridge crossing with Jordan.

In response to Israeli journalists, the US embassy spokesman said Israel "must extend reciprocal privileges to all US citizens and nationals, including Palestinian-Americans, as those the United States would extend to Israeli citizens."

"We seek equal treatment and freedom to travel for all such US travelers to Israel regardless of national origin or ethnicity."

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World

US Envoys in Berlin for Another Round of Ukraine Peace Talks

14 December 2025, Berlin: Jared Kushner (R), entrepreneur and former chief advisor to the President of the United States, arrives at the Hotel Adlon. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
14 December 2025, Berlin: Jared Kushner (R), entrepreneur and former chief advisor to the President of the United States, arrives at the Hotel Adlon. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
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US Envoys in Berlin for Another Round of Ukraine Peace Talks

14 December 2025, Berlin: Jared Kushner (R), entrepreneur and former chief advisor to the President of the United States, arrives at the Hotel Adlon. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa
14 December 2025, Berlin: Jared Kushner (R), entrepreneur and former chief advisor to the President of the United States, arrives at the Hotel Adlon. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa

US envoys arrived in Berlin Sunday morning for another round of talks intended to secure a deal to end the war in Ukraine.

US President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner were spotted in downtown Berlin by a photographer for German news agency dpa.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that Ukrainian, US and European officials will hold a series of meetings in Berlin in the coming days.

“Most importantly, I will be meeting with envoys of President Trump, and there will also be meetings with our European partners, with many leaders, concerning the foundation of peace — a political agreement to end the war,” Zelenskyy said in an address to the nation late Saturday.

Washington has tried for months to navigate the demands of each side as Trump presses for a swift end to Russia’s war and grows increasingly exasperated by delays. The search for possible compromises has run into major obstacles, including control of Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk region, which is mostly occupied by Russian forces, and security guarantees for Ukraine.

“The chance is considerable at this moment, and it matters for our every city, for our every Ukrainian community,” The Associated Press quoted Zelenskyy as saying. “We are working to ensure that peace for Ukraine is dignified, and to secure a guarantee — a guarantee, above all — that Russia will not return to Ukraine for a third invasion.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has demanded that Ukraine withdraw its forces from the part of the Donetsk region still under its control and abandon its bid to join NATO among the key conditions for peace — demands Kyiv has rejected.

Putin's foreign affairs adviser Yuri Ushakov told the business daily Kommersant that Russian police and national guard troops would stay in parts of eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if they become a demilitarized zone under a prospective peace plan — a demand likely to be rejected by Ukraine as US-led negotiations drag on.

Ushakov warned that a search for compromise could take a long time, noting that the US proposals that took into account Russian demands had been “worsened” by alterations proposed by Ukraine and its European allies.

Speaking to Russian state TV in remarks broadcast Sunday, Ushakov said that “the contribution of Ukrainians and Europeans to these documents is unlikely to be constructive," warning that Moscow will “have very strong objections.”

Ushakov added that the territorial issue was actively discussed in Moscow when Witkoff and Kushner met with Putin earlier this month. “The Americans know and understand our position," he said.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, who has spearheaded European efforts to support Ukraine alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, said Saturday that “the decades of the ‘Pax Americana’ are largely over for us in Europe and for us in Germany as well.”

He warned that Putin's aim is “a fundamental change to the borders in Europe, the restoration of the old Soviet Union within its borders.”

“If Ukraine falls, he won’t stop,” Merz warned on Saturday during a party conference in Munich.

Putin has denied plans to restore the Soviet Union or attack any European allies.

As peace efforts continued, Russia and Ukraine exchanged another round of aerial attacks.

Ukraine’s air force said overnight Russia launched ballistic missiles and 138 attack drones at Ukraine. In its daily report, the air force said 110 had been intercepted or downed but missile and drone hits were recorded at six locations.

Zelenskyy said Sunday that hundreds of thousands of families were still without power in the south, east and north-east regions and work was continuing to restore electricity, heat and water to multiple regions following a large-scale attack the previous night.

The Ukrainian president said that in the past week, Russia had launched over 1,500 strike drones, nearly 900 guided aerial bombs and 46 missiles of various types at Ukraine.

“Ukraine needs peace on decent terms, and we are ready to work as constructively as possible. These days will be filled with diplomacy. It’s very important that it brings results,” Zelenskyy said.

Russia’s Defense Ministry said that air defenses downed 235 Ukrainian drones late Saturday and early Sunday.

In the Belgorod region, a drone injured a man and set his house ablaze in the village of Yasnye Zori, regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov said.

Ukrainian drones struck an oil depot in Uryupinsk in the Volgograd region, triggering a fire, according to the regional governor, Andrei Bocharov.

In the Krasnodar region, the Ukrainian drones attacked the town of Afipsky, where an oil refinery is located. The authorities said that explosions shattered windows in residential buildings but didn’t report any damage to the refinery.
 

World

Gunmen Kill, Injure Scores at Sydney's Bondi Beach as Hundreds Gathered for Jewish Festival

This screen grab made from UGC handout video footage courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles shows two gunmen dressed in black firing multiple shots on a bridge at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This screen grab made from UGC handout video footage courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles shows two gunmen dressed in black firing multiple shots on a bridge at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
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Gunmen Kill, Injure Scores at Sydney's Bondi Beach as Hundreds Gathered for Jewish Festival

This screen grab made from UGC handout video footage courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles shows two gunmen dressed in black firing multiple shots on a bridge at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)
This screen grab made from UGC handout video footage courtesy of Timothy Brant-Coles shows two gunmen dressed in black firing multiple shots on a bridge at Bondi Beach in Sydney on December 14, 2025. (Photo by Handout / various sources / AFP)

Two gunmen shot dead at least 11 people on Sunday at Sydney’s Bondi Beach, police said. One gunman was fatally shot by police and the second arrested.

The suspect was in critical condition, authorities said. A massive emergency response was underway, with injured people loaded into ambulances.

At least 29 people were confirmed wounded, according to a statement by police in New South Wales state, where Sydney is located. Two of those hurt were police officers.

Australian authorities haven't confirmed what the target of the mass shooting was. Hundreds had gathered for an event at Bondi Beach called Chanukah by the Sea, that was celebrating the start of the Hanukkah Jewish festival.

Police said their operation was “ongoing" and that a “number of suspicious items located in the vicinity” were being examined by specialist officers.

Dramatic footage apparently filmed by a member of the public and broadcast on Australian television channels showed someone appearing to tackle and disarm one of the gunmen, before pointing the man's weapon at him.

Emergency services were called to Campbell Parade about 6.45 p.m. responding to reports of shots being fired, The Associated Press quoted police as saying.

Local news outlets spoke to distressed and bloody bystanders who witnessed the horror. New South Wales Premier Chris Minns described the reports and images coming from the scene as “deeply distressing."

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said his thoughts were with all those affected,

“The scenes in Bondi are shocking and distressing,” he said. “Police and emergency responders are on the ground working to save lives.”

According to Agence France Presse, Israeli President Isaac Herzog condemned the attack as a "cruel attack on Jews" and urged the Australian authorities to step up the fight against antisemitism.

A British tourist told AFP he saw "two shooters in black" after the gunfire broke out.

"There was a shooting, two shooters in black with semi-automatic rifles," Timothy Brant-Coles told AFP, saying he saw multiple people who had been shot and wounded.

World

US Seizes Shipment Headed to Iran with Military-Related items

An arms shipment belonging to Iran seized by the US in May 2021. AP file photo
An arms shipment belonging to Iran seized by the US in May 2021. AP file photo
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US Seizes Shipment Headed to Iran with Military-Related items

An arms shipment belonging to Iran seized by the US in May 2021. AP file photo
An arms shipment belonging to Iran seized by the US in May 2021. AP file photo

A US special operations team raided a dual-use items ship in the Indian Ocean last month and seized military-related articles headed to Iran, US officials told The Wall Street Journal.

The newspaper said the ship’s cargo consists of components potentially useful for the Iranian conventional weapons.

A US special operations team in the Indian Ocean raided a ship headed to Iran from China last month and seized military-related articles, the Journal said citing US officials.

US forces boarded the ship several hundred miles off the coast of Sri Lanka, according to the newspaper, which added the vessel was later allowed to proceed.

It said the shipment consisted of dual-use items — ones with potential applications in civilian and military fields — that could be used in Iran’s missile program.

The report cited a US official as saying US intelligence indicated the shipment was headed for Iranian companies known to be intermediaries for the country’s missile development efforts.

The action was part of a campaign by the US Defense Department to cut off Iran’s covert arms supply networks.

A US official told The New York Times that “the rare operation at sea aimed at blocking Tehran from rebuilding its military arsenal.”

In a separate incident, Iran seized an oil tanker it claimed was illegally transporting Iranian fuel in the Gulf of Oman, Iranian media said overnight Friday to Saturday. Tehran’s move came amid suggestions it was a retaliatory measure against another country.

Iranian media said 18 crew members from India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh were on board the oil tanker.

“An oil tanker carrying six million liters of contraband diesel fuel has been boarded off the coast of the Sea of Oman,” the Fars news agency said, quoting an official from the southern province of Hormozgan.

“The vessel had disabled all its navigation systems.”

Iranian forces regularly announce the interception of ships it says are illegally transporting fuel in the Gulf.

Mojtaba Ghahramani, head of the Judiciary in Hormozgan Province, said Iran has seized a foreign oil tanker in the Sea of Oman. He claimed the operation targeted fuel smuggling networks and their operators.

He confirmed to state television that the tanker was carrying 6 million liters of diesel in the Sea of Oman, and was intercepted in Iranian territorial waters near Jask.

Ghahramani added that the vessel was operating without valid maritime travel documents or a cargo manifest for its fuel shipment. All navigation and auxiliary systems aboard the ship had been deliberately turned off, he said.

The information has not yet been confirmed by independent sources. State broadcaster did not mention the name of the vessel or give its nationality on its website.

According to Ghahramani, the tanker carried a crew of 18, composed of nationals from India, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh.

The latest interception came two days after the United States seized the oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela.

According to Washington, the ship’s captain was transporting oil from Venezuela and Iran. The US Treasury sanctioned Venezuela in 2022 for alleged ties to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps and Hezbollah.

“The seizure of this vessel highlights our successful efforts to impose costs on the governments of Venezuela and Iran,” FBI Director Kash Patel said in a statement on Friday.

Sources told Reuters that the US is preparing to intercept more ships transporting Venezuelan oil.

Iran seized an oil tanker in Gulf waters last month “for carrying an unauthorized cargo.”