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Türkiye Detains 15 for Alleged ISIS Links

Riot police officers secure the entrance of the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, Turkey, January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Riot police officers secure the entrance of the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, Turkey, January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
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Türkiye Detains 15 for Alleged ISIS Links

Riot police officers secure the entrance of the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, Turkey, January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas
Riot police officers secure the entrance of the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, Turkey, January 21, 2023. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

Turkish police have arrested 15 people for alleged links to ISIS, the country's official news agency said late Saturday, following days of security warnings by Western consulates.

Anadolu news agency, sourcing an Istanbul police statement, said the group was detained for purportedly planning attacks on the Swedish and Dutch Consulates in Istanbul as well as on churches and synagogues. But the police added they couldn't ascertain any “concrete threats” against the locations.

According to The Associated Press, the intelligence that led to the police operation stated that the group may have received instructions from an affiliate of ISIS, which is active in South Asia and Central Asia.

Sweden and the Netherlands have been the subject of angry protests in Türkiye after an anti-Muslim activist burned the Quran in Stockholm, and a similar action took place in The Hague.

This week, a group of Western countries temporarily closed down their consulates in Istanbul over security concerns. Turkish government officials accused them of failing to share information on the security threat that led to the closures and of aiming to cause harm to Türkiye.

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World

US Again Seizes Oil Tanker Off Coast of Venezuela

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP
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US Again Seizes Oil Tanker Off Coast of Venezuela

US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP
US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem confirmed Washington had seized a second crude oil tanker in international waters off the coast of Venezuela. Handout / US Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem's X account/AFP

The United States "apprehended" an oil tanker off Venezuela on Saturday, a move Caracas deemed a "theft and kidnapping," in the latest salvo of a pressure campaign by Washington, the US government said.

It was the second time in two weeks that US forces have interdicted a tanker in the region, and comes days after President Donald Trump announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" heading to and leaving Venezuela.

"In a pre-dawn action early this morning on Dec. 20, the US Coast Guard with the support of the Department of War apprehended an oil tanker that was last docked in Venezuela," US Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem said in a post on X.

The post was accompanied by a nearly eight-minute video of aerial footage that showed a helicopter hovering just above the deck of a large tanker at sea.

Caracas slammed the seizure as theft and kidnapping, saying "those responsible for these serious events will answer to justice and to history for their criminal conduct."

A post from Homeland Security identified the vessel as the Centuries and said it was "suspected of carrying oil subject to US sanctions."

Centuries is a Chinese-owned, Panama-flagged oil tanker, according to TankerTrackers, an online service monitoring oil shipments and storage.

It said that Centuries loaded 1.8 million barrels of crude oil at a Venezuelan port earlier this month before being escorted out of Venezuela's exclusive economic zone on December 18. The VesselFinder database also listed the ship's last recorded location as off the Venezuelan coast.

An AFP review found that Centuries does not appear on the US Treasury Department's list of sanctioned companies and individuals.

White House deputy spokeswoman Anna Kelly said in a post on X the tanker "contained sanctioned PDVSA oil," in reference to Venezuela's state oil company, and charged the ship as being "a falsely flagged vessel operating as part of the Venezuelan shadow fleet."

'Waging a battle against lies'

On December 10, US forces seized a large oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, which the attorney general said was involved in carrying sanctioned oil from Venezuela to Iran.

The United States has for months been building a major military deployment in the Caribbean with the stated goal of combatting Latin American drug trafficking, but taking particular aim at Venezuela.

Venezuelan Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino Lopez voiced defiance in comments at a public event in Caracas broadcast Saturday on state TV -- although he made no mention of the interdicted ship.

"We are waging a battle against lies, manipulation, interference, military threats, and psychological warfare," the defense minister said, adding "that will not intimidate us."

Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil also said Iran, one of Caracas's largest international allies, was offering support "in all areas" to combat "piracy and international terrorism" by the United States.

There are currently 11 US warships in the Caribbean: the world's largest aircraft carrier, an amphibious assault ship, two amphibious transport dock ships, two cruisers and five destroyers.

Caracas views the operation as a campaign to push out leftist strongman Nicolas Maduro -- whom Washington and many nations view as an illegitimate president -- and to "steal" Venezuelan oil.

The US military has also conducted a series of air strikes on alleged drug trafficking boats in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean since September. Critics have questioned the legality of the attacks, which have killed more than 100 people.

The ship interception occurred as South American leaders gathered for a summit of the Mercosur bloc, where tensions over suspended member Venezuela overshadowed discussions of a future trade deal with the European Union.

At the gathering, Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva clashed with his Argentinian counterpart Javier Milei, arguing that an outbreak armed conflict over Venezuela could cause a "humanitarian catastrophe."

Milei, a Trump ally, countered by saying Argentina "welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people."

World

Thai Border Clashes Displace over Half a Million in Cambodia

A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
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Thai Border Clashes Displace over Half a Million in Cambodia

A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)
A village security volunteer splashes water to control a fire at a house after what a Thai soldier said was a Cambodian artillery strike in the area in Sisaket province, Thailand, Sunday, Dec. 14, 2025. (AP Photo/Sakchai Lalit)

More than half a million people in Cambodia have been displaced from their homes by two weeks of deadly border clashes with neighboring Thailand, Phnom Penh's interior ministry said Sunday.

The renewed fighting between the Southeast Asian neighbors this month, including with tanks, drones and artillery, has killed at least 22 people in Thailand and 19 in Cambodia, according to officials.

The conflict stems from a territorial dispute over the colonial-era demarcation of their 800-kilometer (500-mile) border and a smattering of ancient temple ruins situated on the frontier.

"At present, more than half a million Cambodian people, including women and children, are suffering severe hardship due to forced displacement from their homes and schools to escape artillery shells, rockets, and aerial bombardments carried out by Thailand's F-16 aircraft," Cambodia's interior ministry said in a statement, giving the total number of people evacuated as 518,611.

Around 400,000 people have been displaced in Thailand due to the reignited border conflict, Bangkok has said.

Each side has blamed the other for instigating the fresh fighting and traded accusations of attacks on civilians, after five days of clashes in July killed dozens, AFP said.

The United States, China and Malaysia brokered a truce to end that round of fighting, but the ceasefire was short-lived.

Border temple clashes

In October, US President Donald Trump backed a follow-on joint declaration between Thailand and Cambodia, touting new trade deals after they agreed in Kuala Lumpur to prolong their truce.

But Thailand suspended the agreement the following month, after Thai soldiers were wounded by landmines while on patrol at the border.

Bangkok has accused Cambodia of laying fresh mines, an allegation denied by Phnom Penh.

Trump, who has placed the conflict between Cambodia and Thailand on a list of wars he said he solved, this month claimed the two countries had agreed to a new ceasefire.

But Bangkok denied any truce had been agreed, and fighting has continued daily since a border skirmish on December 7 sparked the latest clashes.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday that Washington was hoping Cambodia and Thailand would reach a new ceasefire by Monday or Tuesday.

Foreign ministers of ASEAN nations, including Cambodia and Thailand, are set to meet on Monday in Kuala Lumpur for talks aimed at finding a diplomatic solution.

China sent its special envoy for Asian affairs to Cambodia and Thailand last week, with Beijing aiming to "rebuild peace".

Cambodia's foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday that the Chinese envoy, Deng Xijun, met with Prime Minister Hun Manet in Phnom Penh the day before, urging a truce.

Cambodia, which is outgunned and outspent by Bangkok's military, said Sunday that Thai forces had continued to attack since dawn, with fighting occurring on the border near the 900-year-old Preah Vihear temple.

A patch of contested land next to the UNESCO-listed heritage site was the site of military clashes in 2008, and sporadic violence for several years led to the deaths of two dozen people.

A UN court ruling in Phnom Penh's favor in 2013 settled the matter for more than a decade, but this year's crisis erupted in May when a Cambodian soldier was killed in a new clash.

World

Pope Leo Summons World's Cardinals for Key Assembly to Help him Govern the Church

A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV presiding over the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, 20 December 2025. EPA/VATICAN MEDIA HANDOUT
A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV presiding over the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, 20 December 2025. EPA/VATICAN MEDIA HANDOUT
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Pope Leo Summons World's Cardinals for Key Assembly to Help him Govern the Church

A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV presiding over the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, 20 December 2025. EPA/VATICAN MEDIA HANDOUT
A handout picture provided by the Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV presiding over the Jubilee Audience in St. Peter's Square, Vatican City, 20 December 2025. EPA/VATICAN MEDIA HANDOUT

Pope Leo XIV has summoned the world’s cardinals for two days of meetings to help him govern the church, the Vatican said Saturday, in the clearest sign yet that the new year will signal the unofficial start of his pontificate.

The consistory, as such gatherings are called, will be held Jan. 7-8, immediately following the Jan. 6 conclusion of the 2025 Holy Year, a once-every-quarter century celebration of Christianity.

Leo’s first few months as pope have been dominated by fulfilling the weekly Holy Year obligations of meeting with pilgrimage groups and celebrating special Jubilee audiences and Masses. Additionally, much of his time has been spent wrapping up the outstanding matters of Pope Francis' pontificate.

As a result, the January consistory in many ways will mark the first time that Leo can look ahead to his own agenda following his May 8 election as the first American pope. It is significant that he has summoned all the world’s cardinals to Rome, The Associated Press reported.

Francis had largely eschewed the consistory tradition as a means of governance. He had instead relied on a small group of eight or nine hand-picked cardinal advisers to help him govern and make key decisions.

The Vatican said Saturday that Leo’s first consistory “will be oriented toward fostering common discernment and offering support and advice to the Holy Father in the exercise of his high and grave responsibility in the government of the universal Church.”

Other types of consistories include the formal installation of new cardinals. But no new cardinals will be made at this meeting, which is purely consultative.