European Countries Step Up Security at Jewish Sites

A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
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European Countries Step Up Security at Jewish Sites

A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)
A resident stands with an Israeli soldier near a cordoned-off Israeli police station that was damaged during battles the previous day to dislodge Hamas militants who were stationed inside, on October 8, 2023. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP)

Germany and France on Saturday moved to reinforce security around Jewish temples, schools and monuments after the surprise attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas against Israel.

Germany tightened police protection of Jewish and Israeli institutions, as some supporters of the Palestinians took to the streets of Berlin to celebrate the attack.

France focused on Jewish temples and schools in cities across the country, as one Jewish leader expressed concern at the possibility the conflict might be imported there.

"In Berlin, police protection has been immediately stepped up," Germany's Interior Minister Nancy Faeser told Bild newspaper. "The federal government and the regions are closely coordinating their actions."

Germany's authorities were also closely watching "potential supporters of Hamas in the Islamist sphere", she added.

Berlin police posted photos on social media showing "people celebrating the attacks on Israel by passing out pastries" on Sonnenallee, the main avenue in the city's Neukoelln district.

Police had in some cases carried out identity checks and filed complaints, they added.

The German account of the Samidoun Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network posted photos of the distribution of pastries on the streets of Berlin and a message celebrating "the resistance of the Palestinian people".

Later Saturday, Berlin's famous Brandenburg Gate, a symbol of reunified Germany, was lit up in the colors of the Israeli flag.

"In solidarity with Israel," wrote Chancellor Olaf Scholz on X, formerly Twitter. Israel's ambassador replied on the same platform, thanking him for "this beautiful symbol".

In France, security had already been stepped up at synagogues in Paris, Marseille, Lyon and Strasbourg because of religious holidays observed since late September.

Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sent an urgent message to regional officials asking them to reinforce surveillance even further.

"At a time when terrorist attacks from Gaza are hitting Israel, I ask you to immediately step up vigilance, security and protection of Jewish community sites in France," he wrote in a message seen by AFP.

He called for a "visible and systematic static presence", and the use of soldiers from France's Operation Sentinelle, a special force deployed across the country since the 2015 terror attacks.

In the east of France, increased surveillance of Jewish schools and synagogues in the city of Strasbourg was being organised, said Pierre Haas, of the Council of French Jewish Institutions (CRIF).

"We were very shocked and worried by this outburst of violence," he told AFP.

Knowing the Israeli army would hit back, he said, "we're not reassured by the possibility of the conflict being imported to France".

Police sources confirmed that security had also been stepped up in the southern port city of Marseille, the north of France and in the Paris region.

London's police service said late Saturday it had increased patrols across parts of the UK capital after "a number of incidents ... in relation to the ongoing conflict in Israel and the border with Gaza".



Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
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Russia Pledges ‘Full Support’ for Venezuela Against US ‘Hostilities’

The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)
The US Navy replenishment oiler USNS Kanawha (T-AO-196) arrives at port in Ponce, Puerto Rico, amid ongoing military movements, December 21, 2025. (Reuters)

Russia on Monday expressed "full support" for Venezuela as the South American country confronts a blockade of sanctioned oil tankers by US forces deployed in the Caribbean, the two governments said.

In a phone call, the foreign ministers of the two allied countries blasted the US actions, which have included bombing alleged drug-trafficking boats and more recently the seizure of two tankers.

A third ship was being pursued, a US official told AFP Sunday.

"The ministers expressed their deep concern over the escalation of Washington's actions in the Caribbean Sea, which could have serious consequences for the region and threaten international shipping," the Russian foreign ministry said of the call between ministers Sergei Lavrov and Yvan Gil.

"The Russian side reaffirmed its full support for and solidarity with the Venezuelan leadership and people in the current context," it added.

"The ministers agreed to continue their close bilateral cooperation and to coordinate their actions on the international stage, particularly at the UN, in order to ensure respect for state sovereignty and non-interference in internal affairs."

The UN Security Council is to meet Tuesday to discuss the mounting crisis between Venezuela and the United States after a request from Caracas, backed by China and Russia.

On Telegram, Venezuela's Gil said he and Lavrov had discussed "the aggressions and flagrant violations of international law being perpetrated in the Caribbean: attacks on vessels, extrajudicial executions, and illicit acts of piracy carried out by the United States government."

US forces have since September launched strikes on boats Washington said, without providing evidence, were trafficking drugs in the Caribbean Sea and eastern Pacific Ocean.

More than 100 people have been killed, some of them fishermen, according to their families and governments.

US President Donald Trump on December 16 announced a blockade of "sanctioned oil vessels" sailing to and from Venezuela.

Trump has claimed Caracas under Maduro is using oil money to finance "drug terrorism, human trafficking, murder and kidnapping.

Gil said Lavrov had affirmed Moscow's "full support in the face of hostilities against our country."


Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
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Turkish Agents Capture an ISIS Member on the Afghan-Pakistan Border

A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)
A Turkish soldier stands guard outside the Silivri Prison and Courthouse complex near Istanbul, Turkey. (File/Reuters)

Turkish intelligence agents have captured a senior member of the ISIS terror group in an area along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, allegedly thwarting planned suicide attacks in Türkiye and elsewhere, Türkiye's state-run news agency reported Monday.

Anadolu Agency said the suspect was identified as Mehmet Goren and a member of the group's Afghanistan-based ISIS-Khorasan branch. He was caught in a covert operation and transferred to Türkiye.

It was not clear when the operation took place or whether Afghan and Pakistani authorities were involved.

The report said the Turkish citizen allegedly rose within the organization’s ranks and was given the task of carrying out suicide bombings in Türkiye, Pakistan, Afghanistan and Europe.

ISIS has carried out deadly attacks in Türkiye, including a shooting at an Istanbul night club on Jan. 1, 2017, which killed 39 people.

Monday's report said Goren’s capture allegedly also exposed the group's recruitment methods and provided intelligence on its planned activities.


Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
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Iran Arrests Norwegian-Iranian Dual Citizen

Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)
Iran's Evin Prison (File photo: Reuters)

A Norwegian-Iranian dual citizen has been arrested in Iran, Norway's foreign ministry told AFP on Monday.

"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is aware that a Norwegian citizen has been arrested in Iran, but due to our obligation to respect confidentiality we cannot provide further details," ministry spokesman Mathias Rongved said in an email.

He confirmed the individual was a dual Norwegian-Iranian national and noted the government advises against travel to Iran.

On its website, the Norwegian government states that Iran does not recognise dual citizenship, and it is "therefore very difficult -- virtually impossible -- for the embassy to assist Norwegian-Iranian citizens if they are imprisoned in Iran".

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA) identified the dual national as Shahin Mahmoudi, born in 1979.

It said she was arrested on December 14 after being ordered to report to authorities in Saqqez, in Iran's western Kurdistan province.

She is being held at a detention center in Sanandaj, it added.

HRANA said her family had not been informed of the reason for her arrest nor had they received any news of her health and well-being.