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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)
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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."

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World

Ten Injured in Australia as Car Crashes into Crowd North of Sydney

Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
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Ten Injured in Australia as Car Crashes into Crowd North of Sydney

Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS
Police officers work at a crime scene at Waite Road in Paddington, Sydney, Australia February 23, 2024. AAP Image/Dean Lewins via REUTERS

Ten people were injured when a man drove into a crowd in the Australian city of Newcastle on Saturday after appearing to lose control of the car, authorities said.

The 18-year-old driver was ‌arrested at ‌the scene in ‌the suburb ⁠of Wallsend about ⁠110 km (70 miles) north of the New South Wales state capital, Sydney.

When the incident occurred, fans had lined local streets to send ⁠off the Newcastle ‌Knights rugby ‌league team, due to compete in ‌the country's National Rugby ‌League grand final in Sydney on Sunday.

Two of those hospitalized, a 5-year-old girl and a 67-year-old man, ‌were in a critical condition, authorities said.

Newcastle Mayor ⁠Gavin ⁠Morris said the driver seemed to have lost control of the car. "It appears that he was revving the car in some form," Morris said in televised remarks.

Police said initial indications suggested the incident was not terrorism-related.

World

Russia Strikes Another Major Bridge in Ukraine Capital

Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
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Russia Strikes Another Major Bridge in Ukraine Capital

Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter
Traffic headed to the left bank of the city after Russian drone strikes on Kyiv's bridges caused disruptions, amid Russia's attack on Ukraine, in Kyiv, Ukraine October 2, 2026. REUTERS/Thomas Peter

A Russian strike targeted a major bridge in Kyiv, its mayor said Saturday, in another attack on Ukrainian infrastructure that has brought traffic chaos to the capital.

The attack on the Northern Bridge, which followed a drone alert, came a day after the Southern Bridge was hit in a wave of strikes that city officials say is "tearing Kyiv apart".

The grinding conflict, which began with Russia's full-scale invasion in February 2022, has largely focused on ground fighting in the east, with Kyiv mostly spared from the devastation wrought near the frontline, AFP said.

"Northern Bridge has been hit," Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram on Saturday. "Emergency services are heading to the scene."

In another update, Klitschko said the attack had damaged the road surface and trolleybus wires on the bridge.

"Traffic across the bridge from the left bank to the right bank is currently blocked," Klitschko said.

The latest strike follows multiple attacks on crossings over the Dnipro river that link the eastern and western parts of the capital.

On Friday, authorities shut the Southern Bridge -- one of Kyiv's main bridges -- and restricted movement on another after a wave of strikes by fast-moving, jet-powered drones, causing severe traffic congestion across the capital.

Long lines of stationary cars and buses clogged major roads as commuters sought alternate routes, with some forced to continue their journeys on foot.

The Southern Bridge is one of eight crossings connecting the two sides of Kyiv.

The cable-stayed structure had already been hit several times since Thursday, according to city officials.

Klitschko warned Friday the capital should now be on a war footing.

World

Iran Executes Man Linked to Anti-government Protests

This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)
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Iran Executes Man Linked to Anti-government Protests

This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)
This photograph shows portraits of Iranian protesters allegedly executed by the Iranian regime during protests in Iran are displayed during a demonstration at the Ergife Palace Hotel to condemn the silence of Western governments in the face of the growing wave of Iranian political executions, in Rome on July 16, 2026. (AFP)

Iran said Saturday it had executed a man convicted of a raft of charges including firing a military-grade weapon at police officers during anti-government protests earlier this year.

Siavash Jamshidi was accused of targeting security personnel during mass demonstrations that peaked in January in which thousands of people were killed, said AFP.

Since that time, Iranian authorities have stepped up executions of convicts linked to the unrest.

"Jamshidi was sentenced to death on charges of moharebeh through brandishing and firing a firearm, as well as conspiracy and collusion against national security," Iran's judiciary said, using the legal term moharebeh to mean "waging war against God".

The judiciary's Mizan Online website said he was also found guilty of offences not related to the protests, including "fraud, making threats, theft, possession and carrying of an illegal military-grade weapon".

Other charges included "complicity in kidnapping, brandishing a weapon to intimidate, and intentional infliction of bodily harm".

Mizan said Jamshidi was "active" during the demonstrations, which were sparked in December last year by grievances over living costs in Iran, but peaked on January 8 and 9 with huge rallies.

Iranian authorities reported more than 3,000 deaths in the unrest, attributing the violence to "terrorist acts" orchestrated by the United States and Israel.

Foreign-based NGOs however maintain that Iranian security forces fired on protesters.

US President Donald Trump threatened at the time to intervene militarily in Iran. Weeks later in late February, the United States and Israel launched a joint attack on the Iranian republic, triggering the Middle East war.

Since then, arrests and executions have multiplied in Iran, linked both to the war and the protests.

In 2025, Iran executed at least 1,639 people, the largest number in any year since 1989, according to the NGOs Iran Human Rights and Together Against the Death Penalty.