Another Steve Bannon appearance in the newly released photos.

“TRUMPKIN” also appears in the newly released Epstein photos.

U.S. special operations forces last month boarded a ship in the Indian Ocean and seized military-related components bound for Iran from China.

The ship was intercepted hundreds of miles off Sri Lanka, its cargo confiscated and destroyed, before it was allowed to continue.

The rare operation aimed to disrupt Iran’s efforts to rebuild its missile and weapons programs.

Source: WSJ

The Trump administration plans to issue a $1 coin next year featuring President Trump as part of the celebration of America’s 250th anniversary.

Source: CNN

Trump:

Thailand and Cambodia is in good shape.

Trump tries a new hat on.

Trump:

We knocked out 96% of the drugs coming in by water.

Now we are starting by land, land is a lot easier.

That is going to start happening.

Trump:

It is not only land strikes on Venezuela. It is land strikes on horrible people that are bringing in drugs and killing our people.

Trump on land strikes:

It does not necessarily have to be in Venezuela.

Reporter: Can you tell us how this free economic zone would work in the Donbas?

Trump: I don't want to do that now. It is a very complex situation. It would work.

Reporter: There were new Epstein photos released today showing you, Bill Clinton and Steve Bannon. What's your reaction?

Trump: I haven't seen them but everybody knew this man. He has photos with everybody. That's no big deal.

Venezuelan President Maduro:

We will make the most advanced microchips here, even those like Nvidia’s. Nothing will stop us.

Marco Rubio sees Venezuela as the key to toppling Cuba’s government.

Long convinced that Havana props up Maduro through intelligence and security support, Rubio believes removing Maduro would cut off Cuba’s lifeline and destabilize the regime.

Source: NYT

Steve Witkoff will meet President Zelensky and European leaders in Berlin this weekend as the White House accelerates efforts to secure a Ukraine peace deal before year’s end.

Source: WSJ

Lionel Messi’s reception in India.

The Trump administration is offering Ukraine a strong, legally binding security guarantee as part of its peace push, modeled on NATO’s Article 5 and requiring approval by Congress.

The guarantee would be paired with separate agreements on peace and reconstruction, aiming to give Ukraine long-term protection without an open-ended U.S. commitment.

Source: Axios

Sudan: Footage shows UAE-backed RSF militants burning a farm-goods truck heading to Al-Dabbah, threatening to torch all traffic to the city and further disrupt trade and food supplies.

Mali: The government has removed French history from Mali’s school curriculum, refocusing lessons on Mali and African history to strengthen national identity.

Donald Trump says US pressure on Venezuela is about drugs. But a more convincing explanation is oil.

Not just any oil, but heavy crude. Although the US is the world’s largest oil producer, most of its output is light shale oil. Many American refineries—especially in Texas and Louisiana—are designed to process heavy, dense crude, and retrofitting them would cost billions.

As a result, the US still relies heavily on imports, mainly from Canada. Venezuela, meanwhile, sits on some of the largest heavy oil reserves on the planet. Even with production in decline, that resource gives the country outsized strategic importance.

Seen this way, US pressure on Venezuela may have less to do with narcotics—and far more to do with securing the kind of oil America’s refineries actually need.

Source: Sky News