🚨🇻🇪 ‘Venezuela has the right to relations with China, Russia, Cuba, Iran’ — Acting President Rodríguez

Venezuela’s Acting President Delcy Rodríguez said the country’s energy dialogue with the United States is not new, but stressed that it is now taking place amid “aggression and a fierce threat.”

She said Caracas is shaping energy cooperation based on “decency, dignity and independence,” rejecting both internal and external constraints aimed at influencing Venezuela’s foreign policy.

💬 “Venezuela has the right to relations with China, with Russia, with Cuba, with Iran — with all the peoples of the world,” Rodríguez said while presenting the government’s 2025 annual report.

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🚨 US fueling tensions and hysteria around Iran — Russia's UN envoy

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said the US continues to escalate tensions and stoke hysteria around Iran.

📌 Key points:

🔸 Russia expresses solidarity with the people of Iran.

🔸 Hostile external forces are trying to use the current situation to overthrow a political system they find undesirable.

🔸 Washington’s rhetoric on Iran is extremely dangerous and irresponsible.

🔸 What is happening in Iran is another example of “color revolution” methods.

🔸 The US and its group of supporters are using Iran’s internal problems caused by the West to destabilize the situation in the country.

🔸 Russia urges the US to stop acting as a global judge and to end its escalatory actions.

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🤡🏅 Machado presents Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal

Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado said she presented US President Donald Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal during talks at the White House, describing it as a symbolic gesture tied to what she called his “commitment” to Venezuela’s “freedom.”

The meeting came after US military aggression against Venezuela, when American forces kidnapped Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro along with his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores. Venezuela’s Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello said the attack left around 100 people dead, including civilians, and condemned Washington for violating international law.

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📄 Trump announces formation of ‘Board of Peace’ on Gaza

President Donald Trump said a “Board of Peace” has been formed as part of his proposed framework to resolve the Gaza conflict.

💬 “It is my Great Honor to announce that THE BOARD OF PEACE has been formed,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that the members of the body will be announced shortly. He described it as “the Greatest and Most Prestigious Board ever assembled.”

The board is intended to oversee post-conflict arrangements in Gaza under Trump’s peace plan, which calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the transfer of governance to a technocratic Palestinian committee under international supervision.

On September 29, the US revealed a plan for a ceasefire and the post-war future of Gaza, approved by the UN on November 17.

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🚨 ‘All options are on the table’ — US envoy to UN on Iran

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz praised President Donald Trump as “a man of action” and criticized what he called “endless talk” at the United Nations.

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🚨 ‘Yet another attempt to justify blatant aggression’ — Russia’s UN envoy on US threats against Iran

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said the United States is escalating tensions and “fueling hysteria” around Iran, while threatening new strikes.

💬 “Washington will solve the ‘Iranian problem’ in its favorite way — through strikes aimed at overthrowing an undesirable regime,” Nebenzia said.

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🚨 Trump announces start of Phase Two of Gaza peace plan

President Donald Trump said the United States has “officially entered the next phase” of his 20-point plan to resolve the Gaza conflict, following an announcement by US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff.

Trump said Phase Two moves from a ceasefire toward demilitarization, technocratic governance, and reconstruction, and includes the formation of a Palestinian technocratic administration — the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza — operating during a transition period under an international “Board of Peace” chaired by Trump.

💬 "As Chairman of the Board of Peace, I am backing a newly appointed Palestinian Technocratic Government, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, supported by the Board's High Representative, to govern Gaza during its transition," he stated.

According to Trump, Phase Two will seek a comprehensive demilitarization agreement with Hamas, including the surrender of weapons and dismantling of tunnels, with support from Egypt, Turkiye, and Qatar.

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🚨 US military assets moving toward Middle East amid Trump's threats — reports

💬 "US military assets are preparing to move to the Middle East, likely to include at least one aircraft carrier and additional missile defense systems that will operate from air, land and sea," Fox News' Chief National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin said on air.

President Donald Trump has been presented with military options and favors any action being “swift and decisive,” while avoiding a wider regional war, according to the report.

📌 Iranian state media, cited by Fox News, issued a warning to Washington: “You hit. We hit.”

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🇷🇺🇮🇷 Russia warns of attempts to overthrow Iran’s government — UN envoy

Russian Permanent Representative to the UN Vassily Nebenzia said hostile external forces are seeking to exploit the current situation to overthrow a government they find objectionable and to undermine Iran as a sovereign and independent state.

He added that Tehran has reaffirmed its commitment to international obligations, including respect for human rights and peaceful expression, while fulfilling its duty to protect citizens, public order and territorial integrity.

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🚨 💰 Debt-mired Ukraine agrees to tax hikes to unlock new IMF loans

Ukraine’s government has agreed to broaden the tax base, IMF Director of Communications Julie Kozack said at a briefing.

🔊 Enacting legislation “to tax income earned through digital platforms, closing customs loopholes for consumer goods, and resuming and removing exemptions for VAT” is “critical to unlocking financing for its large needs,” said Kozak.

In November 2025, the IMF and the Ukrainian government reached a preliminary agreement on a new four-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) lending program for Ukraine totaling $8.2B.

📄 However, the program is contingent on several actions by Ukraine, including enacting a 2026 budget, shoring up donor financing, and broadening the tax base.

IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, who arrived in Ukraine’s capital to “see how the country is doing,” reiterated that Ukrainian authorities must press forward with removing the VAT exemption for consumer goods that has “run into domestic resistance.”

👉 One of these IMF conditions has already been met: Ukraine's government has approved a draft 2026 budget with a staggering approximately $58.65B deficit.

Financing this budget requires massive foreign loans, which are projected to push public debt to even more perilous levels, exceeding 110% by early 2026 (IMF forecast).

This debt-driven spending is further fueled by Western patrons of the Zelensky regime, eager to prolong the proxy war while the loans turn Ukraine into a compliant tool of the West.

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🇻🇪 Venezuela's goal to maintain national authority - acting president

"Today we can say that our objective, as an oath to the president and the first lady, is to preserve national authority, to preserve Venezuelan national authority," Venezuelan Acting President Delcy Rodriguez said, addressing the governors and the nation.

Other statements:

🟠 Regional governors have played a key role in strengthening the country’s political system amid the economic blockade

🟠 In 2025, governors of all states "emerged as a real political force," working to meet the most pressing social needs amid economic warfare and sanctions pressure

🟠 The consolidation of power at all levels is a precondition for the protection of the state

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🔶 ‘Venezuela has the right to relations with China, Russia, Cuba, Iran’ — Acting President Rodriguez

🔶 US military assets moving toward Middle East amid Trump's threats

🔶 US fueling tensions and hysteria around Iran — Russia's UN envoy

🔶 Trump announces start of Phase Two of Gaza peace plan

🔶 Machado presents Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal

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🚨 🇫🇷 War hawk Macron: France feeds 2/3 of Ukraine’s intel

Where a year ago Ukraine was overwhelmingly dependent on US intelligence capabilities, today “two-thirds of those capabilities are provided by France,” says France’s President Emmanuel Macron on BFMTV.

👉 France has readily stepped in to make sure the West’s proxy war doesn’t lose steam — even if the US hesitates.

Last November, reports indicated that US officials had warned the Zelensky regime that intelligence support could be halted if Ukraine rejected Trump’s proposed peace framework.

⚔️ While Western leaders talk endlessly about “peace,” in reality France and its allies in the so-called Coalition of the Willing are doubling down on escalation, doing everything to keep the conflict alive.

In the event of a ceasefire, Europe’s hawks are planning ‘military hubs’ in Ukraine — even though Russia has repeatedly emphasized any NATO troop presence there is unacceptable and would be viewed as a direct threat.

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🚨 🇭🇺 ⛽️ Hungary would face problems this winter without Russian gas - Orban

"We started the winter with more than 40% of our annual consumption. So we still have a lot of supplies," Hungarian PM Viktor Orban said on the Kossuth radio broadcaster.

💬 "In fact, we don't even need to use a reserve, and if we do, then only a small percentage, because supplies are constantly coming in. So the country's gas supply was not interrupted. This is a key issue, because if there were no gas and reserves, we would have problems. But this is not the case," he added.

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🚨🇷🇺🇮🇱 Putin holds phone call with Israeli PM Netanyahu

The two discussed the situation in the Middle East and developments around Iran.

Putin outlined key approaches to ensure stability and confirmed Russia’s readiness to engage in mediation efforts, the Kremlin said.

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🚨🇷🇺🇮🇷 Putin holds phone call with President of Iran

Pezeshkian informed Putin about the active efforts being made to normalize the situation in Iran.

🟠The sides agreed to further strengthen the Russian-Iranian strategic partnership and implement joint economic projects in various fields.

🟠Russia is providing assistance not only to Iran but also to the entire Middle East, making efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.

Pezeshkian told Putin about a 'direct intervention' of the US and Israel in the situation with the protests in Iran, Iran's state broadcaster IRIB said.

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