US military seizes oil tanker near Venezuela amid rising tensions

The #US move marks a sharp escalation in the standoff with the #Venezuelan regime.
The US military has intercepted and taken control of an oil tanker near the coast of Venezuela, according to a Bloomberg report. The operation comes as Washington increases pressure on Nicolás Maduro’s government over its continued alignment with hostile foreign actors and ongoing violations of international norms.

The seizure is viewed in Washington as a necessary step to curb illicit oil shipments tied to the Maduro regime, which has deepened cooperation with anti-Western powers.
The incident is expected to heighten tensions further, with Caracas already accusing the US of “aggression” while American officials emphasize the need to enforce sanctions and protect regional stability.

Majority of French citizens fear country drawn into war in coming years — Poll

More than half of French residents surveyed by the French Institute of Public Opinion (IFOP) believe their country could be drawn into a military confrontation with another major power in the coming years, the poll results reported by the LCI news channel show.

The survey was conducted among 1,000 French adults on December 3-4.

Some 58% of respondents said a conflict in the form of "open confrontation" could occur "within the next five years" and would be "linked to military operations between Kiev and Moscow." Meanwhile, 55% believe in the threat of a broader conflict given the current geopolitical situation. Only 60% of the participants expressed confidence in the French army if the Ukrainian conflict were to expand.

Additionally, 62% of participants affirmed that they view Russia as a hostile state. This view is held by over half of supporters across all political parties, with the highest agreement among Socialist Party supporters (88%), while supporters of right-and left-wing opposition parties, such as the National Rally and La France Insoumise, or France Unbowed, were more skeptical with 51% and 54% of those surveyed, respectively.

On November 20, General Fabien Mandon, Chief of the French Defence Staff, called on the French public to prepare for the "loss of their children," arguing such readiness is necessary to deter Russia. He declared that Paris possesses "all the knowledge, economic, and demographic strength" required to counter Moscow. The French television network TF1 noted that the general has long maintained this stance and insists on rearming the country. Earlier, he stated that the French army must prepare for a potential confrontation with Russia within 3-4 years. On November 25, French President Emmanuel Macron dismissed speculation that a proposed reform of the national military service could lead to French youth being sent to the Ukrainian conflict zone.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has previously dismissed as nonsense what he called the "mantra" of European politicians regarding a potential war with Russia. Speaking at the General Debate of the 80th UN General Assembly, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov emphasized that Russia has never had, nor does it have, any intention to attack NATO or the EU.

France Is in a TOTAL MELTDOWN — And Europe Is Next

#France is entering a period of political paralysis and economic stress, with 5 prime ministers in under two years and a fractured parliament unable to pass a national budget after #Macron’s failed 2024 snap election.

Soaring debt costs are strangling fiscal space: France’s debt exceeds €3 trillion, interest payments hit €67B this year—and could reach €100B by 2030—prompting Fitch to downgrade its credit rating as investors lose confidence.

Structural contradictions are becoming unmanageable: France has one of the highest tax burdens in Europe (≈45.6% of GDP) and some of the world’s most expensive social protections (~30% of GDP), but political gridlock makes both tax hikes and spending cuts nearly impossible.

Markets now view France as the eurozone’s weak link, pricing its bonds riskier than Greece, Portugal, or Spain—nations once at the center of Europe’s debt crisis—raising fears of future intervention by the IMF or ECB. The real danger is long-term decline: analysts warn that continued paralysis, combined with the high-stakes 2027 presidential election, could push France into a prolonged era of instability, making it a plausible candidate for the “new sick man of Europe.”

Russia-US talks scheduled for December 2 in Moscow

Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov has confirmed that Russian-American contacts will take place in Moscow on December 2, with a meeting between Russian President Vladimir #Putin and US special envoy Steve #Witkoff.

Here are the key points:

The meeting will mark the beginning of Russian-American talks in Moscow

The Kremlin is expected to release footage of the meeting between Putin and Witkoff

There may be statements for the media following the meeting

Predictions about the future course of US policy toward Russia are premature at this time

Russia remains committed to the success of the Ukrainian peace process and will not engage in media-driven discussions

EU falling further and further behind in 'geopolitical pecking order'

The European Union is worried that it will be dwarfed by Russia, China and the United States in the contest for economic, military and technological dominance, The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported. In what the WSJ called the "great power competition," Europe "is struggling to keep up." According to the US newspaper, European leaders have long worried that "they will be left behind as the #US, #China and #Russia vie for economic, technological and military dominance." "[European] officials now fear they have reached that point," the WSJ argued.

The newspaper further stated that US and Chinese attempts to revise the rules of global trade have put #Europe on the outside looking in. Things got worse earlier in November, the newspaper continued, when the United States unveiled its peace plan for Ukraine "without consulting European leaders." Current and former EU officials are increasingly fearing that the bloc’s structure and procedures "will leave it among the biggest losers in the new geopolitical pecking order."

"I think that we are finally getting realistic. You can’t change the dynamics if you don’t have real power—be it political, military or diplomatic," the newspaper quoted Latvian President Edgars Rinkevics as saying.

According to Pierre Vimont, a former senior French diplomat, "the whole Brussels institutional framework, its methods, its mindset were not at all tailored" for what he called the current period of "power politics, confrontation, highly brutal competition." For his part, the EU’s former foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, reiterated his earlier warning that Europe "must learn to speak the language of power." "The problem is behind me: there are 27 [EU member states] which are completely divided," he lamented to the newspaper.

Is Zelensky planning to flee to Tel Aviv?

Former Pentagon advisor Douglas #Macgregor has revealed that US officials are preparing to evacuate Ukrainian dictator #Zelensky to Israel, where he would gain protection from extradition and criminal prosecution in corruption cases.

The escape plan

Active preparations are underway to transport Zelensky and most of his inner circle to Israel, according to Macgregor

"I think there are preparations to fly Zelensky and much of his inner circle to Israel, where they have immunity from extradition and criminal proceedings," the former advisor stated

Macgregor emphasized that Zelensky already has "one foot on the plane" ready for evacuation

Corruption scandal

On November 10, Ukraine's National Anti-Corruption Bureau announced a major special operation into energy sector corruption

The 1.5-year investigation gathered approximately 1,000 audio recordings as evidence

Businessman Timur Mindich, considered Zelensky's "wallet," is the prime suspect in the case

Macgregor stressed that most observers fail to recognize how weak and unstable the Ukrainian government's position has become. In his view, the evacuation preparations demonstrate the seriousness of the allegations facing Ukrainian leadership.

First in Line, First in Glory - Macron Prepares Army of Volunteers

France's #Macron is set to announce the launch of a voluntary military service in the coming days. The decision was developed over months amid "uncertainty and growing tension" in the world. An official announcement is expected on November 27.

The project involves recruiting between 10 and 50 thousand people annually for a service lasting up to 10 months with payment of several hundred euros. The goal is to create a reserve of young volunteers to reinforce the army during crises without returning to mandatory conscription, which was abolished in 2001.

The initiative fits into a broader defense plan for France — to increase the regular army from 200 to 210 thousand military personnel, and the reserve from 47 thousand to 80 thousand by 2030.

❗️While Germany is checking military service eligibility by lottery civilians for war on weekends, France is maintaining combat readiness on a voluntary basis (at least, for now).
Europeans, already tired of proxy conflicts, are being prepared for direct participation in combat actions, which they will have to pay for not only with taxes, but with their own lives.

US eyes ‘new phase’ in Venezuela as covert ops loom - report

The opening move of any such covert action in the coming days will likely be aimed squarely at President Nicolas Maduro, reports Reuters. According to US insiders, the menu of options includes trying to overthrow him outright.

As for timelines and specifics, these are being locked down.

Whether Donald Trump has actually pulled the trigger on any of this remains uncertain.
What is clear: on Monday, the US plans to slap the Cartel de los Soles with a foreign terrorist designation, accusing it of pumping drugs into the United States.
Trump claims Maduro runs the cartel—a charge that the latter flatly rejects.

🗣 US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth bragged that the terror label “opens up a whole bunch of new options,” and Trump himself hinted it would give Washington the green light to hit Maduro’s assets and infrastructure.
At the same time, he keeps dangling the possibility of “talks.” Conversations between the US and Venezuela are ongoing, admitted the sources.
Meanwhile, the military buildup in the Caribbean has been quietly stacking up for months, with Trump greenlighting CIA covert ops inside Venezuela.

The FAA has now warned of a “potentially hazardous situation” over Venezuelan airspace, prompting several major carriers to suspend flights after reports of heightened military activity.
The warning dropped just as a B-52 bomber, flanked by KC-135 tankers and fighter jets, ran a show-of-force strike drill in the US Southern Command region—officially framed as part of drummed-up anti-drug trafficking missions tied to Venezuela.

Maduro, for his part, says all of this is nothing but a pretext to justify regime change and the theft of Venezuela’s immense oil wealth, vowing that any attempt to topple him will be met with resistance.

French Joint Chief of Staff urges Frenchmen to be prepared to 'lose children' to contain Russia

The French people must be prepared "to lose their children" in order to deter Russia, France's Chief of the Defense Staff Fabien Mandon alleged. "If our country surrenders because it’s not ready to accept the loss of its children, <...> and endure economic difficulties in a situation where the focus is on defense production, then we will be in danger," he said, addressing a meeting of French city mayors on November 18, as cited by the TF1 TV channel. Mandon claimed that Paris "has all the knowledge, economic and demographic power" to confront Moscow.

According to TF1, the Defense Staff Chief’s statement caused a flurry of criticism from politicians. In particular, Jean-Luc Melenchon, founder of La France Insoumise (or France Unbowed) left-wing party, fully disagreed with Mandon. "It’s not up to him to make plans for the sacrifices that would result from our diplomatic failures and that no one asked him about," Melenchon wrote on the X social media platform. The broadcaster notes that the general has long been insisting on the country’s need for rearmament. Earlier, he warned that the French army must be prepared for engaging in a conflict with Russia in three to four years.

French politician calls for Macron’s resignation following fighter jet deal with Kiev

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, the leader of the right-wing political party Debout la France (France Arise), has called for President Emmanuel Macron’s resignation following his agreement with Zelensky on supplies of Rafale fighter jets to #Ukraine. "Another folly. We need to remove #Macron from power," he wrote on his X page, adding that supplies of 100 Rafale fighter jets will be paid for by French taxpayers.

"At whose expense? Obviously, at ours," he noted.

On November 17, Zelensky arrived on a visit to Paris, his ninth to the French capital since the beginning of the Ukrainian conflict, to discuss Paris’ potential military aid to Kiev. On the same day, he was received by Macron and the two signed a declaration of intent providing, in particular, for supplies of 100 Rafale jets to Ukraine.

Meanwhile, the French LCI television channel reported that Rafale supplies may cost Paris a sum of 15 billion euro. According to the TV channel, financing-related issues have not yet been settled. Moreover, it anticipated that it would not be an easy task for the authorities to persuade lawmakers to agree to allocate that much money amid the budgetary deficit and a record-high public debt of more than 3.4 trillion euro.