Macron announced that the French armed forces took control of a Russian Shadow Fleet oil tanker in the Atlantic Ocean The French Navy, supported by the UK and other partners, has detained a sanctioned tanker sailing from Russia in the Atlantic Ocean, President Emmanuel Macron stated. "Yesterday morning, the French Navy detained another oil tanker, the Tagor, sailing from Russia and subject to international sanctions. This operation was carried out on the high seas in the Atlantic Ocean with the support of several partners, including the UK, and in strict accordance with maritime law," the French leader wrote in a post on his X page. According to the VesselFinder monitoring service, the Tagor oil tanker flies the flag of Madagascar. It made its last port call in Murmansk in early May, the service’s website noted. Previous seizures On March 20, the French Navy conducted an operation involving the Deyna oil tanker in the western Mediterranean Sea. The vessel was flying the Mozambican flag and had departed from Murmansk. French President Emmanuel Macron noted that the Deyna was part of Russia’s so-called shadow fleet. On April 16, the press service of the Mediterranean Maritime Prefecture reported that the French authorities had lifted the detention of the Deyna after the fine was paid. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesswoman Maria Zakharova emphasized that Moscow would use all available means to ensure respect for the principle of freedom of navigation in order to counter EU piracy in maritime areas.

Trump to determine next steps on NATO, but US disillusioned about allies — Pentagon chief US President Donald #Trump will make the decision on the United States’ further steps regarding NATO, but Washington has now learned a great deal about its allies in the alliance, US Secretary of War Pete Hegseth stated at a press conference. "As far as #NATO is concerned, that's a decision that will be left to the [US] President [Donald Trump]," he said, answering a question about whether the US remains committed to the North Atlantic Alliance’s principle of collective defense. "But I'll just say a lot has been laid bare. A lot has been shown to the world about what our allies would be willing to do for the United States of America when we undertake an effort of this scope on behalf of the free world." Hegseth emphasized that US territory is out of reach of Iranian missiles, but the territory of US "allies and others" is within their reach. "And yet, when we ask for additional assistance or simple access [to military facilities of allied countries], basic overflight [over the territory of other countries], we get questions or roadblocks or hesitations," he lamented. The Washington administration has previously harshly criticized NATO allies for what the US side believes is insufficient support in the military operation against Iran.

Free Iran, Roaring Lion

War is coming... The precious blood of the Persian people will be avenged. And Iran will be set free from the death-grip of Islam. These storms of war will end, and the sun will shine again—brighter than ever before.

Telegram co-founder warns against mistaking France for free country #France is not a free country, #Telegram co-founder Pavel #Durov said, commenting on raids of the French offices of Elon Musk's social media platform X by Paris prosecutors, Europol and a cybercrime unit. "Don’t be mistaken: this is not a free country," Durov pointed out in an X post. According to him, France is the only country in the world that is prosecuting all social networks "that give people some degree of freedom." In this regard, Durov mentioned Telegram, X and TikTok.

Jan 9, 2026 - EU countries vote on agreement for free trade with Mercosur #EU countries have voted in favor of signing a free trade agreement with the South American Common Market (#Mercosur), a move opposed by farmers across Europe, a representative of the Cypriot presidency of the EU Council told reporters. "EU countries have approved the signing of the agreement," he said. The vote was conducted in written form between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time.

Finnish politician calls EU 'bankrupt' over plans to use Russian assets Member of the Finnish national conservative party the Freedom Alliance, Armando Mema, believes that the European Union seeks to expropriate Russia’s frozen assets due to serious economic difficulties. "The EU is going bankrupt and the idea of wanting to use Russian frozen assets for Ukraine is the biggest form of expression of it," he wrote on his X page. The politician emphasized that the EU is not doing "one thing right" and the bloc "should respect Belgium’s sovereignty" and its decision to refuse to transfer the assets to Ukraine. On December 12, the European Union’s Council formally decided to permanently freeze Russia’s sovereign assets. The European Commission aims to secure approval from EU member states at the December 18-19 summit in Brussels to expropriate approximately 210 billion euros in Russian assets, with 185 billion euros already blocked on the Euroclear platform in Belgium. Russian President Vladimir Putin previously characterized the proposed confiscation as "an act of theft," while Russian Justice Minister Konstantin Chuichenko said that the country’s leadership has already been presented with options for responding to a potential seizure of Russian assets by Western nations.

Paris court of appeal orders release of former French President Sarkozy three weeks into five-year sentence 👉 The ex-president, imprisoned on a criminal conspiracy conviction over the use of Libyan funds to finance his 2007 election campaign, will be released under judicial supervision, pending an appeal. ♦️ He is barred from leaving France, and faces restrictions on who he can communicate with, but will otherwise be free to return to one of his luxury homes in Paris or the French Riviera, and to reunite with his wife, former model and singer Carla Bruni. ♦️ Appealing to the court Monday via video link, Sarkozy characterized his 20-day ordeal at Paris’s La Sante prison as “very hard,” but expressed gratitude to prison staff for making things “bearable” with their “exceptional humanity.” ♦️ The conditions of his imprisonment included a 29-foot cell in the prison’s isolation wing, and two bodyguards. ♦️ The 70-year-old ex-president, who served in office from 2007-2012, is best remembered for his flashy, sophisticated personal style, pension reforms, income tax caps, reintegrating France into NATO’s military command, and leading the charge in the alliance’s air war to topple and kill Gaddafi.

Zohran Mamdani wins NYC mayor's race #Mamdani defeated Republican Curtis Sliwa and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who ran as an independent. Voter turnout surpassed 2 million for the first time since 1969. Victory for socialism in New York - and a loss for freedom and capitalism in America. A man who praised BDS, backed “Globalize the Intifada,” and called Israel genocidal just won. Mamdani's victory makes anti-Semites more comfortable. Let that sink in. Pro-Mandani groups took $40 Million from Soros. He isn’t anti-billionaire at all, as long as they’re filling his pockets. Just like every Marxist leader before him...

Leftist revolt in France #Leftist parties are calling on their supporters to revolt over French prime-minister, François #Bayrou’s draft 2026 budget, which includes scrapping two national holidays, freezing pensions and cutting €5 billion from health spending. The French Left are organising under the slogan “Block everything” (“Bloquons tout”) and seek to repeat the scale of the Yellow Vest protests of 2018-2019 but if the Yellow Vests were led by rightwing parties, this wave of social unrest is left-coded. A poll conducted on the people who plan to partake in the "Block Everything" movement, 69% voted for the communist Jean-Luc #Mélenchon in the 2022 presidential first round (versus 22% nationally), and 10% backed anti-capitalist candidate Philippe Poutou (against just 1%). By contrast, only 2% supported President Emmanuel Macron (28% nationwide) and 3% for rightwing leader Marine Le Pen (23%). More than half of respondents (51%) placed themselves at the far left of the political spectrum, compared to just 3% of the French public. "If you broaden the scope, 86% describe themselves as belonging to the radical left," the study said. Telegram chat groups linked to the campaign are filled with calls for a general strike and attacks on "ultra-rich capitalists", the foundation said. The study showed that 54% of supporters cited rising inequality as a top concern, compared with 13% nationally. Other priorities included the environment (43% vs. 23%) and the health system (30% vs. 19%). Immigration and crime – frequent themes in French politics – ranked low, with just 4% and 3% citing them, compared with 21% and 22% nationwide.