President Donald Trump said on Dec. 2 that the United States will begin conducting military strikes inside Venezuela “very soon,” marking a significant escalation in Washington’s months-long campaign to dismantle narcotics networks that U.S. officials say are operating with the protection of the Maduro regime.

Russian President Vladimir Putin issued one of his starkest threats yet toward Europe on Tuesday, declaring that Moscow is “ready right now” for a war with the continent if attacked–an escalation made just hours before meeting White House special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in the Kremlin.

The Trump administration’s push to broker an end to the nearly four-year war in Ukraine entered a volatile new phase Tuesday, as White House special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump’s son-in-law, arrived in Moscow for talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Kaja Kallas, warned Monday that upcoming talks between Russian President Vladimir Putin and U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff could pressure Kyiv into making concessions. The two men are expected to meet on Tuesday.

The Dutch government has launched a campaign to prepare citizens for 72 hours without power, water, and food amid concerns the Netherlands may be targeted by Russia and its allies.

Indonesian Christian volunteers are rushing aid to residents who say the government has been slow to help after floods and landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island killed at least hundreds of people and displaced hundreds of thousands.

U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) and the Syrian Ministry of Interior announced Sunday that a joint operation has located and destroyed more than 15 ISIS weapons-storage sites in southern Syria, marking one of the most extensive counter-terrorism strikes carried out in the region this year.

Sudan’s military rulers have quietly offered Russia its first-ever African naval base—an arrangement that would hand the Kremlin a powerful strategic foothold over the Red Sea, one of the world’s most critical and contested trade arteries—according to a Wall Street Journal exclusive.

U.S. and Ukrainian negotiators wrapped up more than four hours of discussions Sunday aimed at securing a framework to end the war with Russia, calling the session “productive” as top American envoys prepare to travel to Moscow for the next round of diplomacy.

Pressure intensified Sunday on the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to act on water-transport safety after an overcrowded vessel capsized on Lake Mai-Ndombe, killing at least 19 people.

Hungary’s prime minister has returned from a controversial trip to Moscow where he asked his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, for secure deliveries of oil and natural gas despite attempts by the European Union to isolate Russia over its war in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy faced a major political crisis Friday after his top aide resigned following a raid by anti-corruption investigators, adding to mounting pressure on the Ukrainian leader as Kyiv weighs a controversial U.S.-backed proposal to end the war with Russia.

Christians on Indonesia’s Sumatra island have appealed for urgent prayers as relentless monsoon downpours triggered massive flooding and landslides that killed scores of people, displaced thousands, and damaged homes and church properties. The crisis intensified when a powerful earthquake struck nearby Aceh.

At least 44 people have died in Hong Kong after a massive fire engulfed several residential apartment blocks at the Wang Fuk Court complex in Tai Po on Wednesday afternoon, with authorities confirming that three men have been arrested on suspicion of manslaughter. Dozens more are in critical condition, and another 279 people are missing, city leader John Lee has said.

Local Christians and other sources say rescuers have found more bodies in the search for dozens of people buried under landslides or swept away after torrential rains unleashed flash floods and triggered landslides on Indonesia’s Sumatra island, increasing the death toll to 23 and leaving more than two dozen people missing.