Latest news for 17 December 2025

VENEZUELA

Blockade?

A statement out of Caracas has rejected what it describes as President Trump’s “grotesque threat”, after the US leader announced “a total and complete blockade of all sanctioned oil tankers going into, and out of, Venezuela.” (Yahoo finance)

Comment: A blockade is generally an act of war under international law, though Trump has limited this one to “sanctioned” tankers — that’s maybe 30-40% of Venezuela’s total oil export traffic, which already slowed after last week’s Skipper seizure. He’s ratcheting up the pressure on Maduro while presumed exile talks continue. Trump’s move also comes just as oil prices drop to their lowest in five years, cushioning the impact this semi-blockade might have at the pump. Meanwhile, word just emerged of another near-air-collision with a US military aircraft off Venezuela.

INDONESIA

A mining mystery.

Jakarta is investigating reports that 15 Chinese nationals attacked Indonesian soldiers with machetes, an airsoft gun, and a taser, after the troops investigated why the group flew a drone over a nearby military training area. (Antara)

Comment: The details are hazy, but a nearby gold mine is currently at the centre of an ownership dispute with China-based investors, who are in turn seemingly accusing Indonesia’s soldiers of engaging in illegal gold-mining!

AFGHANISTAN

Tough winter.

The World Food Programme has warned that, for the first time in decades, it can’t offer adequate humanitarian aid for Afghanistan’s winter: drivers include mass deportations from neighbouring Iran and Pakistan, plus a 40% collapse in donor funding due to cuts out of the US and elsewhere. (US News and Reports)

Comment: Another driver is the fact the Taliban seems better at fighting than governing.

EUROPEAN UNION

I ❤️ petrol cars.

The EU is watering down its ban on petrol and diesel cars from 2035, instead proposing the auto industry cut tailpipe emissions by 90%. (Guardian)

Comment: It’s further confirmation that even in Europe, the economic increasingly trumps the environmental.

GREECE

Debt free?

Colour us pleasantly surprised, but Greece has made an early $6.2B repayment on its eurozone bailout, aiming to save $1.9B in interest by 2040. (Euronews)

Comment: How’d Greece pull this off? It’s trimmed spending, tackled tax evasion, and encouraged post-crisis growth above EU averages. That’s helped Greece regain access to cheaper investment-grade financing, barely years after markets offloaded it as junk.

SINGAPORE

A hearing, please.

A court has dismissed the first challenge in 15 years to Singapore’s death penalty for drug traffickers, as it carries out the most executions since 2003. (SCMP)

COLOMBIA

Bystander.

Authorities have blamed Colombia’s leftist-narco National Liberation Army (ELN) guerrillas for a roadside bomb that killed two police in Cali Tuesday. (AP)

Comment: The ELN hasn’t claimed responsibility, but it did just announce a 72-hour “armed strike” in protest against Trump’s military buildup in the region. And yet the timing doesn’t quite match: the ELN re-launched its armed offensive the week before Trump even returned to office, so this is probably just new ELN spin for old ELN tactics.

DR CONGO

Our end of the deal.

The Rwanda-backed M23 rebel group active in eastern Congo has pledged to unilaterally withdraw from the key city of Uvira it just seized last week, following a request from irked US mediators. (BBC)

Comment: It’s hard to know whether this reversal reflects US influence or M23 negotiation tactics to squeeze more Congolese concessions. Probably both.