John Hayward - Page 2

Protests against the Iranian theocracy spread to most of Iran’s 31 provinces as of Tuesday, including cities that have long been seen as firmly loyal to the ayatollah.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a longtime ally of deposed and incarcerated narco-terrorist dictator Nicolás Maduro, is looking for a role in the crisis currently unfolding in Venezuela – and hoping to protect the investments Turkey made with the corrupt socialist regime.

Ship tracking services detected around a dozen ships identified as loaded oil tankers departing from Venezuela in the first week of 2026, all of them targeted by U.S. sanctions.

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung met with Chinese dictator Xi Jinping on Monday, during Lee’s first visit to Beijing as president. Lee said he wanted 2026 to become “the first year of the full-scale restoration of Korea-China relations.”

The Swiss federal government announced on Monday that it has frozen “any assets held in Switzerland by Nicolás Maduro and other persons associated with him, with immediate effect.”

Attorney General Pam Bondi on Saturday morning posted the unsealed grand jury indictment against Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro.

Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) said on Saturday morning that President Donald Trump “changed the course of Latin America for a generation” by arresting Venezuelan dictator and alleged narco-terrorist gang leader Nicolás Maduro in a daring overnight operation.

Rep. Carlos Gimenez (R-FL), chair of the House Homeland Security subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, issued a statement on Saturday morning comparing the U.S. arrest of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro to the fall of the Berlin Wall in terms of its historic significance.

In his New Year’s Day address to the nation, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu celebrated “decisive” U.S. airstrikes against terrorist targets in northwestern Nigeria, and promised that collaboration with international partners against “criminal and terrorist elements determined to disrupt our way of life” would continue.

Saudi warplanes on Friday bombed positions held by the Southern Transitional Council (STC), the Yemeni separatist group backed by Saudi Arabia’s nominal allies in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) offered a dismaying projection for Japan’s economy on Friday, projecting mediocre growth in the first half of 2026 that will cause Japan’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to fall behind India’s.

China’s BYD reported a 28% increase in sales for 2025, good enough to surpass Elon Musk’s Tesla as the world’s top EV manufacturer.

The rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will be assumed on January 1 by Somalia – a barely functional state that has exported thousands of “refugees” to the rest of the world, accompanied by crime waves and social distortions.

Australia’s New Years Eve celebration was a more solemn affair than usual this year, with a heavy security presence on the streets and a nationwide minute of silence for the victims of the Bondi Beach massacre.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Tuesday designated the Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) as a “terrorist organization,” a nakedly political move intended as retaliation for Canada designating Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a terrorist organization last year.

The Palestinian terrorist organization Hamas released a statement on Monday confirming that five of its senior leaders were killed during the Gaza war, including “masked spokesman” Abu Obeida and Mohammed al-Sinwar, the brother of former top leader Yahya al-Sinwar.

Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa rolled out the country’s new currency at a ceremony in Damascus on Monday.

Argentinian President Javier Milei told the UK Telegraph on Monday that he would very much like to meet with Reform UK leader and Brexit champion Nigel Farage. The appreciation appears to be mutual, as Farage has praised Milei’s successful efforts to trim the bloated Argentinian socialist state.

Huge protests spread through several Iranian cities on Tuesday after the national currency, the rial, collapsed to a record low.

The National Citizens’ Party (NCP) of Bangladesh, which grabbed headlines in 2024 as part of the worldwide “Gen Z” youth movement against corrupt dynasties, is facing a revolt from many of its members after announcing a political alliance with the Islamic supremacist Jamaat-e-Islami party.

In a radio interview on Friday, President Donald Trump surprisingly revealed that American forces have neutralized at least one smuggling facility in Venezuela, the first land strike in Trump’s campaign against Venezuelan narco-terrorists and dictator Nicolas Maduro.

Hamas spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Arabiya News on Monday that “we trust Trump” to deliver peace in Gaza and stabilize the Middle East.

China’s state-run Global Times on Sunday sought to give Beijing credit for the ceasefire between Cambodia and Thailand negotiated by President Donald Trump.

The Chinese Communist government on Friday imposed sanctions against 20 American defense-related companies over arms sales to Taiwan.

Fifteen people were injured severely enough to require hospitalization in a bizarre attack on a rubber factory in Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture on Friday. A lone suspect was arrested for attempted murder in a rampage that included eight stabbings and seven people injured by a “spray-like liquid.”

The Yemeni separatist group STC accuses Saudi Arabia of launching airstrikes against their forces in the province of Hadramout.

Both Syria and Nigeria were struck by deadly mosque bombings this week, killing and injuring dozens of people. Both attacks were timed to coincide with prayer services to inflict maximum carnage.

Poland scrambled jet fighters on Christmas Day to intercept a Russian reconnaissance plane operating near Polish airspace. The Russian plane was safely escorted away from Poland.

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) released a report on December 12 that found freedom of expression has declined sharply over the past decade.

Reuters claimed on Monday to have viewed a draft report from the Pentagon that said China “is likely to have loaded more than 100 intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) across its latest three silo fields” which are located near the Mongolian border.

Hindus in the Indian capital of New Delhi protested on Tuesday after a Hindu man was lynched and burned alive by a mob in Bangladesh.

Maritime tracking data released on Monday showed that international oil tankers have dramatically scaled back loading activity at Venezuelan ports, fearful of a crackdown by the Trump administration on illegal sanctions-busting oil shipments.

El Salvador’s Villa Navidena, the Christmas Village in the capital city of San Salvador, featured familiar holiday favorites like Santa Claus, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, and the Grinch in a parade on Sunday.

Fighting broke out in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo on Monday between Kurdish fighters from the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) and security troops loyal to President Ahmed al-Sharaa.