Tankers at the refinery near Punto Fijo, Venezuela, Dec. 30, 2021. President Donald Trump announced on Tuesday, Dec. 16, 2025, that the United States would impose a blockade on all “sanctioned oil tankers” going to and from Venezuela, in an escalation of the administration’s monthslong pressure campaign against Nicolás Maduro, the leader of Venezuela. (Adriana Loureiro Fernández/The New York Times) By EDWARD WONG, SIMON ROMERO, CHARLIE SAVAGE and JULIAN E. BARNES President Do

Jimmy Lai in Hong Kong on Aug. 22, 2019. The Hong Kong media tycoon was found guilty on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, in a landmark national security trial. The 78-year-old founder of a popular pro-democracy paper could face life in prison. (Lam Yik Fei/The New York Times) By ANDREW HIGGINS and ALEXANDRA STEVENSON In a verdict long foretold by China’s Communist Party, a Hong Kong court earlier this week convicted Jimmy Lai, a media mogul and rambunctious critic of the rulers in Beij

Bondi Beach in Sydney on Monday Dec. 15, 2025, one day after a mass shooting here at least 15 dead and scores of others injured. Sunday’s massacre at a Hanukkah celebration, carried out by two gunmen with half a dozen legally obtained long guns, has chipped away at Australians’ long-held comfort in their country’s strict gun control laws. (Matthew Abbott/The New York Times) By VICTORIA KIM For decades, Australians have watched in disbelief as the United States endured mass sh

An overview of the Chilean capital, Santiago on Aug. 29, 2023. José Antonio Kast, a conservative candidate, was elected Chile’s president Sunday, marking a sharp rightward swing for the country. (Cristóbal Olivares/The New York Times) By EMMA BUBOLA José Antonio Kast, a conservative candidate, was elected Chile’s president Sunday, a sharp rightward swing for a country where voters have grown deeply concerned about security and illegal immigration. Kast, 59, a father of nine w

By AMELIA NIERENBERG and YAN ZHUANG Ahmed al Ahmed crouched behind a car in a Sydney parking lot Sunday, feet away from one of the two gunmen who had just turned a beachside Hanukkah celebration into a massacre. Then, sirens wailing in the background, al Ahmed jumped into action. Even as the gunman fired a shot in a different direction, al Ahmed ran toward the assailant and pounced on him from behind. The two men tussled for several seconds before al Ahmed wrested a long fire

Police search along a roadway on Monday, Dec. 15, 2025, near the site of the deadly shooting attack at Bondi Beach in Sydney, Australia. Australian police said on Monday that they expected to bring criminal charges against the surviving gunman in a deadly shooting spree that targeted a Jewish holiday celebration in Sydney. (Matthew Abbott/The New York Times) By VICTORIA KIM, YAN ZHUANG, JIN YU YOUNG, LIVIA ALBECK-RIPKA and ISABELLA KWAI Australian police said Monday that they

A peddler waits for tourists at the ancient ruins of Palmyra, a UNESCO World Heritage site that was damaged during Syria’s civil war and occupation by the Islamic State group, Feb. 26, 2025. Two U.S. soldiers and a civilian U.S. interpreter were killed Saturday while supporting counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State group in Palmyra, in central Syria, when they came under fire from a lone gunman, according to U.S. officials. (David Guttenfelder/The New York Tim

By ISABEL KERSHNER and AARON BOXERMAN A senior Hamas official on Sunday confirmed the death of a top commander in the Gaza Strip, a day after the Israeli military carried out a missile strike on a car in which he was riding. The killing of Raed Saad on Saturday was the most high-profile assassination of a senior Hamas figure since Israel and the militant group agreed to a ceasefire about two months ago. Saad’s death was confirmed by Khalil al-Hayya, one of Hamas’ top leaders