Drone Warfare Intensifies Amidst Russia-Ukraine Peace Plan Talks as EU Pushes Ukraine’s Membership – 12/12/2025, 8:28:41 PM

Here are some of the major world stories currently in the news, based on leading international outlets:

• Russia–Ukraine war and peace talks
  • Russia and Ukraine have exchanged hundreds of drone attacks overnight while discussions continue around a revised 20‑point peace plan involving Ukraine, the U.S. and European leaders.[2]
  • A senior Kremlin official says Russian police and National Guard will remain in eastern Ukraine’s Donbas even if a peace deal is reached.[2]
  • Russia says it has not yet seen the latest U.S.-proposed peace plan text.[2]
  • EU and Ukraine have agreed on a plan to push Ukraine’s EU membership bid despite Hungary’s veto, according to European coverage.[4]
• Middle East – Gaza and regional tensions
  • A winter storm (“Storm Byron”) is hitting Gaza, worsening the humanitarian crisis and exposing how far aid deliveries fall short of needs.[2]
• Venezuela and U.S. pressure
  • The U.S. has seized a Venezuelan oil tanker off the coast, saying it was carrying sanctioned black‑market oil, and is ramping up pressure on President Nicolás Maduro.[1][3]
  • President Trump has threatened strikes on land targets in Venezuela and announced new sanctions targeting Maduro’s relatives, oil tankers and shipping companies.[1][3]
  • Opposition figure María Corina Machado says she does not believe the Maduro government knew where she was hiding for much of this year.[2]
• Africa – Congo and Nigeria
  • In eastern DR Congo, officials report over 400 civilians killed since Rwanda‑backed M23 rebels escalated their offensive, despite a peace deal.[2]
  • Rwanda‑backed M23 rebels have taken control of a strategic town, dealing a blow to peace talks.[3]
  • In Nigeria, children describe a mass school abduction, saying gunmen threatened to shoot them if they tried to flee.[2]
• Asia – Myanmar and Korea
  • In Myanmar, the military reportedly carried out a nighttime airstrike on a hospital in rebel‑held territory, killing 34 patients and medical staff and injuring about 80.[2]
  • In South Korea, a library under construction collapsed in Gwangju, killing one worker and trapping three more.[2]
  • South Korea’s former acting leader Choi Sang‑mok has been indicted over the brief imposition of martial law in December 2024.[2]
• Europe – politics, security, and history
  • Bulgaria’s government has resigned amid mass protests, just weeks before the country is due to join the eurozone.[2]
  • A Danish intelligence report warns that the U.S. under Trump is using economic power and threats of military force even against allies, characterizing it as a security concern.[2]
  • NATO’s secretary‑general has warned European allies that “we are Russia’s next target,” urging stronger defenses.[3]
  • The Auschwitz museum has opened a new permanent exhibition using prisoners’ personal objects to show daily life in the camp.[2]
• Iran and human rights
  • Iranian authorities have arrested Nobel Peace Prize laureate Narges Mohammadi, according to her supporters, continuing a pattern of repression of activists.[2]
• Vatican and Italy
  • Pope Leo XIV met with Italy’s intelligence services, urging them to use confidential information ethically and not for blackmail or other abuses.[2]

If you want, I can focus in more detail on one of these areas (e.g., Ukraine peace talks, Venezuela–U.S. tensions, or Congo/M23 fighting).