warns

President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says he has ordered Ukraine’s military leaders to respond after a spate of Russian attacks targeting railway infrastructure and logistics routes.

His comments on Monday come after Russian forces stepped up attacks, including on a train last week that killed five people in a railway car in the eastern region of Kharkiv.

Ukraine has managed to keep its nationwide rail network running despite almost four years of war. Russian forces have prioritised the capture of train hubs, such as Kupiansk and Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine.

“The Russian army remains focused on terror against our logistics – primarily railway infrastructure,” Zelenskyy said in a post on social media. “In particular there were strikes in the Dnipro region and in Zaporizhzhia, specifically targeting railway facilities.”

State railway operator Ukrzaliznytsia warned that several of its routes in eastern Ukraine are becoming increasingly “high risk” and urged passengers to instead take buses.

In the eastern region of Sumy, Ukrzaliznytsia said it will monitor Russian drone threats and stop trains near bomb shelters if they emerge.

‘Very complex’ negotiations

Russian drones and missiles have continued to bombard civilian areas, killing 12 miners in a bus on Sunday in the most recent mass aerial attack. The barrages are also wrecking the Ukrainian power grid, leaving people without heating, light and running water in bitter winter cold.

The attacks come as a new round of US-brokered talks on ending the war are set to go ahead this week after a brief postponement. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said discussions will take place on Wednesday and Thursday in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, where a meeting was held last month.

On Sunday, Zelenskyy said he will send a delegation.

United States President Donald Trump’s administration over the past year has pushed the two sides to find compromises to end the war. But breaking the deadlock on key issues appears no closer as the fourth anniversary of Russia’s all-out invasion of its neighbour approaches this month.

Peskov described the negotiations as “very complex”.

“On some issues, we have certainly come closer because there have been discussions, conversations and on some issues it is easier to find common ground,” he told reporters. “There are issues where it’s more difficult to find common ground.”

Russian envoy Kirill Dmitriev was in Miami, Florida, at the weekend for talks with American officials, but Peskov refused to provide any details of the meeting.

A key sticking point is whether Russia gets to keep Ukrainian territory its army has occupied, especially in Ukraine’s eastern industrial heartland. Moscow is also demanding possession of other Ukrainian land there that it hasn’t been able to capture on the battlefield.

Ukraine has ruled out ceding ground, saying such a move would only embolden Moscow, and it has refused to sign any deal that might fail to deter Russia from invading again.

After failing in its aim of a lightning offensive to capture Kyiv and topple Ukraine’s leadership in a matter of days in 2022, Russia has been bogged down in the face of Ukrainian defences and is now mounting a grinding advance that has come at a huge human cost.

New York venue Madison Square Gardens issues warning before Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson and Knicks vs Lakers bill.

Madison Square Garden says anyone fighting at the arena threatens to be “banned for life” after there were multiple altercations at one of its events.

Video on TMZ.com showed two fights breaking out on Friday, when fighters weighed in for the boxing card Saturday night headlined by Teofimo Lopez and Shakur Stevenson. One of the videos showed a brawl starting as Bill Haney, father of boxer Devin Haney, was conducting an interview near the stage.

“Violence will not be condoned at MSG across any type of event including, hockey, basketball, boxing, concerts, or special events,” Madison Square Garden said in a statement. “If any individual is found to participate in violent activity, whether you are part of the event, or a patron, you will be banned for life and unable to attend or participate in any event across all our venues.”

The news conference Thursday for the title fight between Lopez and Stevenson became heated as the fighters on stage traded insults about family members, with people in the audience also shouting.

There was also an altercation near the cage on November 15, when MSG hosted UFC 322.

The warning comes before a busy weekend at the arena. Organisers said the boxing event is sold out, and on Sunday, the Los Angeles Lakers visit the Knicks for a nationally televised game that could be LeBron James’s final one at the arena.

Numerous US military assets in the Gulf region are ‘within the range of our medium-range missiles’, Iran’s military spokesman warns.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said Thursday the US is prepared to use “all options” to prevent Iran from pursuing nuclear weapons, while emphasizing that Washington is still leaving room for a diplomatic deal, Anadolu reports.

“With Iran right now, ensuring that they have all the options to make a deal. They should not pursue nuclear capabilities,” Hegseth said at a Cabinet meeting along with US President Donald Trump.

Trump reiterated Wednesday that a “massive armada” is headed to Iran, expressing hope that Tehran will “come to the table” and negotiate with Washington.

READ: Iran warns of uncontrollable consequences if attacked

Hegseth stressed that the Pentagon stands ready to carry out any directives issued by Trump, signaling that military options remain firmly on the table if diplomacy fails.

“We will be prepared to deliver whatever this president expects of the War Department, just like we did this month,” he said, referring to the US capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Jan. 3.

Iranian officials, meanwhile, have reacted strongly to the latest threat issued by Trump, as a US military fleet moves toward Iranian waters amid escalating tensions between the longtime adversaries.

READ: Israeli, Saudi officials visit US for Iran talks amid military buildup: Report

Published on
29/01/2026 – 12:38 GMT+1

Oil prices rose on Thursday after US President Donald Trump warned Iran that “time is running out” and said a “massive armada” was heading towards the region if Tehran failed to agree to a nuclear non-proliferation deal.

In a Truth Social post, Trump said a fleet larger than the one sent to Venezuela was ready to “rapidly fulfil its mission, with speed and violence, if necessary” if Iran refused to negotiate a deal guaranteeing “no nuclear weapons”.

Global benchmark Brent rose by about 2.02%, trading at around $68.73 per barrel, while US crude (WTI) hovered around 2.15% higher, at $64.57 per barrel.

Trump previously threatened to attack Iran if it killed protesters during the ongoing protest movement across the country. Estimates of those killed range from around 6,000 to as many as 30,000, according to various reports.

Oil delivery disruptions

If the US were to escalate militarily, it could disrupt oil flows to countries that still trade with Iran.

Iran’s economy is already under heavy pressure from US secondary financial sanctions on its banking and energy sectors, compounded by the reimposition of JCPOA snapback sanctions.

These measures have severely limited Iran’s access to the Western financial system and constrained its ability to trade openly.

As a result, Iranian exports rely heavily on so-called “dark fleets,” ship-to-ship transfers and intermediary routes designed to obscure cargo origins along major maritime corridors.

Yet despite years of sanctions, Iran has retained access to oil markets, underlining the difficulty of fully enforcing restrictions on a high-value global commodity.

“Iran has a number of markets for its oil, despite the Western sanctions regime,” said Dmitry Grozubinski, a senior advisor on international trade policy at Aurora Macro Strategies.

China at centre of enforcement risk

China remains the largest buyer, with reports suggesting Iranian crude is often rebranded as Malaysian or Gulf-origin oil before entering the country.

“Independent refineries are purchasing it using dark fleet vessels, with transactions conducted through small private banks and in renminbi,” Grozubinski said.

Other destinations for Iranian oil and derivatives include Iraq, the UAE and Turkey, further complicating enforcement.

“It’s extremely difficult to maintain comprehensive sanctions on oil,” Grozubinski said, “especially when it requires policing transactions between Iran and states that don’t fully share Western priorities.”

China currently imports an estimated 1.2 to 1.4 million barrels of Iranian oil per day — around 80 to 90% of Iran’s crude exports.

US escalation could provoke Beijing

That dependence makes Beijing the central variable in any escalation. Analysts say China would be the most likely major economy to resist compliance and retaliate.

“Beijing has already signalled it would respond if Trump follows through,” said Dan Alamariu, chief geopolitical strategist at Alpine Macro, warning of renewed US–China trade friction.

One risk raised by analysts is the potential for China to again restrict exports of rare earths — a tool it has previously used during periods of trade tension — although such a move is considered unlikely in the short term.

“It’s not the base case,” Alamariu said, “but it’s not impossible.”

China has told the UN Security Council that US ‘military adventurism’ in the Middle East will push the region into chaos, as President Donald Trump continues to threaten strikes on Iran if it does not submit to his demands.

Demanding the release of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, South Africa’s largest trade union marched to the US consulate in Johannesburg on Saturday, January 24.

“In defending Venezuela, we defend the sovereignty of all nations,” concluded the memorandum read aloud outside the consulate by Irvin Jim, general secretary of the over 460,000 members-strong National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (NUMSA).

“It is Venezuela today … It will be South Africa tomorrow,” Jim warned in his address to the demonstration. US President Donald Trump, who has bombed parts of Nigeria after concocting a false story about a “Christian Genocide” in the country, has also been spinning tales about a “White Genocide” underway in South Africa.

“This is not a joke,” NUMSA warned in a statement. “Donald Trump can easily use the lie of a White genocide in South Africa to invade South Africa, capture South Africa’s president and transport him to a jail in the US, and declare that he is now in charge of our country and all its natural wealth, whilst controlling all trade and natural wealth … After the US criminal military invasion of Venezuela, it is foolish to ignore” this threat to South Africa.

“There is a madman in the White House”

“There is a madman in the White House. There is a fascist in the White House,” NUMSA’s president, Andrew Chirwa, said in his opening address to the demonstration. “Today, it is Venezuela that was attacked by this international criminal. Tomorrow it is” Cuba, Iran, Nigeria,  South Africa. “All over the world this man” is baying “for blood.”

In parallel, the Trump administration is also attempting to strangle South Africa’s economy, threatening to exclude it from the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which provides tariff-free access to the US market, on which the country’s automotive sector is heavily dependent.

“Our members and workers across various sectors are losing jobs” because “he has imposed 30% tariffs against South Africa,” Jim added in his speech.

Stressing the need for “an anti-imperialist front to mobilize the workers” across party and union affiliations, Jim said that NUMSA “will soon be convening a political colloquium”, inviting all progressive political parties. “It is about time to unite the working class … behind a  revolutionary agenda,” as South Africa faces increasing US aggression.  

South Africa punished for taking the genocidal state of Israel to the ICJ

South Africa, the union maintains, “is being punished by Trump for taking the genocidal state of Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ).” Reaffirming that “this was the correct position … in defense of the people of Palestine,” NUMSA called on the South African government not to cave in to the pressure by Leo Brent Bozell III, Trump’s new ambassador to South Africa.

At his Senate confirmation hearing, he had stated that if appointed, “I would press South Africa to end proceedings against Israel,” and the ICJ itself to stop what he deemed a “lawfare” against Israel.

“If he continues to insult our national sovereignty … by demanding that South Africa must withdraw its case in the ICJ against Israel,” NUMSA insists, “the South African government must act swiftly, and ensure that he packs his bags and leaves the country.”

The South African government must also “continue to demand the release of Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro and Comrade Cilia Flores in all international forums,” added the memorandum, which was also copied to the Minister of International Relations.

Demanding that the football governing body “cancel all World Cup matches in the US this year,” a copy of the memorandum was also sent to the FIFA President.

It further called on the African Union (AU) and the BRICS to urgently convene and formulate a coordinated and collective response to the US imperialist aggression.

“No country is safe from America’s greedy appetite”

Recalling the European leaders defending unipolarity under the cover of “rules-based order” at last year’s G20 summit in South Africa, the US had boycotted Alex Mashilo, spokesperson of the South African Communist Party (SACP) said in his address to the protest: “Little did they know that just after a few weeks, that unipolar power will turn against them and demand Greenland.”

Under “the mad Trump administration”, NUMSA emphasized in its statement, “no country is safe from America’s greedy appetite”.

​The US has now even “become extremely dangerous to itself” and “its citizens”, with Trump “brutalizing the American people daily” using “his personal ‘Gestapo’ police commonly known as ICE.”  ​

Expressing “solidarity with American citizens who are being brutalized by ICE,” NUMSA insisted, “This is a moment when all people of the world, including well-meaning US citizens and all South Africans, must unite” against imperialism.

Source: People’s Dispatch

Tehran, Iran – Iranian authorities continue to warn of serious ramifications in case of military strikes by the United States, as more people are being arrested in connection with deadly protests amid a lingering internet blackout.

Tehran’s municipality on Sunday unveiled a giant billboard at the Enghelab (Revolution) Square in the capital’s central area, in an apparent warning to the deployment of the USS Abraham Lincoln supercarrier and supporting warplanes near Iranian waters.

The image showed a bird’s-eye view of an aircraft carrier with destroyed fighter jets on the deck and blood running in the water to form the US flag.

“If you sow the wind, you will reap the whirlwind,” read an accompanying message in Farsi and English.

Top military figures on Monday reiterated Iran’s readiness to engage in another war with Israel and the US in the case of an attack similar to last year’s 12-day conflict, while the Foreign Ministry promised a “comprehensive and regret-inducing response”.

Speaking to reporters during a news conference, ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei also warned “the resulting insecurity will undoubtedly affect everyone” amid reports regional actors have been directly appealing to US President Donald Trump, who on Thursday said a US “armada” is heading towards the Gulf.

As the European Union ponders listing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist” organisation following a vote in the European Parliament, Baghaei said Tehran believes “more prudent European countries should be careful not to fall into the trap of the devilish temptations of non-European parties toward such an action”.

The Iranian establishment’s remaining allies in the so-called “axis of resistance”, who took no action during June’s war, have also signalled that they may this time attack US and Israeli interests if conflict breaks out.

Abu Hussein al-Hamidawi, the chief of the Iran-backed Kataib Hezbollah in Iraq, issued a fiery statement on Monday warning of “total war” in case of US aggression. Hezbollah’s Naim Qassem has repeatedly heaped praise on Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, including during a speech on Monday.

The Houthis in Yemen also released a video on Monday that showed US warships and previously attacked commercial vessels, indicating that they could once again become targets despite a Gaza ceasefire deal that stopped the attacks.

More protest-linked arrests reported

Meanwhile, judicial and intelligence authorities continue to report action against “rioters” as the Iranian establishment blames “terrorists” working in line with the interests of the US and Israel during the nationwide protests that started in late December.

Mohammadreza Rahmani, the head of the police authority in the northern province of Gilan, announced 99 new arrests in a statement on Sunday.

He alleged that those arrested were engaged in destroying public property or acted as “leaders” of unrest both on the streets and on social media.

State media said a person “who incited people, especially the youth”, in online posts to participate in protests was arrested in Bandar Anzali, also in the north.

The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency (HRANA), which says it has confirmed 5,848 deaths during the protests, reported on Monday that at least 41,283 people have also been arrested across the country.

Iranian authorities have not announced any official arrest numbers, but said last week that at least 3,117 people were killed during the protests, including 2,427 described as “innocent” protesters or security forces.

Al Jazeera cannot independently verify these figures.

Speaking during a meeting with top judiciary officials on Monday, Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei reiterated his promise that “no mercy” will be shown when prosecuting protest-related cases.

He also expressed dismay at any calls for negotiations with the US amid what he called “an all-out war and economic blockade” against Iran.

“Some people portray all avenues for confronting the enemy’s aggression and coercion as blocked and repeatedly prescribe negotiation with a treacherous enemy,” he said.

Monitored internet access for businesspeople

Iranians across the country remain afflicted by an unprecedented total internet shutdown that has now lasted nearly three weeks.

A limited number of users have been able to tunnel out using proxies and virtual private networks (VPNs), but the authorities continue to block any proxies offering access to the outside world.

As with previous protests, internet access can only be restored through permission by the Supreme National Security Council, but the council has provided no timeline for reconnecting Iran’s 90-million-strong population.

In the meantime, the state appears to be gearing up to implement its longtime plans to enforce a so-called “tiered internet” that would only allow access to a limited number of permitted individuals and entities.

This week in Tehran, the authorities set up a small office to allow businesspeople who have identification from the Iran Chamber of Commerce to gain limited access to the internet.

Before being allowed to use the internet for a few minutes, they had to sign a form that committed them to use the connection for “business purposes” only, and emphasised they would be legally prosecuted if they “misuse” the opportunity.

A similar small office has also been opened for journalists by the Culture Ministry.

The rest of the population only has access to a local intranet designed to offer some basic services during state-imposed internet blackouts, but even that connection is slow and patchy.