MI6 chief to deliver remarks on Monday warning ‘chaos is a feature not a bug in the Russian approach’; European leaders to join day two of talks in Berlin. What we know on day 1,391

The head of Britain’s foreign spy service, known as MI6, will warn that Russia poses an “aggressive, expansionist, and revisionist” threat, in her first speech since taking office. Blaise Metreweli took over from Richard Moore in October, becoming the first female chief of MI6. “[Vladimir] Putin should be in no doubt, our support is enduring. The pressure we apply on Ukraine’s behalf will be sustained,” Metreweli will say on Monday, according to advance extracts of her remarks. “The export of chaos is a feature not a bug in the Russian approach to international engagement, and we should be ready for this to continue until Putin is forced to change his calculus,” she said, according to the extract.

Separately, Richard Knighton, head of Britain’s armed forces, will also call in a separate speech on Monday for a “whole society” approach to defence in the face of growing uncertainty and threats, and highlight an increased probability of Russia invading a Nato country.

The Ukrainian leader called on Sunday for a “dignified” peace and guarantees that Russia would not attack Ukraine as he attended talks with US figures in Berlin – the latest efforts to end the war with Russia. “Ukraine needs peace on dignified terms, and we are ready to work as constructively as possible. The coming days will be filled with diplomacy. It is critically important that it delivers results,” Zelenskyy said on X. He later added ahead of a meeting with US officials: “The key thing is that all the steps we agree on with partners must work in practice to deliver guaranteed security. Only reliable guarantees can deliver peace.” Zelenskyy is expected to comment on the talks once they are completed on Monday, when they are expected to be joined by other European leaders.

The Ukrainian leader said that a ceasefire between Ukraine and Russia along the current frontlines would be a fair option in any peace deal. Russia has demanded Kyiv withdraw its troops from parts of the eastern Donetsk and Luhansk regions that Ukraine still holds. Answering questions from reporters in a WhatsApp chat, Zelenskyy reiterated that option would be unfair, adding that the issue of territory remained unresolved and very sensitive.

US special envoy Steve Witkoff said “a lot of progress was made” at the first day of talks. The meeting between US and Ukrainian delegations included Witkoff, president Zelenskyy, Donald Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, and European officials. “Representatives held in-depth discussions ... a lot of progress was made, and they will meet again tomorrow morning,” Witkoff said in a post on X. The talks ended after more than five hours on Sunday.

Ukraine’s offer to forgo joining the Nato military alliance probably will not significantly change the course of peace talks, two security experts said on Sunday. “This doesn’t move the needle at all,” said Justin Logan, director of defence and foreign policy studies at the Cato Institute. “It’s an effort to appear reasonable.” Nato membership for Ukraine has not been realistic in a long time anyway, said Logan and Andrew Michta, a professor of strategic studies at the University of Florida. Michta called Ukraine’s Nato admittance a “non-issue” at this point.

The Kremlin said on Sunday that Nato secretary general Mark Rutte’s remarks about preparing for war with Russia were irresponsible and showed that he did not really understand the devastation of the second world war. Rutte, in a speech in Berlin on Thursday, said that Nato should be “prepared for the scale of war our grandparents or great-grandparents endured” and asserted that “we are Russia’s next target”. “Kremlin spokespersonDmitry Peskov told state television reporter Pavel Zarubin: “They have no understanding, and unfortunately, Mr Rutte, making such irresponsible statements, simply does not understand what he is talking about.”

Drone fragments caused a fire near the Afipsky oil refinery in Russia’s Krasnodar region without inflicting any injuries or damage, an emergency centre said on Sunday. “A gas pipe caught fire outside the refinery near one of the checkpoints. The fire covered an area of 100sqm and has since been extinguished,” the centre said on the Telegram messaging app. Ukraine had said earlier that its military had hit the refinery and an oil depot in the Russian Volgograd region.

Russia’s defence ministry said on Sunday that its forces had captured the village of Varvarivka in Ukraine’s eastern Zaporizhzhia region. Reuters could not verify battlefield reports of the both sides of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

Israeli prime minister claims the Australian government ‘let the disease’ of antisemitism spread ‘and the result is the horrific attacks on Jews we saw today’

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• Bondi beach terrorist attack: full report

• What we know about the Bondi beach attack

Leaders around the world expressed their horror at Sunday’s terrorist attack on Bondi beach, in which at least 16 people died, mixed in some cases with harsh words for the Australian government for alleged shortcomings in tackling antisemitism over the past two years.

The Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, said he had written to his Australian counterpart, Anthony Albanese, in August, warning that the government’s decision to recognise a Palestinian state “pours fuel on the antisemitic fire … emboldens those who menace Australian Jews and encourages the Jew hatred now stalking your streets”. He claimed Albanese had “replaced weakness with weakness and appeasement with more appeasement”.

Mass attacks have been rare in the wake of stringent gun controls brought in after the Port Arthur massacre of 1996

• Bondi beach shooting: live updates

Associated Press contributed reporting.

At least 12 people are dead after a mass shooting at a Jewish celebration at Bondi beach on Sunday evening, including one shooter

• Bondi beach shooting live updates

• Full report on the Bondi beach terror attack: 12 people killed after gunshots fired at park in Australia
  

At least 12 people are dead, including one shooter, after an attack on a Hanukah celebration on Bondi beach in Sydney on Sunday evening, which has been declared a terrorism event. Here’s what we know so far:

The New South Wales premier, Chris Minns, said at least 12 people had been killed in a mass shooting at a Hanukah event at Bondi beach on Sunday evening, including one of the alleged shooters.

A second alleged shooter was in a critical condition, police said, and they were investigating whether there was a third attacker.

Police have designated the attack a terrorism incident.

NSW police and the director general of the Australian Security Intelligence Organisation, Mike Burgess, said one of the shooters was known to authorities, “but not in an immediate threat perspective”.

Police said 29 people had been taken to hospital, including two police officers who were in a “serious, verging on a critical” condition. One child was among those taken to hospital.

Police said the bomb disposal unit was investigating a vehicle on Campbell Parade, the main road that runs behind the beach, which they believed might have contained several improvised explosive devices.

At 6.47pm on Sunday, police and emergency services were called to Archer Park, a grassed area just north of the Bondi Pavilion, which sits just behind the beach.

Video shared online from the scene showed people fleeing the beach and distressing scenes of people lying on the ground receiving treatment.

After 8pm, a police spokesperson said “there are no more active shooters”.

The co-chief executive of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Alex Ryvchin, said the organisation’s director of media had been injured in the incident.

Australia’s special envoy to combat antisemitism, Jillian Segal, said the Bondi attack “marks the worst fear of the Australian Jewish community becoming reality”.

The prime minister, Anthony Albanese, called it “an act of evil antisemitism” and a “dark moment for our nation”.

Minns said it was “a terrible night for Sydney”. He said “terrorists … want Australians divided and at each other’s throats and we can’t let that happen”.

The federal opposition leader, Sussan Ley, said Australians were “in deep mourning”, with “hateful violence striking at the heart of an iconic Australian community, a place we all know so well and love”.

Video shows the man rushing one of the alleged gunmen who shot dozens of people on Sunday evening in Australia

• Bondi beach shooting live updates

• Bondi terror attack: full report

• What we know so far about the shooting in Australia

A bystander tackled and wrestled a gun from one of the two alleged gunmen during the Bondi beach mass shooting in which at least 16 people were killed, footage shows.

Seven News reported the man was a 43-year-old fruit shop owner from the Sutherland Shire named Ahmed al-Ahmed.

Cuban officials denounce the US seizure of the Skipper oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast. Key US politics stories from 13 December 2025

Cuban officials have denounced the US seizure of the Skipper oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday, calling it an “act of piracy and maritime terrorism”, as well as a “serious violation of international law” that hurts the Caribbean island nation and its people.

The tanker, which was reported now to be heading for Galveston, Texas, was believed to loaded with nearly 2m barrels of Venezuela’s heavy crude, according to internal data from the Venezuelan state oil company PDVSA, as reported by the New York Times.

US Central Command reports an ambush on Saturday, the first attack to inflict US casualties since fall of Bashar al-Assad

Two US army soldiers and one American civilian interpreter have been killed and several other people wounded in an ambush on Saturday by the Islamic State group in central Syria, the Pentagon said.

The attack on US troops in Palmyra is the first to inflict casualties since the fall of the former Syrian president, Bashar al-Assad, a year ago.

The seizure of the Skipper on Wednesday marked the first US capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were imposed in 2019

Venezuelan oil exports have reportedly fallen sharply since the US seized a tanker this week and imposed fresh sanctions on shipping companies and vessels doing business with Caracas, according to shipping data, documents and maritime sources.

The US seizure of the Skipper tanker off Venezuela’s coast on Wednesday was the first US capture of Venezuelan oil cargo since sanctions were imposed in 2019 and marked a sharp escalation in rising tensions between the Trump administration and the government of Nicolás Maduro.

The most exciting places our writers came across this year, from untouched islands in Finland to an affordable ski resort in Bulgaria and the perfect Parisian bistro

On a midsummer trip to Ireland, I saw dolphins in the Irish Sea, sunset by the Liffey, and misty views of the Galtee Mountains. The half-hour train journey to Cobh (“cove”), through Cork’s island-studded harbour, was especially lovely. As the railway crossed Lough Mahon, home to thousands of seabirds, there was water on both sides of the train. I watched oystercatchers, egrets, godwits and common terns, which nest on floating pontoons. Curlews foraged in the mudflats, and an old Martello tower stood on a wooded promontory.

Rita, 35, a travel agent, meets Tom, 40, a social media manager

What were you hoping for?
To have a refreshing new experience. I was curious to see who the Guardian would match me with.

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