NEW - China strongly condemns the U.S. for "illegally redirecting" Venezuelan oil exports to Washington. https://hell.twtr.plus/media/337d7971a37f42b9e2b23ff6682c1d139df5d2851f39ff6be5ab7bee8e701f4a.file

JUST IN - U.S. forces are attempting to seize the Russian-flagged tanker Marinera (ex-Bella 1) in the Atlantic — Reuters

NOW - Erdogan denies that the U.S. had offered to send Maduro into exile to Turkey: "We haven't heard anything like that." https://hell.twtr.plus/media/3c38c27e0fc49f14d2508a7c271c112568ff0b60f6beacb4b137c58d25de7c5d.file

JUST IN - The new Republican led Jan. 6 committee sets its first hearing for next week, saying focus will be on the pipe bombs and the FBI’s previous investigation — Politico

JUST IN - Trump says Venezuela will be turning over "30 and 50 MILLION Barrels of High Quality, Sanctioned Oil to the United States of America," sold at market price with the money controlled by Trump. https://hell.twtr.plus/media/da975fda3f430f7ef6135c4e8f58931ea90b6fc08ecf4c7afe3c4097927ea972.file

NEW - Syria's new government and Israel to set up a "dedicated communication cell" under US supervision, to share intelligence and seek military de-escalation on the ground. https://hell.twtr.plus/media/6670979a587d71e6e83d7407527f663453e07edcf788dddf1128d94e9d04fbf8.file

JUST IN - Marco Rubio allegedly told lawmakers during a closed briefing that threats against Greenland didn’t signal an imminent invasion, the goal is to buy the island from Denmark — WSJ

JUST IN - Self-driving car systems company, Mobileye, to buy Israeli startup Mentee, a humanoid robot maker, for $900 Million — Bloomberg

NOW - Steve Witkoff says they are close to finishing "a prosperity agreement" for Ukraine, "working with BlackRock, Larry Fink in this endeavor, and we think it's going to be very, very important for the people of Ukraine." https://hell.twtr.plus/media/88b8999b885b52a65d36b78d93835afe66f853f131883b77f44f455848be1414.file

NOW - Starmer says a declaration of intent has been signed, stating that in the event of a peace deal, there will be a "deployment of forces to Ukraine," the UK and France will "establish military hubs" and "build protected facilities for weapons and military equipment." https://hell.twtr.plus/media/857994125936a4d70b7a5eb6ccbb96b627f3f2369a82f0a0a8253c92ff7718a6.file