U.S. seizure of Russian tanker marks rare escalation in sanctions enforcement against "dark fleet," but experts say move unlikely to trigger confrontation.

China, Russia and Iran began a week of joint naval exercises in South Africa's waters on Saturday in what the host country described as a BRICS Plus operation to "ensure the safety of shipping and maritime economic activities".

Russia has strongly condemned the U.S. seizure of an oil tanker. It heralds a new chill in relations between Moscow and Washington that could spread to other areas and affect President Donald Trump’s efforts to persuade Russia to end its nearly four-year war in Ukraine.

First came Russia’s “turtle tank”, a metal shed rumbling across the battlefield. Then Ukraine laughed at the so-called “hairy tank”, coated in long, wavy metal wires.

Despite a close relationship with Caracas stretching back for decades, Russia has been reserved in its response to the U.S. attack on Venezuela.

Chinese, Russian and Iranian warships have launched a week of naval drills with host South African off the coast of Cape Town as geopolitical tensions run high over the United States’ intervention in Venezuela.

Simon Migliano, who compiled the Top10VPN shutdown report, told me “Iran’s current nationwide blackout is a blunt instrument intended to crush dissent, starkly different from the sophisticated, slow-burn digital censorship we’re seeing in Russia.”

Pavel Talankin was a school events coordinator and videographer. When Russia overhauled the curriculum to make students into patriotic soldiers, he kept his camera rolling. The footage became an Oscar-nominated film.